Z680 Hissing Issue

black6jack9 · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:19 pm Post subject: Z680 Hissing Issue

Hi

I bought Z680 two weeks ago from Amazon.com. Z680 sound is truly great sound when watching movie. For Music it needs to be little more crisp. I love the Z680 decoder(from Cirrus Logic) better than my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum hardware decoder. I use Monster Digital Coaxial Cable for Dolby Digital and DTS movies and Analog cable for Game.

My POD firmware is v.1.1.2

One thing about this speaker is that, the hissing/ white noise issue when there is no signal that I can hear from 2 to 3 feet away from all of my 5 speakers. Even If I deattach all the cable connected to Control Pod, it still hiss. I try to troubleshoot the problem but still no solution yet. I called the Logitech Customer support they told me to return it. Therefore I am thinking about returning this because of hissing.

Is Z5500 hissing for 2 to 3 feet away?

I heard it from Maximun PC that Z5500 speakers still has hiss from center channel. The truth is that I don't like that RCA style cable that use in Z5500 speakers because I like the standard speaker wire that can extend as long as I want.

If Z5500 is still hissing I will have to buy Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1. I hate to go with Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 also because their Amplifier blow all the time.

Any Idea guys?
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Hoedizzy · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 12:04 am Post subject:

Are the speakers getting clean ac power? Maybe it's power interference?

Ham_fisT · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 2:53 am Post subject:

the coaxial cable on the 5500's is actually a bonus, it shields the signal from interferance, which there is a lot of around a computer system and monitor.

do you have your speaker wires running near any A/C power cords?
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

The hiss from 680's is a common issue, and not as bad in the newer speakers, but not really due to any connection. It's the amps inside. Very high power, very small size, very little shielding. Lower powered speakers make the same noise, but due to the lower power, you don't hear it as clearly. The noise is coming from the amps.........doesn't matter what connection you use, it'll still be there.

The 5500's use a better digital amp, but there's still some noise. At that dollar per watt value, something that's pretty much unavoidable. What you can do, at the sacrifice of some power (like you'd ever turn them up all the way anyway), is to lower the volume on the Logitechs, and boost the volume at your computer software. That will remove some of the hiss from the speakers, without sacrificing too much sound quality.
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Xal · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 8:16 am Post subject:

Yeah, I have the same problem with my creative 6600s and thats what I do

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black6jack9 · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:02 am Post subject: Update to Hissing News

sandness · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:37 am Post subject:

Well, for another idea- are you using the analog audio cable between you cd/dvd drive and sound card? I had been using one on my old system with my Z560's, and it hissed. Removing the analog cable eliminated the problem.

Also, I would think that it would be rather difficult to determine if a speaker is hissing in a Best Buy as most are too noisy.

2old2care · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:52 am Post subject:

Sand is right...Analog will more than likely be the source of any noise.
And...I've never seen an optical cable be affected by EMI

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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

But, he disconnected the input cable from the control pod

Trust me on this one, you could take the 680's, move them into the middle of the room, and just plug the power in, and they'll hiss. It's amplifier noise......I run into it quite alot with pro audio as well. Cheaper amps are noisy. The ProMedias are quieter, because they use a different class of amplifier, same reason the new 5500's are quieter. I believe both are now using class H amps, which are insanely loud but also less prone to noise.
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Silicon Skum · Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 4:24 am Post subject:

Actually the hiss from the amps is NOT actually the amp chip (MOSFET) or due to any interconnects or interference, it is caused by the charge / discharge of the cheap capacitor types used in these low cost amps. The rest of the amp produces very litle electrical noise (which in an amp gets turned into audio noise). I have seen and heard two identical amps, one had the standard factory caps, the other had all the caps replaced with VERY expensive high end audio caps. The difference between them was stunning!

The standard factory caps had a slight hiss, but acceptable levels, the other had almost NO hiss even at full volume and the sound was even more sharper and crisp than the identical factory standard amp. Both amps were older Technics amps, so they were fairly good quality to start with.

Some of the higher end amps use a filter circuit to remove the caps hiss (if they are using cheaper caps) which does improve the sound, but can cause some losses in certain frequencies in the audio.

I'm in the process of building my own 5.1system, a bit of hardware hacking on my old (but powerfull) Techinics class A amp and a 5.1 digital decoder box, as I'm not using the amp circuit of the decoder, I can use almost any cheap system and get a decent sound.

My Technics amp can alrady produce up to 130db (a friend of mine was a sound engineer, he tested them for me

) and I have a small 140W 8inch sub to throw into the mix. I built my speakers up from scratch, they sound VERY good (each is a 5 way setup).

Best bit is the speakers and amp were both FREE, I found them all in dumpsters.

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black6jack9 · Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:16 pm Post subject: Returning

OH WELL..

I am returning the Z680 speakers to Amazon and luckily I got the free return shipping. I am getting Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 to see what going on.

If that darn thing still hiss, I will stay with my stereo monitor headphone.

I will write the difference when I get the Promedia Ultra 5.1..
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fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

I shoulda been more clear.......by amps I was talking about the whole thing, not just the MOSFETS.

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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:47 am Post subject:

you should be happy with the Klipsch. I have had mine for about two years now I think and have never had any trouble with them hissing or for sound quality.
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lilbump3000 · TweakNOOB Joined: 26 Nov 2004 Posts: 7

The hiss is not all that bad for me and im using the 6 channel direct. I mean i brought these speakers over a year and a half ago and im glad i picked these.

I dont have nothing against klipsch, but i hear they sound better than the Z-680's and im sure they might do but i never heard them, but i would rather have a boomy subwoofer system than a system which amps fails on every pair you get.

If you go in the klipsch forum, you will read alot of complaints about the amps failing, even on there newer ultras so its up to you. Only a selected few klipsch systems will last you a while.

Also a word of advice, if you configure these speakers correctly like balance them out trust me they will sound really really good. I hear people say they sound muddy and all that but trust me and i mean trust me, if somebody came listen to mine you will not find these sounding muddy by any means. Now they sub is a tad bit boomy, but thats how i like it, and with that configured correctly and balanced out with the sats then you will really enjoy music and more.

JayDubya · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:37 am Post subject:

Well, Kipsch's are very very nice speakers. If you go with them, i'd suggest getting them NEW from a good RETAILER with a good WARRANTY. The warranty is your best friend with a product like this. Good quality with a few fatal flaws.
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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2004 3:18 pm Post subject:

have had no problems with the three Klipsch set-ups I have bought.
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