McKlipsch Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I get a slight hiss from my khorns. Seems to be worse with cds that I burnt. But even with good quality cds it is still there if you put your ear to the mid and tweeter. Not that this is annoying or anything but was wondering if you can ever get these big boys to be dead quiet. Running mc-250 , C-28 cheap Panasonic cd player. Maybe I answered my own question. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Reed Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I've always been told that speakers don't hiss, electronics do. I have heard Klipsch speakers hooked to high-dollar source electronics that were dead quite. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 It's hard not to get a hiss from these highly sensitive speakers. Only one amp I've tried with mine were dead silent. CDs are always going to make some noise. As long as it isn't distracting from your listening position, you should be fine. A better CD player may help but it's most likely in your amp/preamp. Some folks use line or power conditioners which can help also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 If you have to put your ear against the speakers to hear the hiss, just forget about it. At that level, it won't interfere with enjoying music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKlipsch Posted November 16, 2004 Author Share Posted November 16, 2004 Thanks for the quick replies. On a quality cd the hiss is verry slight between songs at a high level. It's not heard at all when playing. I plan on moving to tubes this summer. Maybe a 240. I need to read more to get completely confused. Would a tube amp tend to quiet a hiss or make it more noticeable? thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 ---------------- On 11/16/2004 11:13:13 AM McKlipsch wrote: Thanks for the quick replies. On a quality cd the hiss is verry slight between songs at a high level. It's not heard at all when playing. I plan on moving to tubes this summer. Maybe a 240. I need to read more to get completely confused. Would a tube amp tend to quiet a hiss or make it more noticeable? thanks again ---------------- Could go either way. I have a fisher tube integrated that is dead quiet on my khorns. My MkIIIs/Blueberry tube seperates have a hiss. You'll find the same is true with SS. I may be getting another 240 soon (my 3rd) so if you're interested in one, send me a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 ---------------- On 11/16/2004 10:55:16 AM paulparrot wrote: If you have to put your ear against the speakers to hear the hiss, just forget about it. At that level, it won't interfere with enjoying music. ---------------- Paul is right on - you can test the electronics in a shade tree fix it way by selecting sources and turning the volume up and see which one's are the biggest hiss culprits - this will narrow it to either your source or the switch/DAC components in amplification. Otherwise I wouldn't worry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 All compression drivers hiss at idle. No way around that, but the volume of the hiss can be lessened with clean gear. Normally, you should not hear hiss except with your ear right up to the horn(s) (more or less). DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grady Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 104 db at 1 watt is going to put your system to the test. i have a $39 dvd player that will put a hum throughout the entire system untill i pull the patch cords on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 Why would you run a cheap CD player with McIntosh and Klipsch? FWIW - I have Khrons, MC-250's and a C36 and I run my 250's about 3/4 and they are dead quiet. If I run the pot full out, I do get a slight hiss with ear directly on tweeter. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 LIkewise. I have layers upon layers of power conditioning, voltage stabilization, sine wave correction, AC filtering, and power regeneration. All my cables are triple-exotic shielded, all powercables are aftermarket pythons, my XLR's top-of-the-line, the whole nine yards. Even my wall sockets have been upgraded! But I turn up the volume, lean my ear close to the speakers, low and behold there is a slight hiss. It's the Klipsch's sensitivity, it's the price we pay for such revealing stuff. So, you just gotta live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 McK.. what are you, 18 years old?? Ha ha..your hearing must be phenomenal! Of course KHorns are gonna hiss! What with the sensitivity rating they amplify any nuance! Most of us here on the KBB are in our 40s or better! The upside is that we know what sounds the best! The downside is that we have lost some high frequencies due to age or exposure! (TO OTHER SOURCES, NOT KLIPSCH SPEAKERS!) It's a double edged sword! As stated before, if it doesn't hinder anything during listening, fergit it! Enjoy the great sound you have! