[SpikedJuice]

Hi,
 
I'm not 100% sure if this is the right place to post this so please forgive me if it isn't. I've noticed when listening to music from my PC or from my laptop that there is quite a bit of background hiss. The hiss will not be present all the time, rather it shows itself whenever a sound or music is played and remains for a few seconds afterwards before disappearing completely.
 
Is there a device that can "clean" the source and therefore remove the background hiss?
 
Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Jack C]

Couple of things to think about:
 
If you use KM Player or any of the other more advanced media player software, turn off all dynamic volume controls. In fact, you should probably disable the audio filters and processing completely if you just want the music to be decoded and played back unmolested.  Similarly, go into the driver/control-panel settings for your audio card and disable any of the processing that may be going on, including but not limited to psycho acoustic processing modes (theater, hall, etc), EQing, and any sound stage enhancement settings. 
 
There could be background noise and hiss in the sound card itself, so try an out-board DAC to see if the noise persists - this would at least help you isolate the source of the hiss.
 
Jack

 

[SpikedJuice]

Thanks for the helpful reply, Jack. I will check for any sound processing going on. What would an out-board DAC require? A digital out from the laptop/PC? Would I be better off going for a dedicated DAC or an integrated DAC and amplifier unit?

 

[Jack C]

An out board DAC can use the USB interface on your computer. Something like the FiiO E7 provides outboard DAC capabilities as well as a headphone amplifier, and its portable with a built-in battery. Depending on the quality of the existing hardware in your computers, the E7 could result in a pretty significant improvement in sound quality.  At the very least it would offer a very low noise floor.

 

[Wawrzyniecki]

Hi.
What headphones do you use? If you power some higher impedance phones (like 150 ohm) without the amp you probably turn volume up which inevitably increases noise. Unfortunately, a standard PC card is not a high quality source and can (and usually do) couple a lot of interferences from your machine. The sources are typically a hard drive movements and poor quality power supplies including (unconditioned wall outlet signal). Try to use a low impedance phones with high sensitivity which will force you to turn down a volume a bit. Otherwise an external audio card should help however it costs so maybe you can borrow it first from somebody else and try it.
I know your problem very well. I have a soundcard in my desktop that works ok with my open Koss PortaPros (no audible noise at normal volumes) but is already unbearable with my closed 50Ohm Sennheisers.