Preamp hissing detectable at low volume?


I enjoy listening to chamber or choral music at low volume. I can detect the hissing coming from speakers. Is this a tube problem? I have brand new Sashas and brand new monoblocks. I am running a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 Preamp (Balanced).
vishla

Showing 3 responses by viridian

You need to find out which component is causing the hiss. First disconnect the preamp from the amp and short the inputs to the amp with the amp off. Then turn it on. If you hear the hiss, it is in the amp. If you don't, connect the preamp to the amp and short one of the preamp inputs, select this input with the selector. If you hear the hiss, it is in the preamp. If it is quiet, the hiss is in the source.

Next determine if one channel has more hiss than the other, if so, move the tubes across, channel to channel in the offending component. If the hiss changes channels it is one of the tubes that you moved. If it doesn't, you may have a cold solder joint or the like. Some designs are just more noisy than others, but most don't really have much audible hiss at the listening seat with moderate sensitivity speakers.
Jim McShane is a good guy for tubes and info. He is a hobbyist, like us and appreciates nice gear:

http://www.mcshanedesign.net/

Good luck in solving the problem.
Oh, Jim's site is pretty rudimentary. Best to always call him, he will be receptive.