Thirty year old power wiring and 25 year old CATV cabling has kept me battling ground loops in my system for years. Regardless of the processor/amp combination, I have always noticed the presence of hiss in my speakers, but only when I've had my ear against the speaker, troubleshooting the hum problem.

The hiss is more noticeable when I have the 60hz ground loop hum under control. But in no case have I ever been able to hear the hiss outside of an inch or two from the tweeter. This is true of both my 950 beta unit as well as my MC-12.

The ground loop hum has been the only problem since, uncontrolled, it can be heard anywhere in the room, with a silent house. I've never considered the hiss a problem since it is inaudible outside of an inch or so from the tweeter.

Those who have audible hiss at the listening position likely have a system problem or perhaps a defective unit. However, nothing in this thread or in my experience with the 950, leads me to believe that hiss is any more of an issue with the 950 than it is with any other digital pre-pro.

Regards - Gene