Studio monitor speakers without hiss?

[flyingbynight]

My Eve Audio SC207s make audible hiss, with no connections, about 50cm out. Beyond that it's basically inaudible, or at least blends with the hum of the laptop.

My Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 makes terrible hiss once the volume is cranked beyond about 12 o clock. Really overwhelming. Is this normal for an audio interface?

 

[gasolin75]

Nothing with mackie MR624

 

[Scottso]

Canton 9k monitors zero, nada, zip no noise under full power ear to cans. great sounding speaker also but you will pay for it.

 

[AnalogSteph]

My Eve Audio SC207s make audible hiss, with no connections, about 50cm out. Beyond that it's basically inaudible, or at least blends with the hum of the laptop.

Is that a fan that's always on (sometimes this can be toggled via a BIOS option) or a harddrive making said hum? This sort of stuff is precisely why I prefer "full-grown" computers, aside from having laptops equipped with SSDs that will shut up under low load at least.

My Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 makes terrible hiss once the volume is cranked beyond about 12 o clock. Really overwhelming. Is this normal for an audio interface?

If it can get that high you may want to consider backing off speaker input gain a bit. Any interface with analog output gain control and a DAC dynamic range that isn't exactly "DC to daylight" (and an older CS4272-based job like the 6i6 qualifies as such) is likely going to reveal the DAC noise floor at some point. Actual signal even at -18 dBFS should be approaching deafening levels at the same time though.

 

[astcal]

Can hear very faint noise only from my Neumann KH 80 tweeters about 1 inch away, only barely.

But after a few of these, the noise is completely gone, totally undetectable!

 

[LTig]

Can hear very faint noise only from my Neumann KH 80 tweeters about 1 inch away, only barely.

But after a few of these, the noise is completely gone, totally undetectable!

View attachment 187681

Is that W-weighting?

 

[yonderer]

Hi ! Just registered to add to this thread, that the Tannoy Gold 5's do hiss, whether or not an audio cable is connected, and that it's too loud for close-near field monitoring (65cm to 85cm), especially for people that are sensitive to those kind of noises. You can't hear it when sound is playing at normal volumes, but when working on low volume tracks, I would start to pick it up when listening very carefully. Great speakers otherwise, considering the price. I will try out the 7" version next week, though I doubt it will be much different.

 

[bud947]

Hi ! Just registered to add to this thread, that the Tannoy Gold 5's do hiss, whether or not an audio cable is connected, and that it's too loud for close-near field monitoring (65cm to 85cm), especially for people that are sensitive to those kind of noises. You can't hear it when sound is playing at normal volumes, but when working on low volume tracks, I would start to pick it up when listening very carefully. Great speakers otherwise, considering the price. I will try out the 7" version next week, though I doubt it will be much different.

Bad news for me then, but I would love to hear how Tannoy Gold 7 performs.
I wanted to upgrade in the future from Presonus E8 XT to Tannoy Gold 7 or 8. I liked the sound from a youtube review, and this is the cheapest powered coaxial design.

 

[yonderer]

Bad news for me then, but I would love to hear how Tannoy Gold 7 performs.
I wanted to upgrade in the future from Presonus E8 XT to Tannoy Gold 7 or 8. I liked the sound from a youtube review, and this is the cheapest powered coaxial design.

I should be testing them at a friends Thursday evening, so I'll report back then.
The coaxial design is solid on these speakers, I'd never tried coaxial speakers before so I haven't got any reference to others. From some quick position testing, I'd say if you're about 1m50 or more from the speakers it's ok. Hiss volume/sensitivity is very subjective of course.
I'm thinking of trying the Kali IN-5s, 3 way monitors with a coaxial tweeter, that Kali specifically have worked on to reduce the hiss/noise floor. They've got some great reviews. There is also an 8" version, the Kali IN-8 2nd wave. A bit more expensive though, 400€/pair for the Tannoy Gold 5s vs 650€/pair for the Kali IN-5.
If they don't work out, I think I might go the passive route.

 

[flyingbynight]

If it can get that high you may want to consider backing off speaker input gain a bit. Any interface with analog output gain control and a DAC dynamic range that isn't exactly "DC to daylight" (and an older CS4272-based job like the 6i6 qualifies as such) is likely going to reveal the DAC noise floor at some point. Actual signal even at -18 dBFS should be approaching deafening levels at the same time though.

The noise from the Scarlett effectively means I can't play at the level I'd like (occasionally, I don't run that volume normally) because the noise floor is audible alongside the music - irritating. This is what Focusrite have to say:

https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115005675925-Why-do-I-hear-white-noise-when-I-turn-up-the-gain-on-my-interface-

Would changing the audio interface to something better like the RME Fireface UCX II, or the ADI Pro improve things? Or would they have the same issues?

Another thing to note is the signal path includes D to D (Laptop to Scarlett) -> A to D (Scarlett to SC207 onboard DSP) -> D to A (SC207 speakers).

 

[bud947]

I should be testing them at a friends Thursday evening, so I'll report back then.
The coaxial design is solid on these speakers, I'd never tried coaxial speakers before so I haven't got any reference to others. From some quick position testing, I'd say if you're about 1m50 or more from the speakers it's ok. Hiss volume/sensitivity is very subjective of course.
I'm thinking of trying the Kali IN-5s, 3 way monitors with a coaxial tweeter, that Kali specifically have worked on to reduce the hiss/noise floor. They've got some great reviews. There is also an 8" version, the Kali IN-8 2nd wave. A bit more expensive though, 400€/pair for the Tannoy Gold 5s vs 650€/pair for the Kali IN-5.
If they don't work out, I think I might go the passive route.

