hissing

Ahh SP.. yea that would explain it.. I'm one of the unluckier people with a TP version.

Originally Posted by calvin91

thanks for the results... very helpful in knowing that at least one phone doesnt give off a hiss... so that gives me an option... but i am really hoping that a change in firmware can resolve the hissing problems, as the mylar x3s, from what i understand from days of reading reviews and such, have superior sound quality over the ck7's and other higher ends, like shures, etymotics, etc., ugh... i unno, should i give up the sq just for no hissing?? hm... i hear that the mylar x3s are hissing machines themselves, how bad can hissing get if you combine those 2 eh?? have you tried ANY other IEM earphones?? if so, can you please stat whether there is a noticable hiss or not, no need to do any details?? though, i never listen above 20

I don't have the X3 to compare with my CK7s, but I wouldn't say one is better or worse than the other. They have different sound signatures: the CK7s are more analytical and have more clarity, but have a weak bass (for some), whereas the X3s are more warm and have more bass.

Whether the earphone will let you hear the hiss or not, it will mostly depend on the impedance. Earphones with higher impedance levels (30 ohms or higher) may eliminate a good share of the hiss. Higher the value, lower the hiss. According to this site, the X3s have 16 ohms (the same as the CK7), so I wouln't expect it to have "no hiss".

Notice, though, that high impedance earphones will demand you to raise the volume levels.

Edit: how about some open headphones? The Sennheiser PX-100, for example, is told to have great sound quality, and at 32 ohms, it should remove a good amount of hiss. They're not expensive headphones ($49.99 at Headphone.com) either. With my PortaPros (at 60 ohms, $49.95 at the same site) I can say there's absolutely no hiss from my M6. The bass on it is very strong, though (you can compensate by lowering the bass frequencies in the EQ settings).

Bought a Sennheiser PX100 off eBay this afternoon. They should arrive in a week or so. As soon as I get them will make some tests using my M6 and post the results regarding "hissing" and overall sound quality. For now, my PortaPros are proving themselves extremely fun headphones; very bassy, but very fun... :D

My wallet hates me!

GOSH!!!... I WANT TO HEAR THE DAMN HISS!!!!
I've tried everything...
What I am sure that the infamous hiss must be produced by an electrical cause... no firmware... no mechanical... just electrical... I suppose that in a miniaturized device some solder under certain circumstance must produce some sort of inductance or whatever.
I just wouldn't accept a player with such failure... and I can conceive that is part of bad designing of the product... just an electrical failure.

I've found hissing to be dependent on the track being listened to, and on having the spatializer on or off. With the spatializer on, hissing sounds to me to be a order of magnitude louder than with it turned off. With the spatializer off, I have almost no hissing on my sony MDR EX71 headphones.
Also, the track on which I can notice more hissing (the only until now I've noticed hissing with the spatializer off) is "Stairway to Heaven" from "Led Zeppelin IV", digitized with lame using VBR 2. I will digg thru my CD boxes again one of these days and check if the original CD had the hissing.

PS: I got my audition tested a couple of years back, and found out I still have above normal earing.

Yeah I second that, DaremoS. That's the same thing that came to my mind. Some electric element seems to suffer from fatigue.
I have my M6SP for almost a year now and suddenly it started hissing (spatializer off). It only occurs when music is playing, and sounds like distortions of an old tube AM radio. Since I could never notice that noise before, I guess it must be the hardware.
It's disappointing to hear that other people have that problem too. I was hoping this device was better quality than to work for 1 year. More than that, I am treating it like a hen treats her egg.