Nice Studio Monitors without Hiss?

[Buddy]

I thought I had hiss issues with my Sceptres until replacing my monitor controller and connecting to it via AES from my interface.

Basically the quality of your listening path has a huge influence - your interface, gain staging, monitor controller quality (if you use one) and the level you feed into the Sceptres all have a huge impact. So much so that I put my Sceptres at 100 dB SPL (which is f-ing LOUD) and there was no audible hiss from 3 feet away. Not to mention that my room is so well treated you can hear a pin drop in my room... No noise at all on my S8's pushing 100 dB SPL now that my listening path is properly configured

Previously I had a Monitor Station v2. Even connecting to the MS v2 digitally still produced a lot of noise. I had a hunch this was the main culprit, but wondered if it was my interface. I replaced the MS v2 with a D Box+ and the noise completely disappeared. Your monitoring path is only as good as its weakest link.

Well, in my case, I'm in a very well-treated room coming from my Apollo x8p which I would consider a good signal chain. More definitively, I get hiss without being connected to anything and just turning on the S8s. So it's nothing to do with the monitoring path.

Further, two other pairs of monitors in the same room, same setup, do not hiss. It's definitely the S8s which, again, was confirmed by Presonus support who freely shared that the hiss is normal behavior for these monitors, as a result of their design.

 

[jcrosby]

Well, in my case, I'm in a very well-treated room coming from my Apollo x8p which I would consider a good signal chain. More definitively, I get hiss without being connected to anything and just turning on the S8s. So it's nothing to do with the monitoring path.

Further, two other pairs of monitors in the same room, same setup, do not hiss. It's definitely the S8s which, again, was confirmed by Presonus support who freely shared that the hiss is normal behavior for these monitors, as a result of their design.

I don't know what to tell you. 100 dB SPL is serioulsy loud. Maybe yours have a defect, I don't know. I do know that the only thing that changed between the time I could hear hiss and now is me getting rid of a poor MC and connecting to my current one via AES.

 

[Buddy]

I don't know what to tell you. 100 dB SPL is serioulsy loud. Maybe yours have a defect, I don't know. I do know that it solved my issue completely.

Given my own experience, how common and widespread the issue seems to be according to google, and with Presonus support confirming the hiss is expected behavior, I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling your experience.

You say you don't hear hiss from 3-4 feet away. Okay, how about closer than that? Talking about a persistent tape-like hiss going the entire time the monitor is powered on. You don't hear this??

 

[jcrosby]

Given my own experience, how common and widespread the issue seems to be according to google, and with Presonus support confirming the hiss is expected behavior, I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling your experience.

You say you don't hear hiss from 3-4 feet away. Okay, how about closer than that? Talking about a persistent tape-like hiss going the entire time the monitor is powered on. You don't hear this??

It's not like I'm here to misinform you and/or ad to the conspiracy theory... No. I used to hear a consistent hiss and and don't anymore. If noise increases as you turn up your interface output the noise is not coming from the, it's coming from your path to the speakers. The correct way to set up a quiet listening path is to set your interface to full output and calibrate the level using the speakers, (or a monitor controller.) That's what I mean by correctly gain staging your listening path.

Yes if you jack up the Sceptres there is noise, but this isn't unique to the Sceptres. The only way to mitigate this is to feed them a hot signal and bring the level down on the speakers. A good monitor controller let's you dial this in if you calibrate your room to a specific level. In my case the MS v2 added noise (which isn't a shocker given its price tag...) After going getting a quiet monitor controller and going AES I truly do not hear any hiss from 3-4 feet away.

 

[Sunny Schramm]

I had the Adam A7X and on mine there were no hiss or noise at all. I am very sensitive to noise and I´m sitting in a 1x1x1 meter triangle. Had to sold them years ago

Now I got the JBL LSR305 + 310S. "There" is a really an annoying noise at that 1x1x1 distance. But as you play something its gone - its only annoying when there is nothing playing. The noise disappears completely when you put a distance of about 180cm between them.

The positiv: even with 180cm distance you got a really good surprising mono-center and stage. And for 550€ (305 including the 310 Sub) its the best sounding system you can get for the money for sure ❤ every bad production will sound bad on it and the good ones will blow you away. For production I set the highs to "+2" - thats perfect because you notice when you put too much highs with an EQ on your track - it burns your ears...so go back to where it sounds brilliant and good and you are fine. For listening to already mastered music I turn down the highs to "0".

