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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
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I assume, given the preamp you are using, that you are connecting it to the amp via RCA cables. Are jumpers in place between pins 1 and 3 of the amp's XLR connectors, as called for in the manual when the RCA input connectors are being used? If not, that could very conceivably account for the problem.

Also, can you provide some indication of how loud the hiss is?

Regards,
-- Al
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,368 posts
 
dsper, 

I also own Krell evolution series components.  The hiss you're hearing is common among Krell components. As long as 'hiss' sound is not audible 5-7 feet away, you're A-ok. Here is a in-depth article that explains audible hiss,

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/systemnoise.html

Hope this helps! 

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,343 posts
 
Personally, I would stay far away from any component that causes hissing.   Why would anyone buy a Krell Evolution knowing it produces hiss?
dsper OP
662 posts
 
Well Stereo5 that is what I am thinking given all the info about noise floor and retrieval of low level detail not to mention something could be wrong with it.

I also know that there are not connectors between the XLR pins so Almarg could have this right.

The hiss is audible about three feet away.
unsound
7,327 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. 
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