Hiss - is it wearing out my tweeters?!

[Dan Turner]

I've just got my new Naim SuperNait, and very pleased I am with it too.

I've noticed however a slight hiss coming through the speakers - it's it's only audible if you put your ear next to the tweeter so it's not an issue of any kind, and it was the same (albeit at a slightly lower level) on my old amp.

My question (and this may be a stupid one) is whether this constant hiss is going to wear out the tweeters? I'm intending to leave the Naim on all the time (barring thunderstorms or risk thereof) as suggested in the manual.

 

[Anonymous]

Er, no. Standard hiss if you have to put your ears there. My answer is: don't do it!

 

[Anonymous]

when I switch on my amp and cdp and do not play any music (even if I crank the amps volume up to max), my speakers are dead silent

(my speakers have tweeters aswell as supertweeters)

so perhaps you need to check that out?

 

[matthewpiano]

No. This is quite normal on Naim amps, and quite a few others as well, and is nothing to get concerned about. I've heard some very expensive Naim pre-powers do this It just seems to be a characteristic and won't do any damage to your speakers.

 

[SSM]

I had a Creek Evo amp which did that too. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Dan Turner]

Yeah I figured as much, but thought it was worth asking! Cheers.

 

[chebby]

matthewpiano:No. This is quite normal on Naim amps, and quite a few others as well, and is nothing to get concerned about. I've heard some very expensive Naim pre-powers do this It just seems to be a characteristic and won't do any damage to your speakers.

So why doesn't my cheapo Naim system do this?

I have tested for this (on all sources with nowt playing but volume quite high) on a previous occasion when the advice was... "yeah they all do it, its a Naim thing."

I have seen all sorts of things described as "typical Naim behaviour" including noises when switching between sources!

I would not accept it. If it bugs you then get it sorted out through your dealer and Naim under your warranty. In my opinion it should not be there and probably isn't designed to be there. If the dealer tries to tell you it is 'normal' then call Naim. If they tell you it is normal (which I doubt) then ask for a refund and get something else.

[Edit] Just run through 'tape' (nothing connected), AV (DAC connected) and CD (CD5i) inputs - with nothing playing - with volume up at 11 o'clock and listened a couple of inches from tweeter (both speakers) and it is silent. No hiss at all. The last time this type of query came up I still had my old Rega R3 speakers and got the same result.

 

[Dan Turner]

It certainly doesn't bother me in the slightest as I tried to make clear in my initial post. I was just curious as to whether people thought the constant, albeit tiny, output from the tweeters would wear them out.

It is really very low level and can only be heard if you have your ear right next to a speaker, which I obviously don't tend to do much!

 

[chebby]

It won't wear them out.

If you can barely hear it then the energy going through the tweeters will be many orders of magnitude lower than normal volumes and therefore only miniscule amounts of heat or movement being generated.

Think of those cheap scabby speakers playing in pubs almost continuously for years on end. Their tweeters still work despite all the 'abuse'. (And I have seen some really veteran speakers in pubs like 1980s Wharfedales or similar being driven by some old Alba mini system behind the bar!)

 

[Anonymous]

A lot of amps do this, including Quads. Nothing to worry about in the slightest. I doubt a change of hardware will make the slightest bit of difference.

 

[Anonymous]

well as mentioned, my system is dead silent ... if there is a hiss when no music is not played, what happens to the hiss when music is actually played? ... does it just cancel out?

suppose the good thing with a 'hiss 'is that perhaps the cats and dogs stay our of the listening room when the amp is left on standby mode ...

and you will most prob find that there are no spiderwebs in the corners of the walls

 

[AEJim]

I think it's more likely to be mains noise rather than your system - I used to have a Densen system which made no noise through the speakers at full volume, moved house and there was hiss. It doesn't matter and doesn't effect your listening or damage your speakers. Don't think your system is better or worse due to hiss or lack of.

 

[Anonymous]

Concur with Jim here,

I have the excellent Supernait too and mine is dead silent, so could well be mains interference.......

 

[Anonymous]

Ehem...

Might it be that the hiss is so high frequented that most people will not hear it...?

The upper limit of human hearing can vary individually, from, say 13 to almost 20 kHz.