I will keep the JBL for sure but will always lurking on the A7X or the Neumann KH120 - but I think to remember the KH also got a little noise. Otherwise its really hard to find monitors without class-d amp noise. Even a lot of monitors in the price range of 500 to 700€ each got it. But it only matters if you are sitting really close to the monitor. I think when you have them on stands behind your desk it could be ok - and of course the room matters too.

BTW: if nobody mentioned it before - class-d amp noise is not related to the volume. It should be the same as you turn the volume knob up or down on your monitors.

 

[Buddy]

It's not like I'm here to misinform you and/or ad to the conspiracy theory... No. I used to hear a consistent hiss and and don't anymore.

Of course, nobody's accusing you. But, the fact that you fixed the hiss which is persistent without being connected to anything by changing the settings on things you're connecting to is definitely a bit mystifying.

If noise increases as you turn up your interface output the noise is not coming from the, it's coming from your path to the speakers. The correct way to set up a quiet listening path is to set your interface to full output and calibrate the level using the speakers, (or a monitor controller.) That's what I mean by correctly gain staging your listening path.

Again, the hiss occurs even if the interface is totally disconnected from the Sceptres. Not volume dependent on the interface level at all. This seems replicable across other people experiencing the same issue.

Yes if you jack up the Sceptres there is noise, but this isn't unique to the Sceptres. The only way to mitigate this is to feed them a hot signal and bring the level down on the speakers. A good monitor controller let's you dial this in if you calibrate your room to a specific level. In my case the MS v2 added noise (which isn't a shocker given its price tag...) After going getting a quiet monitor controller and going AES I truly do not hear any hiss from 3-4 feet away.

The level on my Sceptres is as low as it will go. Min level. Hiss is still very much audible.

 

[Sunny Schramm]

The level on my Sceptres is as low as it will go. Min level. Hiss is still very much audible.

thats sadly normal on presonus and other monitors in this price range with class-d amps

 

[Buddy]

thats sadly normal on presonus and other monitors in this price range with class-d amps

Great piece of info. Explains why the other monitors in my room don't hiss by comparison: they use class AB amps. Thanks for the clue!

 

[jneebz]

This ought to be an easy criterion to satisfy, but yes it does require some first hand experience to navigate those waters.

I have the Focal CMS65, which are mighty fine hissless monitors.

Same. Love my Focals!

 

[jcrosby]

Of course, nobody's accusing you. But, the fact that you fixed the hiss which is persistent without being connected to anything by changing the settings on things you're connecting to is definitely a bit mystifying.



Again, the hiss occurs even if the interface is totally disconnected from the Sceptres. Not volume dependent on the interface level at all. This seems replicable across other people experiencing the same issue.



The level on my Sceptres is as low as it will go. Min level. Hiss is still very much audible.

That's not normal at all. Presonus telling you should hear hiss at a low level is just odd on Presonus's part. (I've personally always found their support to be sloppy...) As I said I've tested my S8's at 100 dB SPL and hiss is not audible, (when it was very much so in the past). I just calibrated again, and when I completely remove Sonarworks from the equation I'm still pushing close to 100 dB SPL with the monitors at their current setting, and the D Box's volume at dead center.

Just to make it clear I'm not blowing smoke up your ass here's video I just took of them putting out about 100 dB SPL. Measuring from my ear canal to the S8's horn I average 45", quite close... (Not to mention uncomfortably! loud.) Even though my computer is virtually silent and under my desk I can hear its fan over any hiss the S8's should be putting out, which again, used to be super audible. No magic trick here! (And sorry to hear you're having a rough go of it...)

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

 

[Buddy]

As I said I've tested my S8's at 100 dB SPL and hiss is not audible, (when it was very much so in the past). I just calibrated again, and when I completely remove Sonarworks from the equation I'm still pushing close to 100 dB SPL with the monitors at their current setting, and the D Box's volume at dead center.

Just to make it clear I'm not blowing smoke up your ass here's video I just took of them putting out about 100 dB SPL. Measuring from my ear canal to the S8's horn I average 45", quite close... (Not to mention uncomfortably! loud.) Even though my computer is virtually silent and under my desk I can hear its fan over any hiss the S8's should be putting out, which again, used to be super audible. No magic trick here! (And sorry to hear you're having a rough go of it...)

