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La Scala hiss question


chapin99

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Hi, all. I have a pair of la scalas with ALK crossovers (bought the speakers with the crossovers already there). They are from 1982 I believe. I run a quad vintage system through the la scalas for front channels and heresy's for rears and use a restored Sansui 9001 receiver. Anyway, I have always had a question about this but never asked. I love the sound of the la scalas with music playing, but am beginning to be a bit irritated by a hiss that is always present upon turning on the receiver. Once the music starts, I'm not aware of it, but am concerned that maybe it (the hiss) is always there and perhaps interfering with the music. Is this hiss normal? And it doesn't matter the volume on the receiver, the hiss is present regardless. If it is not normal, what can be done about it? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Laura (chapin99)

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Laura.. It is a little bit of a trade off... Do you want everything that is possible to be produced out of the speaker to sound lifelike??

Or

Do you want a filter to make sure it is muffled... but no hiss..

Unless it is obnoxious... (And you said you do not recognize it when music is played..) I suggest you ignore it.

La Scalas will play everything bad or good with wonderful dynamics. Take out that hiss... your gonna be missing something!

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Laura,

MDeneen is right on. (as are the others)

IMHO, if you don't want to spend any cash then you're fine where you are. I have owned LaScalas for the last 28 years and spent the first 23 of those years with that hisssssssssss you are talking about. I simply thought it was the way things were and never knew I had a choice!

My choice however, did involve buying some different stuff.

So, if you're ok with it then I'd say sit back & relax. If it really bothers you then figure out what your budget might be and let these guys help you out. They (speaking generically of the forum) helped me out and my LaScalas sound MUCH quiter now than they use to.

It's all a function of you & your "Mr. Budget"

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Laura.. It is a little bit of a trade off... Do you want everything that is possible to be produced out of the speaker to sound lifelike??

Or

Do you want a filter to make sure it is muffled... but no hiss..

Unless it is obnoxious... (And you said you do not recognize it when music is played..) I suggest you ignore it.

La Scalas will play everything bad or good with wonderful dynamics. Take out that hiss... your gonna be missing something!

Not exactly true. Many of the modern, high quality amps, whether tube or solid state, will be incredibly quiet when powered on and no music playing. The high end in the music will still be there in all of its glorious detail. Still, it can take some work to get your system that way.

Bruce

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Thanks all. I was hoping that since the 9001 was restored (completely by QuadBob in California) that it wouldn't be the culpret. The hiss isn't enough for me to change anything at this point since I want a great quad setup and both the 9001 and the Q8 players and even hi-rez player and snr-1s, etc. are critical to that end. I run a separate (but in the same room, so parallel I guess) HT system that will be anchored by a denon 3808 receiver (arriving today I hope!) and uses Axioms for 7.1 channel sound, so no other options at the moment. Since I've had the hiss for about 5 years, I can certainly live with it because I do love the Klipsch sound. I just wanted peace of mind that my crossovers were not the problem. One looks like a better install than the other (for some reason, the guy I bought them from must have attempted part of the ALK work himself and just purchased the other already done - they look a tad different). If/when I upgrade and downgrade to pure two channel music (I use two different turntables - Rega primarily), then I will probably want to go the route of finding modern equipment that will give no his to the la scalas to send out! But, my investment in quad is pretty heavy and I love it, so maybe when I win the lottery and can get a bigger home where I could have HT in one room, Sansui quad in another, Marantz quad in another, and two-channel in another! Yeah - that'l work! Thanks again!
Laura

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bruce.."Not exactly true. Many of the modern, high quality amps, whether
tube or solid state, will be incredibly quiet when powered on and no
music playing. The high end in the music will still be there in all of
its glorious detail. Still, it can take some work to get your system
that way."

Bruce your correct, but I do not think everyone goes out n buys $$$$$$ McIntosh gear or Sunfire..etc etc to get that result...

For the record, mine is dead quiet as well.

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I have not heard hiss in an half credible amp in years unless you are turned up way past any level you'd pass a signal to. That's why I asked about the SQ/QS. The last time I heard significant hiss was a Sansui quad decoder I picked up somewhere. I had a few quad discs, but the hiss from that thing was so nasty I got rid of it.

These days, those discs are decoded just fine (actually better since we have steering now) y Pro Logic II.

Dave

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You are talking about the RCA discrete quad. I have never seen one, and yes, it was problematic. Most quad was issued in either QS or SQ encoding, both matrix types that were basicly Hafler on steroids. You can still find these occasionally, and I have maybe 15 or so. All are quite listenable either in stereo or decoded, some better than others. The E. Power Biggs Freiberg Cathedral disc is very good, 4 organs played at once.

Pro Logic II decodes these better than the original decoders.

I mentioned this because the thread owner mentioned quad and Sansui. Sansui decoders were very noisy, and not terribly effective either.

Dave

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Hi, again.

I have been very fortunate to have my quad system set up very well. CD-4 (true discreet quad) albums play wonderfully - listened to some great Jethro Tull the other day - no sandpaper or anything extraneous. I use a Marantz CD-400 to decode CD-4 (not the 9001 Sansui). The Sansui is used for SQ and QS. I have a Marantz turntable with proper quad cart./stylus, proper tracking force, good cables, etc. that is used solely for CD-4 albums. I play the SQ and QS through a Rega P-25 with a wonderful Goldring cart (per an old Sam Tellig recommendation), Counterweight for the Common Man upgrade and thick acrylic platter upgrade (replaced glass). All properly and painstakingly set up. I also play stereo albums through the Rega. So, the gist is that the hiss in the Klipsch's is unrelated to the particular source going in (quad 8's, albums, SACD/DVD-As, DTS disks, etc.), but must, like y'all have said, be related to the Sansui to which the speakers are connected. At least the sound is only evident while a couple of feet away (at normal listening levels) and is not noticeable to my ears when the music starts. And, if I ever get the chance, I'd love to hear la scalas without the hiss just to know what I'm missing! Still, my owner satisfaction is high and my system which has taken years to get so useable is wonderful! Thanks to all for the continued input.

Laura

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