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

One thing you might want to try is unplugging everything from the wall outlet and plugging your mono block amplifiers into a different outlet to see if that makes a difference. If the issue persists, it could be something to do with the amplifiers themselves. You might want to have them checked out by a professional to ensure they're functioning properly.

@forestg sorry, didn’t realize was both channels. yikes! cap leaking was assuming just one channel. would not expect hiss from unpowered gear.

@2psyop, Yep. Similar experience. For the year I had the upgrade, it was there longer than it was at my place. Straight answers were hard to come by but excuses and non-answers were easy to come by. I hope this isn’t the same for OP. I chalked it up to experience. Lesson learned. I’ve moved on.

@2psyop Thanks for sharing. I’m really sorry to hear of your experience. Mine has been the complete opposite. I’m sure there’s stories of great successes and not so great in every manufacturer’s history. I’m glad you found your resolve and are back to digging’ the tunes!

@audphile1 👍🏻 I’m with you!

@tempostarship Thank you for that. I had given some thought to doing that, but I wanted to isolate components first. It would be a lot of moving, as there are no other outlets in close proximity. I don’t want to use an extension cord because that could create problems of its own. So, I’d have to move the amps and speakers to another location. That would be the easy part. Putting them back where I had them would be the hard part!

@rockadanny Thanks. I wouldn’t expect it from static gear either, but I’m glad for some confirmation.

There have been some magnificent suggestions here, which is exactly what I was looking for. I had thought this thing to death and I was running myself in circles. I remain open to any ideas or thoughts people may have. I am not quick to fault the amps themselves, primarily because the hiss level, frequency, constant vs. pulsing, silence etc. is identical in both channels. It seems that if it were an issue with one of the amps, some of which were suggested here, I would expect one channel to have an issue but not both. In fact, while troubleshooting, I turned off and unplugged one amp but the other continued to hiss. I turned off and unplugged the other amp and the other one continued to hiss. 
Maybe coincidental, maybe wishful thinking, maybe an Audiogon forum exorcism, but since I got up Sunday morning I have not heard them hiss. I also have not played any music yet. And my neighbor hasn’t been home🤷‍♂️🤔