Center Channel Hiss W/950

I just noticed the other day that in 2 channel mode I am getting hiss from the cc. It's not very loud or anything like that. I just took me by suprise that there was anything coming out of that speaker. I didn't climb up to listen to the surrounds so there may be hiss there to.

Is this normal? Or do I have something setup wrong?

Thanks,

Norman

A small amount of hiss may be normal, but it's worth looking into. I had some trouble with hiss of this sort when my speaker cables and amp interconnects were tangled up with power cords and getting some clutter from that.

Thanks gonk!

I'll take a look and see if something is messed up.

Well, I looked and didn't see anything that I think would cause interference with my speaker cable. I did recently change from Monster XP to AudioQuest Type 6, but I know that this wouldn't cause this. Like I said the amount of hiss is slight and in no way interrupts my listening enjoyment. I was just supprised to hear it that's all.

How far away from the speaker can you hear it? If it's not audible where you sit, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If you don't mind, what center speaker do you have, and do you know it's sensitivity? And what power amp do you have powering the center? I have found that above average efficiency speakers with certain high power amps can give you a hiss combination. One thing you could try, is to see if the hiss changes volume much with the 950 off or not.

Kevin, I can not hear the hiss from my listening position only about 6" from the speaker and only that far if the input source is FM. All other sources are less than that. My CC is a Klipsch RCX-4 and sensitivity is 94dB/watt and the amp is a Parasound HCA-855A.

I have pretty much dismissed the hiss as a non-issue. It just took my by suprise I never noticed it before. I most likely was there all the time.

Norman, Are you using a sound conditioner such as Monster Power, Panamax or Adcom's ACE? Sometimes you can get interference from areas with really dirty power, or you may have a loop somewhere. Do you have a ground loop isolator (ground breaker) installed on your cable or satelite line?

Back during the 950's early days (when they were tweaking the analog circuits because of objectionable hiss from some high efficiency speakers), the general opinion was that a hiss that was audible only at a distance of under 12" was not indicative of a problem.

Some hiss from an amp or preamp is almost inevitable, particularly if you're not playing program material and cranking up the volume.

If you're only hearing hiss at 6-inches or less, I think you're right to classify it as a non-issue.

If you could hear hiss at your listening position at normal levels, then you would have a problem.

Not that it really matters (or relates) to this forum, but when I had the Rotel RSP1068 demo I was amazed at the amount of hiss that came through my speakers. It occurred with both of the 1068 demo units I had and in all the speakers in my setup. I am using the same cabling, amp, power source etc with the 50 I have now. The 950 just runs considerably quiter than the Rotel RSP1068 does. I love it...

Norman- It's the very high sensitivity of the Klipsch. I always think of 86 dB as low, 89 dB as average, and anything above 92 dB as very sensitive. Enjoy your system!

Thanks to everyone who donated their time to my post. Yes, this is a non-issue for me.

Now, to take this thread in a different direction...I bi-wired my main L/R (Klipsch RF-35's 98 dB/watt) with AudioQuest Type 6 cable and let it run in for 36 hours before doing any critical listening. Let me start with that I was never completely convinced that cables make a lot of difference. With that said, I think the new cables make my system sound so much better. I was thinking smoother, fuller bodied, more accurate high-end as I listened last night.