Speaker hiss from power amp


I have a Mark Levinson 532H amp that is connected to a Levinson 390S CD processor only (no preamp).  Recently, I switched from single-ended to balanced interconnects (Cardas Neutral Reference) because it's a pretty long run (~12 feet) between the components.  The 532H has switches on the back for selecting balanced or unbalanced interconnects.  The switches had always been set for the RCA single ended inputs, so I just noticed that when the switches are set to balanced, there is a very slight hiss coming from my tweeters.  When unbalanced are selected, the hiss is substantially reduced, nearly but not quite silent.  Both speakers have an equal amount of hiss.  In balanced mode, the hiss is only audible when my ear is 3 or 4 inches from the tweeters so it doesn't in any way detract from my overall musical experience.  I should note that the hiss is evident whether or not anything is actually connected to the amp (other than the speakers, obviously), and there's no difference with gain when I have the 390s connected.  Also, the addition of a power conditioner has made no difference at all.  Two other things: there is a very slight hum coming from the amp (again, only audible if I'm very close to the amp) and the A/C power from my outlets seems pretty inadequate (probably less than 5 amps according to the Parasound).  Appreciate any ideas on why the hiss increases when the switches are set to balanced inputs and how it could possibly be eliminated.  
rwatson

Showing 1 response by mammothguy54

georgehifi has it right, in my opinion.  I would also suggest that you contact Levinson and inquire on the design of the amp on weather or not it uses an op-amp for the XLR inputs.  My guess is that is probably the case; that they do use op-amps to convert the incoming single-ended signal to a balanced design.  And if so, then simply revert to using RCA connections for the best signal integrity to the amps primary design.  In my own system the components are expressly designed for use with XLR cables.  Hence, they pulled that into the name of the brand, Balanced Audio Technology (BAT).  

I also have to question MC comment about Balanced XLR cables being more costly than RCA cables.  The cables I use are by Audioquest.  They can be purchased with RCA terminations or XLR terminations for the exact same price.  I imagine it is possible that some cable vendors have a difference in price based on the terminations, but obviously not all.  And indeed, there are a lot of quality cable vendors on the market by which you can choose from.  Just my two cents on this particular comment.