[Johnny5alv]

Hi

I finally made my headphone choice... The HD595's are awesome, BUT.. There is rather noticeable background hissing..

I have it connected up to my speaker amp which is quite old.. If I buy an amp like the Original Master... Will this get rid of said hissing? It is most likely my AV Receiver causing it but I don't want to spend another $200 on a headphone amp only to find that it's my sources that are the reason for it (Sky+/DVD etc).

Thanks for any help
Jon

 

[freelyfallin]

I can only speak from my experience....
I got some HD 595's and used them with my laptop, and there was some noticeable noise coming from my laptop. Using the total bithead I just got, it's completely gone.

 

[goorackerelite]

I used to have the HD595s and never noticed hissing, try it on another source, such as a ipod or anything that you can plug into. if it's hissing on other units you might want the headphones to be checked out. Also that headphone has a 50 ohm impedance and will hiss if volume is up with nothing playing. Getting an amp will only amp the hiss further. I'd look into the source first, but an amp is a good idea in general.

 

[covame]

I have not noticing any hissing sound with the 595 using the DAC1 or the RSA HR-2

 

[donunus]

can headphones even hiss??? probably not. most likely its the receiver, but could be the source also which might be a rare case for full sized sources

 

[MaloS]

hiss is coming from the source absolutely, although some amps add hiss too sometimes. (notably porta coda, with its design for 300ohm+ impedance phones)

first thing to improve is really always the audiocard. when i went onto echo indigo from laptop card, I had a fun surprize - hiss was gone. sound improved a whole lot too.

with hd595 - prolly should go total bithead though... (amp, usb based, bit better highs over echo and more reliable).

no reason to go higher up in price without going up higher up in phones

 

[db597]

Hiss is more audible on the HD595 because of the low 50 ohms impedance - makes it more sensitive. But the hiss does not originate from the HD595, but rather from the source. You could say that the HD595 is more "revealing" of the flaw in the source. To fix the hiss, you need to fix it upstream. Adding a headphone amp won't help.

 

[donunus]

db597, Hows the 595 and headfive match? any hiss??? Hows the crossfeed with the 595 sound?

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif db597, Hows the 595 and headfive match? any hiss??? Hows the crossfeed with the 595 sound?

The HD595 is an easy headphone to drive. It's already great without a headphone amp, and it does improve slightly with the HeadFive. The HeadFive is a bit smooth, and the HD595 is one of the more forward Senns. So it's a good combo - not sure I'd say the same of the more laid back Senns.

Crossfeed works well, but depends on the track. In some tracks, I hear almost no difference. In others, it's immediately noticable. The crossfeed on the HeadFive is very natural - though the widening is only towards the side, not front/back. I leave it on all the time.

 

[Johnny5alv]

Thanks for the info guys but I think you are assuming I'm listening to one source maybe? By source, do you mean the device playing the sound? Because I have 3 devices hooked up to a full AV Receiver via optical.. My 595's are just plugged into the Av via headphone jack.. All 3 sources have hiss..That is my cable box, 360 and DVD. (none have a HP jack to test directly).

I tried the phones on a Sony MP3 (older model) and there is no hiss at all..But I don't know if this is a good way to test or not.

Is the bithead still a good choice even though I'm not using a PC?

Thanks for your help

Jon

 

[audiomagnate]

I think the OP was complaining of the hiss out of his AV receiver's headphone jack. If you're not afraid of a soldering iron spending a dollar or two at Radio Shack, take a look at this thread: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201098

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny5alv /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried the phones on a Sony MP3 (older model) and there is no hiss at all..But I don't know if this is a good way to test or not.

To me that would indicate that your Sony MP3 player is your only "good" source with a low noise floor. The others have some intereference entering the system along the way, which you hear as a hiss - possibly the AV amp, or even the cables connecting the DVD player to it. Somewhere along the path, there's noise entering the system. I maybe wrong, but I'm quite sure you will not solve it by using a headphone amp.

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by db597 /img/forum/go_quote.gif To me that would indicate that your Sony MP3 player is your only "good" source with a low noise floor. The others have some intereference entering the system along the way, which you hear as a hiss - possibly the AV amp, or even the cables connecting the DVD player to it. Somewhere along the path, there's noise entering the system. I maybe wrong, but I'm quite sure you will not solve it by using a headphone amp.

All amplifiers generate hiss (cables can't, BTW). The problem with most headphone jacks on receivers and power amps is that they are not connected to separate, low noise dedicated headphone amplifiers, they just use resistors to tap into the main output stage that is used to drive the speakers. The traditional values for these resistors came from a time of lower efficiency headphones, which keep the noise floor below the audible range. When you connect modern, more sensitive headphones - IEMs make the problem even worse - the hiss, and often hum becomes audible. All you have to do is increase the value of the series resistors and/or lower the value of the parallel resistors. This also makes your volume control more useful; you get to use more of it. If you don't want to mess with a soldering iron you can buy an in line volume control from Koss (who else?) for under $10.00 that will accomplish the same thing:http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf...orm&pc^ac^VC20

 

[facelvega]

Wow, just as I was about to write a full response, I see audiomagnate has put in a pithy and clear explanation of what's going on. He nailed it, that's what happening and that's what you can do about it.

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif All amplifiers generate hiss (cables can't, BTW).

Won't unshielded cables pick up some interference "hiss" if they pass a power cable (due to EMF)?