[noneother]

Hey guys

I noticed with my Cowon D2 and other digital players that when no music playing there is a hiss - this increases in volume depending on how loud the volume is set.
I then listened to my discman (CD player) and there is no hiss when the music is paused, for example.

Why does this occur? I take it the humble discman is still better audio quality than great digital players such as Cowon D2 - despite it being able to play lossless files?

Cheers

 

[rhecks]

I'm also interested in the op's question

 

[Musicboy]

Some kind of distortion I think. Heh don't know. I'm interested in the question too.....

 

[ILikeMusic]

There's no inherent reason why a DAP would exhibit this problem more than a PCDP, but naturally variations will occur based on the design of a particular unit. The humble discman may indeed have a better audio amp section.

 

[jinx20001]

if im correct then its simple really, its down to the ohms and sensitivity of the earphones used and source, if the earphones match the amp then it will not hiss bad, sensitive earphones certainly give hiss

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

sensitive earphones certainly give hiss

Actually noisy amps generate hiss, sensitive earphones only reveal it.

 

[virtuoso]

man disk mans are a thing of past now...
can you travel with all the disks rolled up your pocket?

digital audio players were designed to over come the issues with the disk mans...

 

[impressive]

dont talk about the diskmans mates..
i lost mine the day i bought it...

then i bought the shuffle.. and then the iPod classic

 

[Bjornboy81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by virtuoso /img/forum/go_quote.gif man disk mans are a thing of past now... can you travel with all the disks rolled up your pocket? digital audio players were designed to over come the issues with the disk mans...

Not the point nor relevant to the OP question.

I agree with ILikeMusic, it's a matter of design. Discman's probably used better DAC, amps, etc, but with DAP they need to fit a lot more in a smaller area...this means cut backs on size and quality.

jinx20001, what do you mean by "earphones match the amp"? The impedance of any amp (solid state that is) is going to be MUCH lower than any earphones. ILikeMusic is right there as well...they only reveal the hiss do to their sensitivity.

 

[appophylite]

I also think one of the big factors is the sensitivity of the headphones being used. I had a conversation with a couple of other members of the forum sometime back with regards to the Archos line of PMPs and it turns out that people who use very sensitive IEMs with their Archos tended to make out more ambient hissing than people like me who used less sensitive phones like the Koss PortaPro. I still keep keep a PCDP around, not so much for portable use, but for use as a bedside rig because the line out is of rather good quality on it.

 

[j-dawg]

x2 on noticing the lack of hiss on vintage discmans. My Sony D-5 has absolutely black silence behind it. I can't hear it spin up or track or anything even with volume at full blast. I have to be careful not to murder my ears or give myself a heart attack when the music suddenly comes blaring out of nowhere.