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

I'm not sure I understand the relevance of your 100 dB SPL calibration here. The hiss I'm talking about occurs even with no music playing, totally disconnected from the interface, and with the monitors at their lowest gain setting.

Maybe that's the misunderstanding? I wouldn't expect you to be hearing low level hiss when blasting music at maximum volume.

 

[Sunny Schramm]

Yep - and as I "also" wrote before: there is now connection between the hiss and the volume - its a technically thing of the construction of monitors with a class-d amp.

 

[jcrosby]

I'm not sure I understand the relevance of your 100 dB SPL calibration here.

Obvioulsy. Do you honestly think I don't understand the issue? (Or that I haven't seen people make this same statement before?)

The monitors put out 100 dB SPL with the current static setting I have before Sonarworks is applied. And obviously are devoid of hiss at 3.5 feet from the horn when no sound is playing. Why 100dB SPL?

Most people listen between 80 and 85 dB. If your path is setup and calibrated properly you should not hear hiss with Sceptres putting out 80-85. Considering mine put out 100 before room correction is applied, (well above normal listening levels), this indicates that these speakers are capable of producing hiss levels that are more or less inaudible from 3-4 feet away at normal levels. Their level settings have been static for the past 15 months, when I put the DB+ in. If I lean in to about 18-20 inches, yes there is the slightest amount of hiss, but again, so slight that if I lean back to my listening position I can hear all other noise above it and the hiss is completely imperceptible - the plumbing in my building, occasional traffic outside, the slight whir and whine coming from the computer - everything else in my room is substantially more audible and distracting.

If you're hearing hiss and "The level of your Sceptres are as low as they'll go. Min level. Hiss is still very much audible", you almost certainly have a faulty pair. And it sure as **** sounds like Presonus is giving you a sloppily scripted answer that completely contradicts the reality I live in my studio day to day.

If that's not clear enough than clearly it's time to exit this thread....

 

[Buddy]

Obvioulsy. Do you honestly think I don't understand the issue? C'mon dude.

The monitors put out 100 dB SPL with the current static setting I have before Sonarworks is applied. And obviously are devoid of hiss at 3.5 feet from the horn when no sound is playing. If you're hearing hiss and "The level of your Sceptres are as low as they'll go. Min level. Hiss is still very much audible", you almost certainly have a faulty pair.

In truth, yes. It genuinely seemed like there must be some miscommunication. The internet is full of reports of Sceptre owners complaining about the hiss, Sunny has kindly described the component that causes it: the class-D amp, which is built into every single monitor--including yours--and even Presonus themselves have confirmed the hiss is expected behavior.

In the face of this, you persistently assert the hiss we're all experiencing must be the result of a faulty pair. Or that the hiss which is inherent to the design of the monitor can be solved by the quality of peripherals attached to the monitor. I'd be happy to chalk up our difference in experience to variability in production quality...except that you say you started with the same hiss that all the rest of us have! It's a strange situation, for sure, and I've been trying to decipher what's going on, including eliminating variables like miscommunication.

 

[Buddy]

If I lean in to about 18-20 inches, yes there is the slightest amount of hiss, but again, so slight that if I lean back to my listening position I can hear all other noise above it and the hiss is completely imperceptible - the plumbing in my building, occasional traffic outside, the slight whir and whine coming from the computer - everything else in my room is substantially more audible and distracting.

There we go. Thank you for this post edit. This reality makes much more sense to me. Your Sceptres do have some noticeable hiss. To you, it's not much. But they do hiss enough to be audible at 18-20 inches.

OP wants monitors where he doesn't notice the hiss, so I venture Sceptres would not be the best choice. In my room, their hiss is audible at normal working distance and the noisiest of the 3 different pairs of monitors I use.

 

[classified_the_x]

I gotta almost touch my ears in the speakers to hear a hiss, and I'm using JBL LS40 series with a Marsh solid state amplifier. In my previous main speakers, a Dynaudio BM12A, I can't remember the hiss, meaning that the current hiss bothers me a bit just by being there.

That said, there is probably some dirt on your audio chain if you have a hiss in your monitors, get proper Mogami cables, leave them away from power cables, use a good interface, deliver clean power to the whole chain, check for neutral/ground inversions... There's probably more... Oh, shielded USB cables from your gear to computer (QED is a good brand, it's not expensive).

A good start is simply moving the cables that go to the speakers and check if the hiss disappears. If it does, you might consider changing them.