[Haden2866]

I just upgraded to the DragonFly Cobalt from the DragonFly Red. For me, the sound is a marked upgrade. But … I’m having a bizarre issue with significant hissing that the Cobalt is causing that the DFR never did even though I haven’t changed my setup.


When the music I’m listening to is multi-instrumental, regardless of genre, the hissing is drowned out. But if I’m listening to a solo instrumental piece—(i.e., a piano sonata)—the noise is unbearable.


My set-up: Beyerdynamic Amiron headphones into a Beyerdynamic A20 amp. My amp into the Cobalt. The Cobalt into a USB slot using a Windows 10 desktop.


One important note: When I plug my headphones directly into the Cobalt the hissing vanishes. But the volume isn’t as loud going this route, and the “heft” of the music is not as pronounced.


Would love any ideas on what could be the cause.


Thanks!

Flat battery on the amp?

 

[bcwang]

I just upgraded to the DragonFly Cobalt from the DragonFly Red. For me, the sound is a marked upgrade. But … I’m having a bizarre issue with significant hissing that the Cobalt is causing that the DFR never did even though I haven’t changed my setup.


When the music I’m listening to is multi-instrumental, regardless of genre, the hissing is drowned out. But if I’m listening to a solo instrumental piece—(i.e., a piano sonata)—the noise is unbearable.


My set-up: Beyerdynamic Amiron headphones into a Beyerdynamic A20 amp. My amp into the Cobalt. The Cobalt into a USB slot using a Windows 10 desktop.


One important note: When I plug my headphones directly into the Cobalt the hissing vanishes. But the volume isn’t as loud going this route, and the “heft” of the music is not as pronounced.


Would love any ideas on what could be the cause.


Thanks!

-did you make sure to run max volume or just shy of max on the cobalt so you’re not running a lot of gain on the amp?

-sure it’s hissing and not buzzing? I’ve had some dacs buzz when connected to one of my amps but not other dacs. I think it was some strange phenomenon though as putting my hand on the Dac metal shell eliminated the buzzing. Seemed like some weird grounding problem except it was a usb powered Dac so it has no ground loop to form.

 

[a-LeXx]

I just upgraded to the DragonFly Cobalt from the DragonFly Red. For me, the sound is a marked upgrade. But … I’m having a bizarre issue with significant hissing that the Cobalt is causing that the DFR never did even though I haven’t changed my setup.


When the music I’m listening to is multi-instrumental, regardless of genre, the hissing is drowned out. But if I’m listening to a solo instrumental piece—(i.e., a piano sonata)—the noise is unbearable.


My set-up: Beyerdynamic Amiron headphones into a Beyerdynamic A20 amp. My amp into the Cobalt. The Cobalt into a USB slot using a Windows 10 desktop.


One important note: When I plug my headphones directly into the Cobalt the hissing vanishes. But the volume isn’t as loud going this route, and the “heft” of the music is not as pronounced.


Would love any ideas on what could be the cause.


Thanks!

Sounds like a ground loop hum. What is DFC connected to, a PC? If yes, try a battery-powered source to check whether the noise disappears...

 

[CarlosTX]

Sounds like a ground loop hum. What is DFC connected to, a PC? If yes, try a battery-powered source to check whether the noise disappears...

Yes, I have it connected directly into my Dell XPS desktop. I’ve tried all the USB slots to no avail.

Thanks for your suggestion

-did you make sure to run max volume or just shy of max on the cobalt so you’re not running a lot of gain on the amp?

-sure it’s hissing and not buzzing? I’ve had some dacs buzz when connected to one of my amps but not other dacs. I think it was some strange phenomenon though as putting my hand on the Dac metal shell eliminated the buzzing. Seemed like some weird grounding problem except it was a usb powered Dac so it has no ground loop to form.

Excellent point: What I’m hearing is indeed more of a buzz rather than hiss, which is intrusive. With my DFR there would be occasions when I’d hear a similar buzz, but after untangling wires, the buzz went away. Sometimes it would stop after a few seconds.

With Cobalt, the buzzing ls louder and incessant. I’ll try your suggestion.

Thanks!

 

[CarlosTX]

Flat battery on the amp?

Flat battery on the amp?

The A20 amp is not battery-powered; it’s a plug-in.

 

[jnorris]

If the Teac has a 3 prong power plug, get one of those 3 to 2 prong adapters. It will lift the ground on the Teac and break the loop..

 

[Haden2866]

The A20 amp is not battery-powered; it’s a plug-in.

D'oh

 

[a-LeXx]

Yes, I have it connected directly into my Dell XPS desktop. I’ve tried all the USB slots to no avail.

What do you mean with the USB slots? As long as there is a galvanic connection to your pc, the ground loop can persist. You need to try e.g. a smartphone or a battery powered laptop as a source instead of your pc

 

[jnorris]

Try the 3 to 2 prong adapter (available everywhere for less that $5.00). It removes the center ground connector and that will break the ground loop and remove the buzz. Worked many times for me. Sorry, in a previous post I said Teac when I should have said Beyerdynamic. The A20 does have a three prong power plug, so my suggestion is worth a try.

 

[CarlosTX]

Try the 3 to 2 prong adapter (available everywhere for less that $5.00). It removes the center ground connector and that will break the ground loop and remove the buzz. Worked many times for me. Sorry, in a previous post I said Teac when I should have said Beyerdynamic. The A20 does have a three prong power plug, so my suggestion is worth a try.

Thank you, jnorris. I got an adapter, per your suggestion, and the buzzing is gone. Whew!

 

[jnorris]

Very glad to hear that!

 

[118900]

I find the cobalt to not hiss with the se846. Either they did a good job with it or my hearing sensitively has gone bad recently. Normally the se846 hisses with almost every amp I use it with, some products very badly, but I can’t notice any hissing with the cobalt.

SE 846’s just arrived and I can confirm absolute NO HISSING from the DFC

 

[GDuss]

My SE 846's don't hiss with the Cobalt, but they also don't hiss with my other sources either. I just got the 846 about 2 months ago (new) and I'm wondering whether Shure did a silent revision to them. I expected them to hiss with everything, based on all the comments I read about them. They don't hiss at all (at least with what I have tried them on, Cobalt, Mojo, Hugo 2, iPhone dongle). They sound great with the Cobalt.

 

[joshnor713]

Also gotta keep in mind that hissing can be a result of ear sensitivity too. I have sensitive ears and can hear hissing with the SE846 in most things. Still, sounds like the Cobalt is a huge improvement compared to the Red in this respect, as it seemed like most people could ear hiss. Myself, I had to return the Red because the hiss was just too invasive.

 

[GDuss]

Also gotta keep in mind that hissing can be a result of ear sensitivity too. I have sensitive ears and can hear hissing with the SE846 in most things. Still, sounds like the Cobalt is a huge improvement compared to the Red in this respect, as it seemed like most people could ear hiss. Myself, I had to return the Red because the hiss was just too invasive.

Great point. It could simply be that I can't hear the hiss or that I have only used sources that they do not hiss with. It looks like you have Mojo, do your 846s hiss with it? If so, then I'd be curious to see whether you heard any hiss with your 846 and the Cobalt. If you end up listening to them together, please let us know.