Help with hiss


Hello Friends,

My speakers have developed an audible hiss that I am trying to chase down. The hiss can be heard from across the room and while music is being played. Sometimes, the hiss is pulsating and sometimes constant. It occurs at all hours, perhaps less so in the early morning. Sometimes there is no hiss at all and everything is silent. It is an intermittent issue that is unpredictable.

My speakers are powered by mono block amplifiers. Both speakers exhibit the exact same behavior. The monos are plugged directly into the wall outlet. I also plugged them into a PS Audio AV Power Center with no relief. I changed power cords with no relief. No other piece of gear is on, although all are plugged in and some are in standby. I turned one mono off of course stopping the hiss in that speaker. The other continued to hiss. In reverse, same result.

This is not a “hum” (like from a ground loop). It is the same hiss that you can hear with your ear next to the tweeter but much louder.

I’m happy to answer any questions at all to help me resolve this. Thank you in advance.

 

forestg

Showing 3 responses by ditusa

@forestg Wrote:

 I didn’t so much change any cables, but I did add a cable around Christmas time. I got a Schiit Loki for Christmas, so I broke out a pair of Raven Audio cables to use to put the Loki in the system.

Just a thought, the Loki does have a wall wart style power supply. The two most common reasons for hiss is either a grounding issue or a gain staging issue.

I know this may sound silly but my guess is check the amplifier bias, maybe it's drifting, causing the hiss. Wish I could be of more help. See Odyssey Audio below:

Mike

https://odysseyaudio.com/kismet-reference-amplifiers/

 

@forestg Wrote:

I’ve owned this system in its current iteration for a few years now. This hiss started maybe 2 or 3 months ago, but I lose track.

How old are the two amps?

Mike