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.