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Speaker Hiss with Krell Amp

Hi,

I have an in home audition with a Krell Evolution 302 and there is a hiss coming from the speakers. This did not occur with in home auditions of Hegel H20, Proceed HPA 2, Levinson 533, or Pass X350 amps.

The Krell is the only one of the tested amps that required a 20 amp cord. All of the amps were run on a 15 amp dedicated circuit. Speakers Are Thiel CS 5's with a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium Preamp.

Can anyone explain what is going on?

Thanks,

Scott

dsper
unsound
7,329 posts
 
I would find that unacceptable. This awkward, as I've been pushing a Krell audition for your CS 5's for some time. Perhaps, Al is right. He usually is. IME, most Krells seem to work best when used in balanced configuration, though I can't really comment on Krell's CAST usage. 
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,434 posts
 
dsper,

If you are hearing 'hiss' 3 feet away then something else is also contributing to that noise.  Unless you favor Krell sound over the rest of the aforementioned components I would not recommend Krell amp in your setup.  

In my setup, I only hear 'hiss' sound when I draw my ear close to my 800D2 tweeter. I used to own Classe SSP-800/CA-2200/CA-5200 components that were dead quite.  Call me crazy, but I prefer Krell sound over Classe, even with that faint 'hiss'. 

Good luck with your search! 
xti16
1,525 posts
 
Do you hear the hiss with only the Krell amp in the chain? If not the cables it could be a pre or source. To me if the hiss is common in an amp of that caliber I would pass on it especially if a super low noise floor is what you're after. With either an Octave V70se/V100 I had absolutely no noise unlike my Bryston (low hum). Now I have an Aavik U300 and still no noise at all.
Just my opinion and best of luck.
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
The problem of hiss is NOT your krell amp,  but rather your front end,  I  had the same issue once with an ayon cd2s player,  none before or after every heard a hiss from my krell 700cx,  and I always run directly to amplification. 
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,434 posts
 
audiolabyrinth, 

I have gone through the whole excercise to isolate the 'hiss' last year.  I had the same experience when I owned Krell Showcase series, and now Evolution series. 

Going by the test sequence, with everything else being off and disconnected I started with powering up amp first, heard faint hiss. Then powered processor, the hiss noise was further enhanced. I reversed the sequence by powering processor and nothing.  Keep in mind, I am hearing this hiss only when I draw my ear close to tweeter.  

My speakers sensitivity is rated at 90dB.

The hiss doesn't bother me cause I don't listen to my music standing next to my speakers :-)
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