Enough with the hissing already! There is more hissing going on here than in a pit full of snakes! I have yet to come across an amp or preamp that is dead quiet. The mk 2 is quieter than the mk 1 which never was an issue in my system with or without the preamp. Stop listening for hiss an instead listen to the music that is so much more enjoyable, natural, spacious, dynamic.
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Hi - a couple of things.
- Your command of English, in written form, is excellent.
- Do you hear hissing while seated in your sweet spot while listening to quiet passages?
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Hi @vkennedy61
Thank you.
Yes I can hear the hissing in background always as long as the something is played in the source. (Even when I sitting at the sweep spot.)
Before I apply the update 2.6.2, the hissing could be heard immediately when I connected MK2 to my Hegel directly.
After I applied 2.6.2 the hissing is suppressed until something is started to sound in the source track. (I mean it is suppressed even after you started p[laying the track as long as during the silence.) I guess it is the result of the Intelligent Muting deployed in 2.6.2. Obviously it should not be a permanent solution for this hissing issue, Iād say.
Is it your intention to move away from your EAR 912 (a fantastic pre!!!) and direct connect the MK2 to one of your excellent amps without a pre in your signal path at all?
At least with MK2, I found I hear larger sound stage and smoother high/mid range in vocals (such as in Renaissance Polyphony music) without EAR912. The preamp has a kind of passionate, emotional sound characters which works well in some sort of music.
My decision after aforementioned observation is to buy another Hegel H30, so that I can directly connect MK2 to them and listen music without hissing. (I prefer Hegel than Luxman with a very little margin.)
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Have you considered a tube swap in the 912? Thereās a lot to choose from with the 7DJ8/ECC88.
You are right. It is actually a possibility I should consider.
As I can hear almost satisfiable result in SQ such as soundstaging, transparency, high/mid/low ranges, etc. with connecting directly to either Luxman (in stereo mode) or Hegel (in mono mode, which I prefer), my first step is having another unit of Hegel.
After that, I will have a new options, other than BTL mono, such as Bi-amping which requires me to insert preamp between DAC and power amps. Then I will consider how to configure pre/power amps. Tube swapping maybe an option while I also would try Hegel as well as Luxman or other solid state amps. (Maybe Iām a bit biassed as having an impression as EAR912 is something not like a most natural or transparent preamp in its character.)
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Scroll through this page:
https://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm
Itās a very very deep rabbit hole. But itās warm inside and thereās lots of company.
A post was merged into an existing topic: We also love cars
@vkennedy61 Thank you for the link.
I will see many wild animals, insects, warms, some of them should be dangerous and poisonous, but we can enjoy such adventures in this hobby.
Meanwhile, in the Future Audiophile review, Paul was mentioning as āMK2 was slightly aggressive, perhaps even a bit forward, particularly in the midrange frequencies and especially in the highsā, I think it is somehow a common sound signature among MK2 and EAR912 as well as my current speaker, Focal Sopra No2. I have been wondering there maybe a sort of negative synergy that results in loss of transparency with vocals in my current configuration.
Regarding the speakers, I will receive the delivery of my new speaker set, PSA Aspen FR20 which I could find a used pair in mint condition in the next week. Then with the new speakers I will find a different synergy where EAR912 will shine.
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Congratulations on getting your new speakers!
I currently have Sopra 2 and the matching Center. I have been considering new speakers, but I am in no rush. Sooner or later something will stand out. If I had to choose today, I would pick the Sonus Faber Il Cremonese EX3ME.
I do recommend you think about rolling your tubes. Two good things about Brent Jesseās site are the descriptions of the tube versions and then the descriptions of the specific types. Even if he doesnāt have what you want, itās a great reference to learn about what you might like.
Beyond tubes, have you considered exploring a new Pre? I recently bought a VTL TL6.5 Series II. I was amazed from the first moment I turned it on. Another Pre I think is very interesting is the VAC Signature Mk IIa SE.
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I think maybe this hissing could be due to the fact that the output impedance is high in the MK2. The transformers have the secondaries placed in series creating the 200 ohms. I connected our MK2 directly to the amps and experienced the same thing before we changed the transformers. After the transformer change the hiss was less than half. Our modified MK2 has a low output impedance of 20 ohms.
Connecting to the preamp there was no difference in the loudness of the hiss. We could not hear any at normal volumes.
Iām guessing the new firmware mutes this when no music is playing. We will test and measure this later this week if we get time.
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Thank you for insightful comments.
