I received by blue dot unit yesterday for the hiss issue and I don't know what to think.

I swapped out the unit and calibrated normally - volume at 00, sound meter at 75 dB. I started the test tone and was expecting to have to trim back due to this new "extra" gain over previous versions. My meter went off the scale and I trimmed each channel in sequence to get them to 75 dB. Then after I made it once around, the volume was lower. After having trimmed things to -8 or -11, now the meter was reading low. I trimmed them back up to reach 75dB, and they all we within a few dB dB or 0, + or -. Then I realized I had somehow lowered the master volume to -7 from 0. So I bumped that back up to 0 and recal'd, but after I did that, the trims were not really any lower. That really confused me. Did something blow in my unit and cause my gain to drop or...?

Besides my apparent lack of gain that everyone else is getting on their blue dot, I also don't know if I like the new one. For a digital input, the hiss is less, but they put that mute circuit in, so it is hard to assess. But I also don't like hearing that mute click/pop whenever there is no digital input. When trimming channels, pausing a DVD, FF or RW'ing a DVD, the mute does its thing with a annoying, but not dangerous, popping/clicking sound. With the mute engaged, obviously the hiss is almost nil. But even when I listen quickly prior to the mute engaging, it sounds like less hiss than before.

I am also concerned about gain for digital inputs. I couldn't try it out last night, but I need to see how loud movies are at -10 or 0 and compare to what I had before. If my apparent gain went down, that would be very surprising.

Now on to analog inputs. No muting circuit for these, and yes, the hiss is very volume dependent. At -10 and below, the hiss is definitely better than before. Once you get to a volume of 0, the hiss is getting noticeable. From 0 to +10, the hiss gets LOUD, plus I get some hum and crosstalk from other inputs. This could be due to extra gain on these analog inputs, but I watched a TV show via the analog VCR input, and I wasn't aware that I had to run the volume any lower than normal. If I ever had to turn teh volume up above 0 for an analog input, the hiss/hum is definitely unacceptable.

So, unlike all other blue-dotters, I guess I am the odd man out with less than stellar opinions of the fix. The mute circuit is an annoying band-aid and masks any improvement or not. Analog seems quieter at modest levels, much worse at loud volumes.

Does anyone else have these issues? Any comments/suggestions. I will have time to do more evaluating this weekend.

Thanks.

Applejelly:

Try a re-calibration again, carefully. The range of the volume control above "00" will get almost zero use if things are calibrated right.

AJ- You might want to talk to the Outlaws. I can't hear the digital mute engage at all. It is there in the new 950s, and I'm not so happy about it either (seems like an attempt to "hide" something in my opinion, but the hiss *is* lower), but I guess some other pre/pros have it too (even though my Sony didn't)...

I have the exact same situation. There are volumes where the hiss is louder than before in a absolute sense, but maybe the gain is higher too.

And there is a definite hum in mine as well that at louder volumes overwhelms the hiss. Please let me know if calibration solves your hiss/hum problems.

I have not calibrated mine and maybe that would solve my problems, too.

Will:

The gain IS higher, by 8db, at alll volume control settings. Why not do a calibration, it's certainly easy enough to do.

The hiss and loud hum is there with my 950 set to stereo, not just multichannel. I listen to stereo mostly, except when playing DVD's of course.

I know I should get it calibrated, even for stereo. I will but haven't gotten around to doing it yet. I'm not sure it will affect things dramatically, but I won't know until I try it.

As it is though, I listen typically with the volume from -15 to 00 but sometimes it goes up to +05 or even slightly above. All trims except for the base are set nominally close to (but not exactly to) zero. It sounds fine. Except with no source playing and the volume loud, there is a hiss and as the volume inches up, an even louder hum.

Does it hiss/hum as loudly if you switch to an analog input that has nothing plugged into it? Could always be the source component that's humming or a bad interconnect.

Forgot to mention my amp is a Sunfire Cinema Grand.

I am a bit confused on the new digital mute function. I too don't like to hear the pop/click when pausing a CD connected via an optical cable but I do not ever hear the click/pop when pausing a DVD connected through coax. I can acutally stop the DVD and test the hiss level because the mute never takes effect.

I get the same result when increasing volume. The hiss definitely becomes louder as you cross the 00 point, but with the added gain, I would never run it this loud. Also a 60 cycle hum does become noticeable above 00, but I just figure it is coming from the Acurus amps. This also happened with my yamaha receiver.

My two cents,
Scott

Actually it hums about the same (maybe even louder) when it is selected to an analog input that has nothing plugged in (I used the tape input).

Another datapoint is the hum is noticably louder if the DSP is switched from stereo to DTS NEO or DPL II. Even if I stand near my left front speaker, the room hums from ALL the speakers not just the 2 used with stereo.