[wind30]

I managed to audition serveral ipods at my local shop and I find them quieter than my creative zen. The hiss is still there but bearable especially when there is a possibiliy of getting an external amp with the lineout. So I got a new nano

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wind30 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I managed to audition serveral ipods at my local shop and I find them quieter than my creative zen. The hiss is still there but bearable especially when there is a possibiliy of getting an external amp with the lineout. So I got a new nano

Glad you found something. My newest (- and now defunct) flash player was an NW-E005f - a 2 Gig Atrac solution identical in size to most flash drives on the market. It used the latest version of the Sony digital engine, and yes, caused noticeable hiss where there was none before with my other Sony DAPs. I thought it might just be a budget version, but it looks like all the new models (that have also dropped Atrac support) have this newer, hissier engine. OTOH, I'm pretty sure the Westone 3 won't have this issue as UM2s are/were mainly designed for musician's onstage monitoring, not portable listening - and I'm guessing the probable reason for the low impedance. Cheers.

 

[Mark Larson]

Are you guys talking about using it with the volume all the way up or something? I don't think I've heard hiss since my cassette tape days.

 

[lindrone]

There are some IEM's out there that's known to hiss, it's a design flaw. These IEM's are often designed for musicians first, which means they're driven from little belt-strapped wireless receivers powered by 9-volt batteries.

It seems like they're not being very careful at testing how these earphones will work with normal consumer devices. UM2 isn't the only one with this problem.

 

[Pianist]

Check out Samsung U2, which has virtually zero hiss with all of my IEMs. It only makes some barely audible clicking noises when switching between tracks, but that's IT. It sounds fantastic too, especially the bass, which is powerful and defined, more so than the low end on my iRiver T10 or the Samsung T9 and rivaled only by the clix and Shuffle 1st gen. The highs on the U2 are not as good though, about the same as on my iRiver T10 - both players lacking a bit in high end detail and clarity.