[Strogian]

When I turn my speakers on to max volume, I can hear a hissing sound. Is this completely due to what my sound card is outputting, or could the speakers be causing some of it as well? The reason I ask is because I want to actually see how much the EMI of my computer is affecting my sound card, and how different it will be if I change it to a different PCI slot. But if my speakers are actually causing it by having the volume up too high, then that would sort of be pointless.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Personally, I've found cheap computer speakers to have terrible hissing at higher volumes. I dunno if this helps you any hehe.

Biggie.

 

[joelongwood]

I'm not sure if I understand your question, but I can tell you that speakers, by themselves, do not hiss. Hiss is coming from the electronics, and the speakers are merely reproducing it. This is definitely something that is being fed to them by your soundcard, the amplifier in your speakers, or both. But it sure as hell ain't the speakers themselves. Hope this helps.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Headphones are passive devices, so they are not producing the hiss. The source is producing the hiss. Most cheap headphones have high sensitivity so that they will be easy to drive. Many expensive headphones have a high impedance to avoid this problem. This makes them harder to drive, but you won't hear hiss/distortion from the source as easily.

 

[Strogian]

All right. Wherever I say "speakers," just replace it with "anything other than my sound card."

I wasn't sure if there was an amp in the speakers so I didn't say anything about that.

(I guess they would, though, since there is a power cord going to the subwoofer, which feeds the speakers) Could I just test this by unplugging the speakers from the computer and then listening to them with the volume turned up?

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Could I just test this by unplugging the speakers from the computer and then listening to them with the volume turned up?

I believe so........if you still hear hiss, the noise is coming from the amplifier inside the speaker. If not, it's the soundcard.

 

[Strogian]

I just tried it with the speakers unplugged, and the hiss still sounded the same. So I guess I won't be using them to test the sound card.

Ah, just tried it with my ety's, and I still did notice a slight hiss when I went into the sound control panel and shifted the master volume to max. That is definitely coming from the sound card, right? Now I know what to use.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by Strogian I just tried it with the speakers unplugged, and the hiss still sounded the same. So I guess I won't be using them to test the sound card. Ah, just tried it with my ety's, and I still did notice a slight hiss when I went into the sound control panel and shifted the master volume to max. That is definitely coming from the sound card, right? Now I know what to use.

Strogian,

Just about any amp will exhibit some hiss at full volume when using Etys, as they are very revealing 'phones. Please do not try and listen to anything at that volume....you'll never hear hiss again, or anything else or that matter!

 

[Strogian]

Yeah, I know.

I am just trying to hear the hiss; that's why I turn the volume up that high. Anyway, my tests showed (to my ears) that there was absolutely no difference in the hissing noise between my PCI slots 2 and 5, so there's one less thing I have to worry about.

 

[kelly]

Sometimes ground loop can sound more like a hiss than a hum. To test to make sure its not ground loop, plug your amp into a different wall outlet than your computer. If this works then the good solution would be a better power strip/filter that has isolated jacks. That'll actually help you out regardless. Trying a different power cable is an idea here too, but I doubt would be solely responsible for your problem unless it didn't have shielding.

RF noise will leak into the jacks on both the amp and the soundcard. Using a good cable is a smart idea, here--especially if you have a good amp, because it's likely going to be more sensitive and will let you know about any noise in the signal path.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Joe Lau]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly Sometimes ground loop can sound more like a hiss than a hum. To test to make sure its not ground loop, plug your amp into a different wall outlet than your computer. If this works then the good solution would be a better power strip/filter that has isolated jacks. That'll actually help you out regardless. Trying a different power cable is an idea here too, but I doubt would be solely responsible for your problem unless it didn't have shielding. RF noise will leak into the jacks on both the amp and the soundcard. Using a good cable is a smart idea, here--especially if you have a good amp, because it's likely going to be more sensitive and will let you know about any noise in the signal path. Just some thoughts.

It is Normal with Hiss at Full Volumn - Hiss should be very low at you Maximun Listen level but not Maximun Volumn position. The more higher gain have more Hiss in all Amplifiers.