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Tweeter hiss?

Hi, I'm new to the world of hi-fi and audiogon and was hoping someone out there could help me.

When I have my amp turned on (an integrated) with the speakers connected, but not the CD player, I hear a hiss coming from the tweeters of both speakers. This is with the volume completely turned down. Is this normal? If I turn the volume up the noise increases. It's not very loud by any means - I need to be within a foot of the speaker to notice it. Is there something wrong with my amp or speakers? If music is playing then the hiss is covered by music. I am also unhappy with my systems general "brightness" and fatigue factor and I wonder if this is related to my hiss-tweeter problem.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
(Rotel integrated, B&W 601s3, audioquest cable)
tooter
tooter OP
85 posts
 
Thanks again for all the responses. I feel better knowing that it's probably normal behavior for the amp. My main concern was that I was doing some damage to the speakers (which I had just bought). The amp is definitely at the top of my upgrade list but for now I can sleep well knowing I'm not doing any harm to my system!
johnmcelfresh
97 posts
 
Tooter - a question:

Does your integrated have tone controls? If so, have you got the treble turned up. Many amps will exhibit hiss when treble is elevated.

Just thought I'd check...
tooter OP
85 posts
 
Hi Johnmcelfresh. My integrated does have tone controls, treble and bass and a "master" switch which I have set to "off." My understanding is that when it is set to "off" it takes that part of the circuitry out of the loop. In any event, if I turn the main tone control to on and then turn the treble down to "0" I still hear the hiss. Go figure . . . . Thanks for the suggestion.
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