[koover]

The Jot has a TON of power at it's disposal. If you're using sensitive IEMs or even headphones, you will hear the noise floor of the amp as the gain is too high for that particular headphone/IEM. I almost always run Jot on Low Gain as the noise floor is lower.

To test if it's the amp or the music, is pretty simple. Does the noise still exist when there is no music playing? Is it constant? That means there is too much gain or your headphones are too sensitive. You can confirm this by disconnecting all cables from Jot except your headphones and power cable obviously.

Like both you and Bacon Bits stated, it's not the amp. There's black background when I pause any track. Damn, what's the odds of having 3 very sensitive HP's? I thought at least the 650's wouldn't hiss but they do. Now I got to figure out what to listen too that doesn't suck with how they laid the tracks down. It's everything.....damn. So much for nirvana.
I always run the Jot on low gain as it's got plenty of power and most times I'm between 12 O'clock at 2.
Thanx for the replies guys.

 

[cskippy]

Get a balanced cable for the HD650. mine don't hiss at the volume levels I listen at. I generally listen around 70-75dB. If you hear hiss you might be listening too loud. You could try a free app on an iPhone or Android to at least get a general idea of how loud you're listening. In general, headphone listeners listen about 10dB higher than if they were listening to speakers. 85dB is the max safe level for listening for an extended period of time. IMO, I would say that's too high but it also depends on ambient noise.

 

[koover]

Get a balanced cable for the HD650. mine don't hiss at the volume levels I listen at. I generally listen around 70-75dB. If you hear hiss you might be listening too loud. You could try a free app on an iPhone or Android to at least get a general idea of how loud you're listening. In general, headphone listeners listen about 10dB higher than if they were listening to speakers. 85dB is the max safe level for listening for an extended period of time. IMO, I would say that's too high but it also depends on ambient noise.

Well I downloaded a free dB app and put just a bit of pressure on one of the cups with the phone and it measured an average of 96db. I guess I really like my music loud. Could be the issue and on my way to hearing impairment. I also don't listen to those volumes all the time unless I really want to rock out.
Thanks for the info and replies man!

 

[rkw]

It's possible that your Modi 2 is generating the hiss and the Jot is simply amplifying it. Do you have anything else that you can connect the Modi to (such as home stereo system) and see if you hear a hiss?

 

[koover]

It's possible that your Modi 2 is generating the hiss and the Jot is simply amplifying it. Do you have anything else that you can connect the Modi to (such as home stereo system) and see if you hear a hiss?

I do have a home theater set-up but it would be a huge undertaking to hook it up.
I'm thinking it has to be hardware as the hiss is pretty substantial even at lower listening levels. It could be that all the tracks I listen too are poorly recorded to cause all this hiss, but that would be uncanny. I've been looking at upgrading to a mimby and might just pull the trigger. I'm leaning towards the Modi 2 as the culprit. I just hooked up a WYRD too and no hiss improvement. It did actually improve the overall sound though.
What do I know. That's why I ask you guys.

 

[cskippy]

I've never had a DAC put out a constant hiss. Hash, intermittent glitchy noises and dropouts can all occur, but never a constant noise or hiss. Is the hiss there even with the volume pot all the way down or say 9 o'clock?

 

[koover]

I've never had a DAC put out a constant hiss. Hash, intermittent glitchy noises and dropouts can all occur, but never a constant noise or hiss. Is the hiss there even with the volume pot all the way down or say 9 o'clock?

Sorry stepped away for a bit.
No, no hiss with the pot all the way down. 9 O'clock barely any hiss, difficult to discern but it's there. 10 O'clock?...yeah, start hearing a hiss and noticeable.
Seriously guys, Is it going to take a $1000 amp/DAC to get rid of the noise floor? I'm new to this as that should be obvious, but I guess I really didn't expect this. I expected with the Jot pretty much a black background at moderate to descent levels of volume. I want loud audio at times and able to "really" enjoy it. Not ear bleeding volumes, but able to keep on low gain set to maybe 2 O'Clock. That's not crazy loud IMHO. Listening at 9-10 O'clock will put me to sleep and not worth it.
Edit:I did just crank it up to 2 O'clock and it really didn't sound all that good. Quite a bit of distortion.