Iām curious about the āModdingā youāre engaging in. Is it a something like ad-hoc customizations to the product (not something would be delivered by PSA to end users)?
Iām not sure if 200 ohm is too high for amplifiers for resulting in hiss. Also, Iām not sure if it explains why the hiss is suppressed when I changed my Hegel to BTL mode so that it operates in balanced mode.
Regarding the preamp, it really suppresses the hiss when I inserted MY preamp (EAR912) between MK2 and Hegel H30 (stereo mode). I know EAR912 is not fully balanced design internally. I have been suspecting the Tube/Transformer coupling design that late Mr. Tim de Paravicini deployed in his preamp does something to suppress/eliminate the hiss.
Meanwhile, I have noticed the effect of the muting in 2.6.2 in which the hiss is suppressed until the very first note started to sound in the played track. Yes, it mutes noises before playing, between tracks, and also even in the track during silent part. But the hiss resumes once any note (of instruments, voices, etc.) sounds. It let me recognize the trick is working.
I will accept if PSA says this muting is final solution it can deliver to us (while I wonder it might not be something called as the permanent solution,).
Anyway, at my place I found 3 solutions for this hiss thing.
- Inserting EAR912 between MK2 and Hegel. (I suspended this now. But resumes when I received 2nd unit of Hegel during burn-in.)
- Connect MK2 directly to Luxman M-10X. (Now Iām listening in this config.)
- Connect MK2 directly to Hegel H30 which switched to BTL mode. (I will use this config after I finished burn-in 2nd unit of H30.)
Iām happy with MK2ās sound quality, as well as sound characteristics. Iām enjoying listening to the music with MK2 in my system. And I have so many interesting things I will do on my system in months to come, including my new speakers (FR20) which I will receive on Wednesday.
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Ah, you own Sopra 2 also!?
Honestly, before I come across the used FR20, I hoped to replace my Sopra with Sonus Faber Serafino G2.
However, Serafino G2 is not yet available in Japan market (while itās already available in Europe and US) and it takes sometime for me to finance for it.
In past 6 years I came along with such speakers as,
-
MGICO Q1
-
Vienna Acoustics Liszt
-
Focal Sopra No2
I replaced Liszt with Sopra very recently. It was May in this year. At first, I was surprised (with joy) how easily I can get such qualities in output as 3D sound-staging, imaging, dynamics, enough ranges in frequencies (while I could noticed a bit forwardness in mid/high and mid/low areas).
So, I was so much impressed and delighted with Sopra, until I started to play a specific kind of vocal music with it. The genre of the vocal music was something of Renaissance Polyphonies in which multiple singers of the sam (such as soprano or alto or tenor, or all of them together) sing notes of similar/close pitch. In such situation vocal reproduction turns to somehow not as raw human voices, sounds somewhat artificial such as electrically modulated or synthesized, like listening playing of mellotron. I think this is one of limitations of Sopra which comes from its Beryllium dome tweeter with applied crossover. I tried various things and now it improved somehow but still I can hear this limitation.
I sometimes miss the sound of VA Liszt with its Silk-dome tweeter. It is one reason why I looked at Sonus Faber Serafino G2.
Anyhow I selected F20 as my next speakers. It is my first speakers with Ribbon tweeters (as well as Ribbon mid-range). Iām looking forward to experience FR20.
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Itās awesome that youāve found a pair of used FR20ās. They havenāt been on the market that long. This is the first used pair that I have heard about. I was the first person to sell a used MK2ā¦there has to be a first!
What Renaissance Polyphonies were you listening to when you heard issues with the Sopra? Iād be interested to listen for the same limitation.
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I donāt know exactly about where the used pair of FR20 comes from. I guess it might be related to the fact that previous local distributer of PSA stopped handling of it at late last year.
Regarding where I can hear the Limitation of Sopra. For example, there is a popular British vocal ensemble calleD Stile Antico.
Their rather recent releases from DECCA such as,
The Golden Renaissance: Josquin des Prez
or
The Golden Renaissance: William Byrd
You maybe able to find in streaming services easily.
For the former one, as I played just now, I hear such limitations throughout the track#1 (at such timing around 4ā00" with soprano, so on). That is not the high frequency range limit but sounds like a kind of modulation is occurring, to my ears.
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I will not be getting rid of my FR20ās 
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But on the serious side, the FR20ās are nice, which is an under-exaggeration
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I know earlier you said you are Japanese (with great English writing skills!), are you located in Japan?
Cannot wait to listen to my FR20s.
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