All I care about is that I can’t hear it from my listening position. If the Sr. accomplishes that, then mission accomplished.
There is less hiss across the frequency band (about 6dB) and even “more less” hiss in the ultrasonic region. You wouldn’t hear the ultrasonic hiss directly (and it’s to low in level to “feel funny”) but some systems that aren’t expecting any ultrasonic noise may fold down some of the ultrasonic noise into the audio region. In those systems the lower ultrasonic noise is also of benefit.
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My system is now ALL PS audio gear. DMP, dac jr, BHK 250 amp. My speakers are Von Schweikert audio VR 35’s, which are 90db efficient. The hiss, especially after the last firmware update to the DMP, has become more pronounced. So it sounds like I may still have the same issue with the DSD, but to a lesser degree.
6dB makes a bigger difference than people might expect, but:
If the hiss is truly white noise I can’t even speculate why it got worse with a DMP update. Have you tried dimming the displays on the DMP, the DS Jr or both? If instead the noise is small crackles it could be a cable thing: just as a test does it change as you unplug the DMP to DS Jr cable or if you use a different kind of cable (e.g. TOSLink, S/PDIF, AES, I2S…)?
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I don’t have any hiss at all with my DMP in the system, even with my ears right next to the tweeters. Dead quiet.
What’s the rest of your system? Thanks.
I use a pre-amp…seems to be a consensus here that using a pre-amp can result in a lower noise floor, for whatever reason (I guess because of impedance matching).
Gain structure
Yeah, even with the DMP on pause I can crank up the volume on the pre-amp and still have silence.
I personally have never heard of the noise problem surviving the addition of a pre. My first experience hearing about this was with another forum member. He bought a BHK pre and all was quiet again but not everyone can go after the issue in that fashion.
Oh and Ted, if you read this, thanks for that article above.
That would be my experience too. Have it with a preamp currently, use to have it no preamp straight to a power amp (both McIntosh) and it was slightly noiser with a minor yet noticeable hiss in the latter case.
I really think the pre-amp is the 2nd most critical piece in the whole system, behind speakers. DAC, disc spinners, amplifiers, cables, and everything else comes 3rd. And I’m not talking about a pre-amp built into a DAC.
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I have traditionally been a preamp person, and I’m not sure where or when running sources directly to amps came into vogue, but I’ve been doing it with the DSJ since Redcloud. With all the mentions of hiss amongst those running direct, I stuck my head up against the speaker, and yup, there is some. At one point I put a pre back in, and it is both better sounding and quieter.
The “A” rig is packed up for a while, but as soon as I can get a newer, fully balanced pre in there, I will.
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Me too. Based on all the forum posts (Paul included) speaking of the benefits of a pre, I added a inexpensive Cary and the difference was immediately noticeable. I have since upgraded the Cary but a month or two ago I took out the pre and ran with my current “final” speaker/amp set up and once again, it was easy to tell. Not that direct sounded “bad” per say, but not near as nice and full as with the pre.
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I think everyone here is in a agreeance, having a pre amp is better. Here’s my situation though. I ran my previous Ayon tubed CD player with digital volume control directly into my monoblock amps, and it was silent from my lisening position, and it sounded good. I liked the simplicity, and not having to buy another high end set of interconnects and a power cord. Wanting to keep this same arrangement, and upgrade to a higher end DAC and transport, I set my sights on the PS Audio gear, and did my due diligence, and asked a ton of questions to both my dealer and PS Audio. Based on the answers I got, I felt comfortable placing my order, and going with the DMP, DAC JR, and BHK 250 amp. Of course no one can predict how those components will interact with every speaker, but I was never cautioned to the possibility that the noise floor might be an issue without a preamp. Problem is now, I’ve maxed out my budget, and can not afford a preamp. I will say this though, PS Audio is trying very hard to help resolve my issue, in the least painful way, for which I’m thankful.
I ran my speakers directly out of the DSD for the better part of a year before I got a BHK preamp. Although the speakers weren’t sensitive they were silent. The noise floor is system dependant and many people have no noise.
Good to know. I’m hopeful upgrading to the DSD will resolve or greatly improve the nose floor, compared to the jr. My speakers aren’t super efficient either, at 90db. What’s the rest of your system?