My issue is I haven't been in the game more then 3 months and come off sounding quite ignorant, which I am for the most part. I consider myself a "near" audiophile and can hear the difference between bad, descent, good, excellent and WOW! I'll get there. I appreciate the engagement here and am learning daily.

Right now I'm listening to some Jazz Pistols set at 10AM/low gain and hear static/distortion with a pair of THX-00 PH's. Pissing me off.

So.....is it the Jot? The Modi 2? My sound level preference....at times? Still getting hiss at 10 O'clock just doesn't seem right.

Should I just bite the bullet and Mimby it? I'll make the decision but your thoughts are most welcome from the know what I'm talking about group.

 

[cskippy]

I see you also have a Magni 2 Uber, does it also do the same thing with that amp? What is your source? Mac? USB?

 

[koover]

I see you also have a Magni 2 Uber, does it also do the same thing with that amp? What is your source? Mac? USB?

I actually use the uber on my HT. No hiss at all. It's really sweet for movies.
USB.
Desktop PC >WYRD> Modi 2>Jot

 

[cskippy]

Just checked the specs for Modi 2 Uber vs Gumby and Modi 2 Uber ouputs 1.5V RMS while Gumby outputs 2.0V RMS. This means that I'm receiving a louder signal than you so I don't have to crack the volume knob as high to reach the same listening levels. I'm not sure how much difference it makes but with my TH-X00 and Jot on low gain, single ended input, I can't turn the volume past 10 o'clock for EDM music without it being uncomfortable. You are going RCA out from Modi 2 -> RCA in on Jot?

 

[koover]

Just checked the specs for Modi 2 Uber vs Gumby and Modi 2 Uber ouputs 1.5V RMS while Gumby outputs 2.0V RMS. This means that I'm receiving a louder signal than you so I don't have to crack the volume knob as high to reach the same listening levels. I'm not sure how much difference it makes but with my TH-X00 and Jot on low gain, single ended input, I can't turn the volume past 10 o'clock for EDM music without it being uncomfortable. You are going RCA out from Modi 2 -> RCA in on Jot?

Thanx for looking into that for me, much appreciated. I never took that into consideration. If I'm set at 10 O'clock single ended input with the TXH-00, it's not quiet per say, but it's not that loud at all.
Yes, I'm going RCA out from Modi > RCA to Jot.

 

[rkw]

Swap the Magni and the Jot (you'll have Modi output > Magni input). If you still hear the hiss, it is probably coming from the Modi. If the hiss goes away, the problem is probably the Jot.

Conversely, connect the Jot to where you usually have the Magni, and listen for hiss.

In this way, you can isolate whether the hiss is coming from the Modi or Jot.

 

[Letmebefrank]

Like both you and Bacon Bits stated, it's not the amp. There's black background when I pause any track. Damn, what's the odds of having 3 very sensitive HP's? I thought at least the 650's wouldn't hiss but they do. Now I got to figure out what to listen too that doesn't suck with how they laid the tracks down. It's everything.....damn. So much for nirvana.
I always run the Jot on low gain as it's got plenty of power and most times I'm between 12 O'clock at 2.
Thanx for the replies guys.

My vote is your source or your Modi is the problem, considering when you pause the music there is no hiss. My jot is completely silent on high gain with the volume maxed (no music playing or I would be deaf).

Since it isn't the Jot that is hissing (otherwise it would still hiss with music paused), you are going to hear that hiss on any headphone because the Jot is amplifying it right along with the rest of the music. Your headphones are fine, but it seems like your source is bad.

 

[windcar]

Download and install audacity (www.audacityteam.org)
generate a silent tone with the program, play it with volume pot set to max and check if the hiss is still present.

 

[cskippy]

^Don't have headphones on when you do this at the start just to be safe. Once it's playing you can put them on as you'll know if there is loud SPL. Just saying be careful as the words "max volume" and "play" are VERY dangerous even at the smallest exposure time.