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 An 18-year old with Klipschorns. Haha, that WOULD be the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 I found my Klipschorns tend to hiss more with solid state gear than tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 ---------------- On 11/17/2004 12:37:24 AM j-malotky wrote: FWIW - I have Khorns, MC-250's and a C36 and I run my 250's about 3/4 and they are dead quiet. If I run the pot full out, I do get a slight hiss with ear directly on tweeter. JM ---------------- I think we're discussing several kinds of hiss here. One is from the preamp/amp electronics with no sources even turned on. J-malotky's system shows this kind is not inevitable; while his is probably partly due to a very quiet preamp and amp, it's ALSO likely due to a good match of preamp output and low amplifier input gain. John, do you have a gain pot on your MC-250s, and is it turned down from maximum? Note that another forum member reported that a Fisher integrated is dead quiet on his K-horns, which means that gain matching is handled by the integrated's design. Preamp/amp hiss should be assessed with the source off and the volume control all the way down, at playing level, and turned way, way up, as John described. Hiss with the volume control turned all the way down is an irreducable base level that is very much a product of the K-horn's efficiency. Hiss with the volume control turned way up without sources turned on may drop to insignificance in playing situations. There's also hiss from sources, and hiss from within the recordings themselves. It's hard to see how hiss from sources is due to K-horn efficiency, as opposed to poor signal-to-noise ratio. Old, pre-Dolby recordings can have lots of hiss, and K-horn efficiency is completely unrelated to that. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v3spitfire Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 I get a slight hiss noticable at about 1foot when I use the preamp, regardless of source. It doesn't get worse with volume, and its inaudible with music playing, even at a foot. Its just when idle that its noticable. If I run the power amp through an passive preamp, it is dead quiet, so the slight hiss is in the preamp in my situation. Can you run the MC250 direct without the preamp to see if this is where its coming from? I know the MC240 can be run this way, but not sure if the 250 has the same set up. I've eliminated my hiss by keeping my ear out of the horn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 As Larry pointed out, the hiss I am talking about eliminating in my above post, is with the sources off, and not really a factor when listening to music. And yes, Larry, I am talking about the gain knobs on my amp, not preamp. The 250 is like the 240 in that it has a gain pot, and can be run w/o a preamp if desired. I would bet McKlipsch's problem is with his CD player. I bet his cheap CD player has inferior DAC's and transports that are clearly being heard through his high quality MC / Khron system. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKlipsch Posted November 17, 2004 Author Share Posted November 17, 2004 Thanks for all the input. Seems the hiss is in proportion to the amp gains which I assume would be normal given the efficiency of the klipschorn. Yes that is the price we pay for such truthful speakers. This in no way deters from my listening and is completely inaudible when music is played. Im a 48 year old construction worker and was involved in an explosion several years ago. Permanent tenitous and 20% gone in one ear. This was one reason I wanted Klipschorns so I could hear everything. Wasnt disappointed. Thanks again Amp Vol Pre Vol Cd Hiss ¼ No No Very slight ½ No No Very slight Max No No 1 ¼ ¼ No Very slight ½ ¼ No 1 Max ¼ No 6 ¼ ¼ On Very slight ½ ¼ On 1 Max ¼ On 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 If you want to narrow down what components are making what amount of noise make some RCA shorting plugs out of a old cheap set of interconnects. Just cut them back 4 inches from the RCA's strip the insulation off the outer shield and inner conductor and twist the bare wire tightly together and tape it off. Plug these into the input of your amplifier and turn it on. I bet at this point if the amp is working up to snuff your speakers are dead silent. Then add the preamp and install the shorting plugs on the input your going to use if the hiss increases this is what the interconnect and the preamp you added are producing. Then add the CD player and so on. In my system every component/interconnect I add brings some noise with it but my shop is full of RF from redicules amounts of equipment and wiring. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 I have a pair of USA-made, audiophile-grade shorting plugs, guaranteed not to let a hint of a trace of a mist of signal through, that I will sell for $100, postage paid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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