You should definitely listen to the Kali. This guy on YouTube

compared them to other speakers.
Using my headphone (HD 560S so fairly neutral), I carefully listened to the Kali and found them to be “thin” and narrower in term of soundstage.
I really liked the bold sound of the Gold 8 and they sounded less narrower than the Kali, and that why I considered them as a step up against my current presonus E8 XT

 

[AnalogSteph]

For reference, no hiss on the little EVE SC203 mini monitors (you have to literally stick your ear to the tweeter to hear any at all). They did require some measurement and EQ to tame the somewhat excessive and uneven treble though, alongside the bass response that's dropping like a rock (48 dB) below 70-80 Hz and is uneven between the two speakers no less. (What did you expect in terms of deep bass from 3" midwoofers? Since my listening levels are modest and the speakers can handle quite a bit, I was able to push things further down.)

 

[0x80]

I'm sitting here listening to a pair of Hedd Type 20 that I just unboxed. Not a cheap speaker I'd say. A very audible level of hiss even at 4-5ft away.

Before this, I had a pair of Focal Solo 6BE. They also have a very audible hiss, and even worse they were always very sensitive to RFI. I recently discovered that covering them with tin foil made it go away

I feel the Hedds have even a bit more noise than the Focals. I was expecting less noise given that it is a more expensive and newer speaker design.

I'm trying to decide if this is a dealbreaker for me, but it sure is a bit of a disappointment...

 

[Palladium]

305p connected a SMSL D-6 on balanced.

Hiss when powered on is a complete non-issue unless I put my ear <2 inches away from the tweeters.

 

[LTig]

I'm sitting here listening to a pair of Hedd Type 20 that I just unboxed. Not a cheap speaker I'd say. A very audible level of hiss even at 4-5ft away.

Before this, I had a pair of Focal Solo 6BE. They also have a very audible hiss, and even worse they were always very sensitive to RFI. I recently discovered that covering them with tin foil made it go away

I feel the Hedds have even a bit more noise than the Focals. I was expecting less noise given that it is a more expensive and newer speaker design.

I'm trying to decide if this is a dealbreaker for me, but it sure is a bit of a disappointment...

How much noise level does Hedd specify for the Type 20?

 

[stevenswall]

305p connected a SMSL D-6 on balanced.

Hiss when powered on is a complete non-issue unless I put my ear <2 inches away from the tweeters.

How quiet is your room? That seems to be the biggest difference when some people don't hear hiss and others do. (EX: If there's no ventilation, traffic, human, appliance, or other noise, and some absorption on the walls, that's when I listen for speaker hiss. There was some on the LSR 308p from feet away when listening like that nearfield.)

 

[AnalogSteph]

I'm sitting here listening to a pair of Hedd Type 20 that I just unboxed. Not a cheap speaker I'd say. A very audible level of hiss even at 4-5ft away.

What's your audio interface / DAC, and how did you set up the volume and input gain? The manual says

The output volume rotary switch changes the reproduction level in a ± 12 dB range. We
recommend to fine-tune the volume through the connected source like an interface,
control board, mixing board or pre-amp.
The output volume allows to match the speakers to the audio chain, e.g. lowering SNR or
THD. The default setting is 0 dB.

The “Input Sensitivity” rotary switch levels the voltage of the analog input. It can be used
to optimize the signal to noise ratio for the A/D converter. In case of weak input signals
the gain can be added for up to +4 dB. In case of very loud signals (>2 V) either -4 or -10
dB gain reduction can be applied to avoid an A/D converter overload.

It sounds like nominal max input levels are +4 / +8 / +12 / +18 dBu, for 120 dB SPL a pair out (so 117 dB per speaker). If your source isn't the lowest-noise one in the world and you don't need extreme levels, you may want to turn down input sensitivity even more than absolutely required.

Once input sensitivity is in the right ballpark, adjust volume so that you get a decent but not excessive amount of headroom at normal levels (I'd shoot for ~30 dB of source volume to spare).

If none of all that gets hiss to manageable levels, you're probably SOL. (In which case I'd return them for some KH310As, which should only be marginally more expensive.)

I was expecting less noise given that it is a more expensive and newer speaker design.

That's not how this works. DSP speakers are generally harder to get quiet than their all-analog cousins since you have the additional limitations of ADC and DAC dynamic range to contend with. Higher attention to level management is required on both the speaker designer and user.

Plus, the HEDDs are officially designated as midfield monitors, which I would translate to a typical listening distance of 1.5-2.5 m or thereabouts, so 4-5' is rather on the low end to begin with.

You didn't say what your room treatment is like either. That makes a substantial difference in how fast levels go down with distance, including internally generated hiss.

 

[amanieux]

I notice hiss only come from from the tweeter and do not raise when I boost trebble, so has someone tried boosting trebble and taping thin sheet if toilet paper in front of the tweeter ?

 

[Palladium]

How quiet is your room? That seems to be the biggest difference when some people don't hear hiss and others do. (EX: If there's no ventilation, traffic, human, appliance, or other noise, and some absorption on the walls, that's when I listen for speaker hiss. There was some on the LSR 308p from feet away when listening like that nearfield.)

According to my phone app, ~30dB.

 

[amanieux]

My JBL 305 hiss but my cheap $80 class D aiyima a07 with cheap 2 way speakers don't hiss