[BenKatz]

Hey Everyone

I have a pair of Campfire Audio Dorado 2020 - and my DAC of choice is the portable xDSD from iFi.

In this combination, the Dorados do show a bit of background hiss.

I know why the hiss is there (balanced armature, high sensitivity) and I know I can get a device like the ifi iematc+ to get rid of the hiss.

But i'm wondering, how much does hiss (even barely audible one) affect sound quality overall?

I cannot hear the hiss on any of the music that i'm listening to - I would probably be able to barely hear it on very quiet passages of some songs that are recorded with "black" backgrounds.

But I'm wondering if even so, the hiss takes something out of the sound quality, like dynamic range, soundstage, etc?

thanks!

 

[robertjwarren]

Excellent question and i am looking forward to the answer. I would think it would diminish only music signal in the same frequency, but im no audio engineer.