Those results sound typical. It seems the common denominator in all these is that the noise is higher when the pre/pro is converting an analog signal to digital, and back to analog. Mine is the same. This _should not_ be the case, if the onboard converters are anywhere near the advertised resolution of '24 bits'. Again, I can digitize and convert back to analog on my digital audio workstation _and_ do a bunch of DSP processing (more than the 950 will ever hope to do) and the result is dead silent. The 'actual' real-world resolution of my workstation is around 20 bits.

I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: line noise generally has _nothing_ to do with steady state elevated noise floor. Keep in mind that there is AC line filtering onboard almost all components, and the power supply in all devices filter out the remaining 'line noise', outputting DC for the circuits inside. On top of that, there is local de-coupling near the power input pins of almost all ICs inside the unit. If there is anything that gets through, is is generally things like buzzes, pops, clicks - but not steady state hiss. Also, most "power line conditioners" have nothing more than metal oxide varistors inside them, and their _only_ purpose is to protect against gross overvoltage, for example from a lighting strike. If you want an actual power line _filter_, units like the TrippLite "IsoBar" series are excellent.

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited November 06, 2002).]