It could be an electrical problem. Try switching outlets. As for the brightness, how new is your system? Maybe your speakers need breaking in. I dont know how much the brightness is going fade because those components have a bright sonic signature. Another suggestion would be to switch interconnects and speaker cables. Good luck. |
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This is not a "bright" system. Give it some time to break in (100 hours?). Is the hiss worse with the cd disconnected or just turned off? What kind of CD player? This should be a quiet system. Play with cable routing so they don't touch if possible. |
hello, in gerneral, it may come from interconnect cable,, you may try to seperate with each other, beside,, i am not sure that your amp has treble adjustment..you may adjusted it too high ..it often introduces un natual hiss..
mike |
Thanks for the responses.
I don't think it's an electrical problem. I tried plugging into different outlets, same results. Also whether the CD player (also Rotel) was on or not (and disconnected) had no effect. As for the cables, they are in close proximity but none are touching eachother.
As for the brightness the speakers are relatively new, my guess would be less than 100 hours. Is there a "proper" way of breaking them in? Basically I just listen to music and try to avoid really loud levels.
I'm not sure if this is a factor but the speaker wire is unterminated at the speaker end. It's bare and I just pushed it through the hole in the binding post (not the banana plug hole) and tightened the nut. Could this be an issue?
Thanks.
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I think your problem is most likely a componet issue.
You may consider changing out the rotel. If this is only a music system you may want to try seperates if it's in the budget to do so. Next I would work on IC, speaker wire and power cords. I think there is no quick or cheap fix for your brightness problem and buying new IC or speaker wire with the rotel will only get you minor improvements. It sounds like you may be out growing the current set up and it's time to move up a notch, your getting more educated in good sound so take the plunge and go for the componet upgrade. Sorry for slamming the rotel but for entry level mid fi it's a ok start into this hobbie but it's time to move on to better sound! Hope I was not to brutle! Happy Hunting |
Thanks Jsawhitlock. My gut feeling is that it's an amp issue and not a speaker issue. Unfortunately I don't have any other speakers or amps to test my hunch.
Seperates are out of my budget right now so I'm leaning toward getting a better integrated (Creek, Classe, Bryston B60?) For now, I'm going to give the speakers some more break-in time and see if that has desirable effects. |
Good Move! I run Classe and enjoy there sound alot, never bright and never wears you out! You may be able to pick up some seperates for less than you think and sell the rotel to pay for the rest. BTW Classe makes a nice intgrated. Maybe do this in stages, There are a few Classe amps like the CA-100 for around $600 and if you need more power the CA200 for $1200. Have also seen a few preamps CP-35 at $600 and CP-45 at $750.
Hapy Listening! |
FIrst finish breaking in the speakers, if the sound doesnt improve then replace the amp. Try a NAD 320bee, they seem to mate well with B&W. You can get one for under $400 new. Ive also seen creek 4330 mkII for about $400 used here on A'gon. The creek has a much darker tonal balance than the NAD but its a fine unit. I dont know how theyll pair with the B&W's. Also consider what kind of music you listen to. Some amps are better suited to classical and jazz rather than rock and dance. |
Yup, it's an amp issue. Appears that your amp can work through the entire audio frequency. The hiss you're hearing is the high frequency artifacts. Normal - for good amps. |
All electronics generate some level of "stochastic" noise, due to random electron movement. Some are better than others in this department, but it is not at all uncommon to be able to hear a "hiss" when you put your ears near the speakers. It has nothing at all to do with the speakers; it is generated by the powered circuits. That said, Rotel is not exactly the end-all for electronics, and should be your first upgrade. Your thoughts about trading up to a Creek or Classe or Bryston integrated are right on target. |
I don't get any hiss until my volume is at 11:00 or so. The hiss is the noise floor of your system. I agree it's your amp, doubt an NAD would be much, if any, better. |
It's your amp and it's fairly normal. Does the Rotel have a "Source Direct" switch? Often times, when you take all the control devices (except volume, of course) out of the loop, the hiss will go away. |
Thanks again for all the responses. I feel better knowing that it's probably normal behavior for the amp. My main concern was that I was doing some damage to the speakers (which I had just bought). The amp is definitely at the top of my upgrade list but for now I can sleep well knowing I'm not doing any harm to my system! |
Tooter - a question:
Does your integrated have tone controls? If so, have you got the treble turned up. Many amps will exhibit hiss when treble is elevated.
Just thought I'd check... |
Hi Johnmcelfresh. My integrated does have tone controls, treble and bass and a "master" switch which I have set to "off." My understanding is that when it is set to "off" it takes that part of the circuitry out of the loop. In any event, if I turn the main tone control to on and then turn the treble down to "0" I still hear the hiss. Go figure . . . . Thanks for the suggestion. |
