Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Hiss on IEM's
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Hiss on IEM's - Page 2

post #16 of 52
11/5/07 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AudioNoob View Post
volume attenuators work, basically an extension cable with a resistor of about 50-75 ohms


I was under the imression that a simple 75ohm adapter will eliminate/reduce the hiss?
Reply
post #17 of 52
11/5/07 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by barqy View Post
I was under the imression that a simple 75ohm adapter will eliminate/reduce the hiss?
that's what I said as well?
Reply
post #18 of 52
11/5/07 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
i had um2 and they hissed with everything, sold them. i use atrio m5 now and love it and it only hisses a little with ipod and a little less with the cowon. i still have a difficult time believeing that the zune would not hiss with the um2 but then i am very sensitive to hiss.
So am I, that's why I bought a Zune. It is hissless up to a volume setting of 17 (barely audible) and hiss is easily audible at 19 and 20, but I never listen over 12 (loud!), and usually around 9 or 10, so for me, it's hissless with UM2s.
Reply
post #19 of 52
11/5/07 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iancraig10 View Post

I guess the only answer to this in order to retain what I call the 'fruity' sound of the IEM's is to stick an amp in line so that I can turn the volume up at the source and turn it down at the amp so that noise gets masked.
Signal to noise ratio is better…
Reply
post #20 of 52
11/5/07 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iancraig10 View Post
I guess the only answer to this in order to retain what I call the 'fruity' sound of the IEM's is to stick an amp in line so that I can turn the volume up at the source and turn it down at the amp so that noise gets masked.
As long as the amp is quiet that would work, but if I connect my Xenos amp to my Zune I get hiss, even with the volume on the Xenos turned down all the way. I personally don't think UM2s need an amp, what they need is a source with a low noise floor, like the Zune.
Reply
post #21 of 52
11/5/07 at 10:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iancraig10 View Post
If only the IEM's were made at say 32 ohms rather than the extremely low impedance that they are currently made, this problem would not exist. Makes you wonder whether the manufacturers listen to their products attached to real products.
The Future Sonics Atrios ARE 32 ohms. Maybe that's why they don't exhibit much hiss compared to some others.
Reply
post #22 of 52
11/6/07 at 6:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by audiomagnate View Post
So am I, that's why I bought a Zune. It is hissless up to a volume setting of 17 (barely audible) and hiss is easily audible at 19 and 20, but I never listen over 12 (loud!), and usually around 9 or 10, so for me, it's hissless with UM2s.
well, i will have to go and hear a zune! i am thinking either zune flash or ipod nano for next small player as i need aac support and good sq. i don't bother with um2 anymore but... i just heard of some others who have zune and cannot bear the hiss with um2 so maybe yours is extra good or something!
Reply
post #23 of 52
11/6/07 at 7:29am
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys. It's nice to know it's not just me being fussy. In spite of being a musician, I still have bats hearing and the hiss really annoys me.

The hiss is from the source (Answering an earlier post). It doesn't come from the mp3's. If the volume is at zero, I get hiss.

The amp route works as long as the amp itself is quiet but I wanted to use IEM's for portable use and not worry too much about an amp. The funny thing is that they all work fine when I receieve my own voice on them in live work, but then I'm not so critical and concentrating on being in tune!!

I thought that one benefit of the Ipods was that the amp was quiet, but not so.

Back to Senn PX100's then! (I can't stick the 200's.)

I wonder whether the manufacturers use them in real situations?

Ian
Reply
post #24 of 52
11/6/07 at 11:50am
hello ian, what do you mean by your last sentence: I wonder whether the manufacturers use them in real situations?

do you mean iems? if so, yeah, but used on stage with millions of fans drooling and yelling 'i love you' with all the amped music etc eliminates hiss more than anything else! cheers, good luck and... well enjoy what you can - or if you are like me, just sell the bloody things.
Reply
post #25 of 52
11/6/07 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Well, they make the IEM's and if the hiss is so obvious to me and I should have damaged hearing because of my job, how come the makers don't hear it as well?

It is really quite loud from Irivers in particular, which are fine via Senn PX100's. Ipods give less hiss.

Basically, the impedance is so low that noise is a real issue with these types of earphone. Stage use is ok because there is literally too much noise going on, but for music listening - you're right .... sell them!!

Ian
Reply
post #26 of 52
11/6/07 at 12:29pm
it is sad that that is the conclusion we come to for music listening. according to some new reviews here maybe by (by the way, i am into my 4th shochuu so i cannot do much but type) that famous guy on headfi... who did the kcs75 mods... kramer - the new q-jays have very low or no hiss from just about any dap unless it is a real hisser. i am sure they hiss from a shuffle but only barely.

the manufactuerer uses a shuffle so possibly, the iem is resistant to hiss from such a player. it is sad though that every iem hisses from daps. iems made primariy for dap listening however seem to have less hiss problem. my atrios are indeed a godsend. i can enjoy music for quality and low hiss from just about any source but the iriver machines and shuffle. ipod, cowon d2 etc sound great.

yeah, it is sad indeed - the um2 packaging shows someone using a pmp of some sort... poor sap.
Reply
post #27 of 52
11/6/07 at 3:08pm
shigzeo:

Why blame the makers of the IEMs? They are passive devices that are sensitive by their nature. If you want to blame somebody, blame the DAP/portable amplifer makers for selling noisy products. To be fair though, I would wager that only a tiny percentage of DAPs and portable amps ever get connected to super sensitive devices like UM2s or E500s.

As to the new Zunes, I have no idea if they're as quiet as the Zune 30. Nobody even seems to know if they use the highly rated Wolfson audio chip used in the Zune 30.
Reply
post #28 of 52
11/7/07 at 9:41am
the audio chip has little to do with hiss, it is the headpone output stage. the amp itself is far different from the dac. you can have the best dac codec support and best processing with little effect if you have a rubbish or dirty headphone out. the meizu m6 is a case for this. it sounds lovely but... it is the hissiest player i have heard outside of the ipod shuffle 2g and iriver stuff.
Reply
post #29 of 52
11/7/07 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
the audio chip has little to do with hiss, it is the headpone output stage. the amp itself is far different from the dac. you can have the best dac codec support and best processing with little effect if you have a rubbish or dirty headphone out. the meizu m6 is a case for this. it sounds lovely but... it is the hissiest player i have heard outside of the ipod shuffle 2g and iriver stuff.
Good point, the new samsung P2 hissed quite a bit with my e500's, and the meizu also, the new nano is pretty quiet. I also would like to try out a new zune I can say the ipod classic has a really clean HO.
Reply
post #30 of 52
11/8/07 at 12:21am
Well the E5c's hissed horribly no matter there're music being played or not straight out of my iPod. The hiss of the E500's are bearable which is much better than his brother. And when comes to the amp,
low gain of the hornet=none hiss
mid=slightly
high=equal with or louder than unamped
So there's another reason for me to listen to the IEM's with amped beside the SQ benefits.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Portable Source Gear
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Hiss on IEM's