Speaker Hiss with Krell Amp

dsper, 

I also own Krell evolution series components.  The hiss you're hearing is common among Krell components. As long as 'hiss' sound is not audible 5-7 feet away, you're A-ok. Here is a in-depth article that explains audible hiss,

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/systemnoise.html

Hope this helps! 

dsper,

If you are hearing 'hiss' 3 feet away then something else is also contributing to that noise.  Unless you favor Krell sound over the rest of the aforementioned components I would not recommend Krell amp in your setup.  

In my setup, I only hear 'hiss' sound when I draw my ear close to my 800D2 tweeter. I used to own Classe SSP-800/CA-2200/CA-5200 components that were dead quite.  Call me crazy, but I prefer Krell sound over Classe, even with that faint 'hiss'. 

Good luck with your search! 

audiolabyrinth, 

I have gone through the whole excercise to isolate the 'hiss' last year.  I had the same experience when I owned Krell Showcase series, and now Evolution series. 

Going by the test sequence, with everything else being off and disconnected I started with powering up amp first, heard faint hiss. Then powered processor, the hiss noise was further enhanced. I reversed the sequence by powering processor and nothing.  Keep in mind, I am hearing this hiss only when I draw my ear close to tweeter.  

My speakers sensitivity is rated at 90dB.

The hiss doesn't bother me cause I don't listen to my music standing next to my speakers :-)