hissing

calvin91

i upgraded to the newest firmware which was suppose to stop the hissing but it didnt... it is quite bad and noticable, it only happens while a song/video is being played... and you cannot hear it in between songs and when volume is at zero...... i tried this player with both the stock headphones and my creative aurvanas, both had the hissing... any ideas?

iversonjack

The hissing is still there. But compared to previous firmwares, it is much better. The hissing is caused by the use of spatializer. My solution: Don't use the spatializer.

calvin91

yup, my spaccializer was off... but still, the hissing is annying, is it possible to complete get rid of it in the coming firmware?

Blackstar

I'm starting to believe its more of a hardware problem than software, in which case, no firmware update will rectify this problem. Great audio chip, although a lack of filters may be causing noise.

I agree with you, its really annoying, so I only use my M6 for pop, rock and techno, where the hissing gets drowned out by the music.

__________________
Current Rigs:
8GB iAudio 7 > Not in use
4GB + 32GB iAudio D2 > Alessandro MS-Pro
Sony MZ-NH1 > Headroom Total Bithead > Grado Labs PS-1
2GB Meizu M6 T1 > Not in use
8GB iPod Touch 2G > Shure SE530

Job

agreed... the hissing is there but neer really bothers me

i havent heared any less hissing with teh new firmware
i did notice the M3 has less hissing for soem reason...

calvin91

can you guys tell me what headphones/ earphones you guys use? thanks... this may be the problem... i found a pair of headphones that eliminate ALL hiss
the sony mdr-g52... quite old, at least 5 years old... i was looking round the house for heaphones to test the hissing and these worked perfectly...
but the stocks and my creatives aurvanas hiss, quite a bit...

it probably largely has to do with the sensitivity and impendance, but this i can only prove if i know what headphone u guys use, thanks a bunch

DimaMP4

I almost don't hear any hissing on my M3. If I do, it's VERY unnoticable.

Blackstar

Well the basics:

1. A higher impedence headphone/earphone will reduce the amount of hissing present from the output of your M6. Even at 60Ohms (tested using my Koss KSC75) there is a small amount of hissing present (you may or may not hear the hiss, it depends on your ears).

A very high impedence headphone (Tested using my Sennheiser HD650 @300ohms) will eliminate most of the hissing, however the M6 does not have the ability to drive the HD650 to loud volumes.

2. The use of a good portable amp / stationary amp will eliminate most of the hissing, through hardware filters in the amplifier.

3. Spatialiser makes things worse because it accentuates the M6's noisy output

4. High sensitivity headphones/earphones will cause the hiss to be more predominate.

5. The case of hissing appears to be worse on the TP series of miniplayers.

__________________
Current Rigs:
8GB iAudio 7 > Not in use
4GB + 32GB iAudio D2 > Alessandro MS-Pro
Sony MZ-NH1 > Headroom Total Bithead > Grado Labs PS-1
2GB Meizu M6 T1 > Not in use
8GB iPod Touch 2G > Shure SE530

iversonjack

I guess they are right, the M3 does have a better sound quality then the M6.

glacier

lol, maybe my ears are just bad but i've never had a problem with any hissing sound from my m6.

then again, i don't use the spatializer. btw, my earphones are v-moda vibes.

Almoxil

The same goes for me. With my CK7s and M6, I can only hear a veeery faint hiss when I crank up the volume to 25 an above, and for me that is an earsplitting level. I don't use Spatializer either.

calvin91

when i turn the spatializer on/off, i dont notice any thing different except a crack when switching

Job

I do hear the hiss... but not during regular playback as it gets drowned out...

Almoxil

I've been listening to the M6 with my new pair of Koss PortaPros through all day. They're 60 ohm headphones and I can't hear any hiss up to volume level 30 (for the most quiet tracks I have on my player, some classical music and some silence parts). I stopped the playback and cranked the volume all up, no hiss. I can only start to hear a very slight hiss with very quiet tracks if I set the volume above 30. Mind you, if I done that with some heavy metal or jungle playing I would get temporarily deaf.

Once burned in and with the right EQ settings, these babies shine. The bass is very strong (I mean VERY), so that the EQ settings must be adjusted to make the bass frequencies more recessed. Believe me, the bass will not get drowned in the mix. It will be there, still strong and punchy.

Job, what headphones or earbuds do you use with your M6?

__________________
DAPs/Buds/Misc:
Cowon D2 4GB black + 8 GB Adata SD card SOON!
M6 miniPlayer 8GB white • M3 Music Card 8GB black
Zen Vision:M 30GB white • Zen Micro 5GB • Zen V Plus 4GB
Audio Technica ATH-CK7 • Koss PortaPro • PA2V2 portable amp NEW!

calvin91

do you actually use that as your portable?!? o.0

im still searching for people that have tried the mylar x3's with the meizu... or any other cheap higher end earbuds... maybe you could buy some and give a review hahaha

Blackstar

hmm.. hissing seems to vary.. mine hisses even when the volume is on 0 lol. As soon as the play button is hit, it hisses, the only time it doesnt hiss is when the device is first switched on, once play is hit... gone.

Almoxil

Heh... yes, during my morning workouts. They seem to be big in the pictures, but they're actually pretty small. The cheap Philips earbuds I used to wear while walking just don't cut it with the M6. They lack bass and clarity, and don't do justice to M6's sound quality.

Edit: auditioned my M6 with ATH-CK7s (impedance = 16 ohms) very carefully. Some things I noticed:

1. There's no hiss at all when nothing is playing and I set the volume up to 40;
2. There's no hiss at all when playing any music with the volume level set to 0;
3. There's no hiss at all when playing silence (no instruments playing, no one singing);
4. There's a slight hiss when playing quieter tracks with volume level set at 20 and above -- the higher the volume level, the higher the hiss;
5. Flat EQ and non-flat EQ don't bring up different results;
6. Bass boost and treble boost don't seem to raise hiss levels;
7. Turning the display off won't reduce hiss if it's present.

That said, the hiss with those IEMs is still very hard to notice in real-world situations (commuting in subway trains or buses, walking in crowded streets, so on). I also noticed that it isn't always present. It's more or less bound to some frequency ranges (I'll try to figure them out later).

Here are some things that may help reducing the amount of hiss:

1. Using higher impedance phones (like the PortaPros in my above post; I didn't notice any hiss with them, unless when cranking up the volume veeery high. 30 ohms or higher should be enough to get rid of a reasonable amount of hiss);
2. Using a portable amp between the M6 and your earphones (I ordered a PA2V2 last week and I'm waiting it to arrive. As soon as it arrives I'll make some tests and post the results in this thread).

By the way, I made this test with the following sound settings:

Bass boost: 4; treble boost: 1; Spatializer: OFF; EQ: +4/0/-2/-1/+1/+4/+5/+5/+4/+1.

I'll keep you posted.

__________________
DAPs/Buds/Misc:
Cowon D2 4GB black + 8 GB Adata SD card SOON!
M6 miniPlayer 8GB white • M3 Music Card 8GB black
Zen Vision:M 30GB white • Zen Micro 5GB • Zen V Plus 4GB
Audio Technica ATH-CK7 • Koss PortaPro • PA2V2 portable amp NEW!

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

Blackstar

Almoxil, are you using SP version of the miniplayer?

Almoxil

Yes, Blackstar, mine is SP version.

I brought my M3 Music Card to the office today, and I'll compare both by listening to the same tunes through the same IEMs (CK7s). Stay "tuned".