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Faint speaker hiss

Was wondering if anyone here might be able to help me out. I recently acquired a new naim integrated (XS2) to pair with my Harbeth p3esr. I am using straightwire speaker cables which I've had for years. I noticed when I plugged everything in that the speakers have the ever so slightest hiss coming from them. I cannot hear it unless I get extremely close to to tweeter and te sound becomes non-existent once music starts playing. I have had the amp for about a week now and have kept it on 24/7. Does anyone know where the small hiss could be coming from? I tried different speaker cables/power cord and that didn't change anything. I also tried unplugging all my sources and left just the amp and speakers plugged in ad still had the faint hiss. Like I said, it's not audible unless I really get my ear close to the tweeter (about 3 inches). I might be nit picking but was wondering if anyone has had experience like this before? Should I try a different outlet? I am in an apartment so only have one or two places to put everything. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
mgrec42
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
The slight hiss you hear is normal its the noise generated by current flow through semi conductors and resistors in your amplifier.   

Good Listening

Peter
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douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Absolute silence when no signal is present is a laudable goal, but not an absolutely necessary goal. I have not found a direct correlation between system performance and the presence or absence of a faint hiss emanating from speakers. The presence of the hiss is directly influenced by the amp/speaker combination; i.e. take the identical rig and remove a higher efficiency speaker, and put in a less efficient speaker and the hiss diminishes substantially. 

When I was younger and newer to audiophilia this was an IMPORTANT thing to me. Now, with a more seasoned perspective it is relatively unimportant (Note clearly that I am NOT saying noise in general, especially noise is perceived to impugn the sound quality, is unimportant). 

If you have to put your ear to it, it's not a serious issue, imo. This is very common. Many audiophiles with hearing loss or noisier rooms have this and don't even realize it. I suspect the description that the noise is gone when the music starts is not true. (I'm NOT suggesting someone is a liar or foolish) I believe it is due to the presence of the signal noise and music that the very faint hiss is hidden. Even in silent passages of music such a his is exceptionally difficult to isolate. If there is a perception that the hiss is gone when playing music, that is your answer; it's not a deal breaker. 

selman, I hesitate to give an example mentioning actual components, though I have built hundreds of discrete rigs and encounter this regularly. I will not mention actual components because there is a form of delirium in Audiophilia wherein people react reflexively to anything perceived as potentially negative. I'll not subject perfectly fine manufacturers to such ignorant reactions. 

Simply trust what you are told about it not being a major issue, and that it can occur in many, many situations. If you hate it and must have absolute silence, change your components. It's that simple. BTW, I may be wrong on this, but unless the noise oscillates it would not be radio frequency noise. I suspect that would be very unlikely.  :) 

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