I came across an issue this evening as I sat by myself with my week old 950 and Parasound 1205. My setup:

Outlaw 950
Parasound 1205a
Paradigm Monitor 11's v.2
Paradigm CC-350 v.2
Paradigm Mini-Monitors v.2

Keep in mind that just the amp and the 950 are powered on below.

When I turn on the 950, "DVD" is selected with "Optical 1" as the source. Everything is dead silent, which is good. However, when I select an analog input like "TV", the hiss starts. This is audible from the listening position. Now here's the catch... when I switch back to "DVD" with ANY optical input, the hiss is STILL THERE! If I turn the 950 back off and then back on with "DVD + Optical X" as the default, the hiss is gone until an analog source is specified. Once the hiss is introduced, it stays around no matter what source is selected.

The hiss will not occur when the line outputs are disconnected from the 950 meaning that it's most likely not an amp problem.

Note: With the Digital SPL meter from Radio Shack set on C weighting and fast response, the reading is ~50dB at three inches from the tweeter of ANY speaker after the hiss is introduced.

Am I missing something?

-JPancake

i have nothing to add to this other than to say this is the EXACT same thing that i am experiencing with mine.

ok actually i do want to add something -

i just tried this out with mine, and if i start it up with a digital source selected, it is silent. However, if i begin playing a digital source, the hiss then returns even if the source is stopped and powered off.

So the hiss is exactly the same for both analog and digital, the only difference being that it seems the output on a digital source is muted until an actual signal is present.

Oh great: Hiss-induced production stoppage, v2.0

I think many people have this problem. I think it is well known. Like you say, when the 950 first turns on, everything is silent. When an analog input is selected, there is hiss and it does NOT go away. When a digital input is selected, the hiss stays. See this thread for more info: http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum15/HTML/000513.html and also to see how the hiss may relate to the signal to noise spec.

All this discussion about hiss is scary. I just purchased a 1050 after deciding to leave the world of Sony consumer electronics because of a cronic hiss in my $200 sony receiver. I was very interested in the features of the 950 and would love to try the 950/770 combo but price and experience made me stay away from this purchase. I am now loving the sound of my 1050 and feel I will upgrade to the 950/770 in the future. How can I possible justify spending $2400 only to get a unit with the exact same problem as my cheap little $200 sony ? Hopefully this hiss will be corrected before I decide to upgrade.

Would there be any advantage of introducing an AC line filter at the 950 power source? Is there any chance that would help? The only thing is that it's a hiss not a buzz, the buzz being more indicative of a power issue. Is it worth trying?

Also, is EVERYONE having this "issue"? Is it the norm?

please say 'no'...
please say 'no'...
please say 'no'...

-JPancake

I haven't noticed this problem with my 950. Is this something that is obvious or would I have to specifically listen for it? One thing I notice that is different in my setup is that I'm using coax inputs for dvd and cd, not optical. I also have everything plugged into a Panamax 5300 and I have pretty good power anyway.

mojoman,

try playing a CD for a bit, and then stop the cd player(turn it off if you want). Don't touch anything on the 950, and listen for hiss from the tweeter. How close do you have to be to hear hiss? Ear right on the tweeter? 3ft? 8ft?


[This message has been edited by chris3g (edited September 20, 2002).]

Like mojoman, I haven't noticed a problem with hiss. Now granted, I did a lot of tinkering around last winter trying to eliminate some power problems that had been giving me some ground loop noise, so the system's pretty quiet these days (I've got a Panamax 5100 on a dedicated circuit now, instead of a power strip on a 50-year-old groundless circuit shared with a microwave and refrigerator).

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