CLR, XiTone et al., any quieter than the ASM-12 i.e; less "hiss"

lqdsnddist

Axe-Master
My ASM-12, while sounding great (at looking great) at louder volumes, is a bit annoying at home listening levels as there is always a bit of audible hiss, sort of a white/pink noise, that mainly seems to come from the HF horn. Its fairly audible anywhere in the room and while wouldn't be an issue at gig volume, it does somewhat lessen my enjoyment at home/late night listening levels

Is this just par for the course from a high wattage monitor ? Obviously these things are designed to crank out high SPL, not just as a quiet level practice tool, so maybe this is a required trade-off ?

However, it makes me curious if units like the CLR or XiTone are able to operate essentially silently when there isn't a signal present ?

Now even my studio desktop monitors make a slight sound if I put my ear next to them, but I can only hear it from about 6". The ASM-12 I can hear from pretty much anywhere in the room, and while its not that loud by any means, I can hear it sort of layered with what I"m playing, like there is a soft white/pink noise generator always running.
 
I don't have any experience w/ the ASM-12 or Xitone products, but I can tell you that my CLR wedges are completely silent at low listening levels (no hiss, etc.). I use them all the time at home in this fashion. That would drive me nuts to hear what you're describing w/ the ASM-12.
 
My ASM-12 is completely silent so I'm blown away that you are able to hear hiss from locations throughout the room. When I first turn on the wedge, there is a hiss while it powers on and it lasts about 3 seconds, then goes completely quiet. I don't know much about the insides of the ASM-12, but curious if maybe there is some type of noise cancelling component that is maybe not working with yours?

I'm curious if anyone else is having this issues with their units. Like I said, mine does not hiss at all.
 
Mine is loudest for about 10 seconds when I first power it up, and then it fades some, but it still pretty audible, around 35 dB on the sound level meter.

The sound is entirely coming from the HF horn as well. Sounds the same if there is an input connected or not, regardless of the ground lift switch, or where the input level dial is etc. Seems from some other research I've read Dave Friedman himself said its "normal" from the HR driver, but then very odd that some people aren't reporting anything at all....

Makes me wonder if maybe there was an update/revision they made in the production ?
 
Make sure that you don't crank the master. There's no need for that at home.

With the master at 12 o'clock on my CLRs, there's no hiss.
 
Make sure that you don't crank the master. There's no need for that at home.

With the master at 12 o'clock on my CLRs, there's no hiss.

Sadly on mine, even with the input gain (ASM-12's have no output control) at minimum (about a 30db attenuation of the input signal) there is no reduction in the hiss. I guess perhaps due to the fact the CLR's allow for more gain staging control its possible to set them up for silent home usage ?
 
I've had CLR's and an ASM. The CLR is much quieter. Almost silent compared to the ASM i sold. I actually liked the ASM but the CLR was still the better choice for me.
 
Hmmm, very odd that it seems like 50% of ASM-12's are totally silent, but then in some other threads Dave Friedman states that hiss is normal from the HF driver, and some user reports also mention the hiss. On mine, when it powers up there is a fairly loud, but lower pitched kind of white noise sound, which last for about 10-20 seconds (seems to vary) and then as it fades in loudness, it goes up in pitch, to the quieter, but high pitch hissing noise....

If everyone all said theirs did the same thing, I would still find it annoying, but maybe could live with it. Given that lots of folks seem to have ones that are silent, I think I'm going to try to return mine. Too much money to put up with an issue that it seems doesn't even affect all units.

Pretty good unit overall, and if my only application would be rigs/rehearsal I could probably live with it fine, but in the low volume home setting its annoying and is loud enough to compete with the actual guitar tone.

Going to give the CLR a try as it seems like it can fulfill both the loud and quiet rolls
 
For me it's a non factor. What my rig sounds like while I'm not playing has never been an issue, even when it was a reeeeeally big hiss...
However

I put a noise gate befor the amp at like 10% and it seems to kill any unwanted hiss while I drink beer on stage.
 
Issue I have isn't just when I'm not playing (I used to run a modded Bassman and a LP with p90's so learned to use the volume pot between songs lol) but that I also get the hiss while I'm playing, it's ever present.

At gig levels wouldn't be an issue, but at quite home level it's noticeable over the music, which is pretty annoying, especially if I'm playing softer clean tones

Ever have a demo software that would make a white noise sound every 30 seconds or so after the demo period is up? It's kind of like that
 
Regardless of what you end up doing, regarding keeping or selling it, you should contact Dave and make him aware of it because it could be something in the production chain that affects some units and not others. I'm not an electronics guy but there could be a small component, like a certain kind of wire, etc. that is making this process "hit or miss" so to speak.

Good luck with whatever you do. I'm a Friedman ASM-12 fanboi but if you do sell yours, I recommend giving the CLR a try. I have never owned one but reading reviews, etc. it seems like that would be an easy transition because they are similar in a lot of ways.
 
Hey, I just realized the white noise you are talking about. I just plugged in to mine and listened for it and get what you are talking about now.

So there is that really loud hiss that is on when the unit starts up, then the quieter white noise you mentioned. I never noticed it before, most likely because mine is by my Axefx and computer so I'm hearing the fans from those. To me, it is not bad because it is not loud and barely noticeable but I guess it could be irritating depending on location, etc.
 
I think it seems that there may be some variability between units and the amount of hiss sound OR, differences in hearing sensitivity between some folks lol. I think the amount of his mine produces is atypical though. I've had plenty of other powered monitors over the years, and often there is a slight noise coming from them if you literally put your ear within a foot or two. That is to to be expected from any product, but on my ASM, I don't need to get close to it. I can still hear it from clear across the room. Far louder than the sound of my Axe fan, my computer fan, the sound of the air-conditioner running etc.

I'm wondering if it has something to do with class D vs G amps as well. From what I understand the ASM uses a class G and the CLR uses a class D, not sure what those letters actually mean but maybe part of the "issue" ? Likewise, I think maybe having input and output level controls might play a part.

On the CLR you have an input level gain, and then also an output knob. Seems that if you gain stage it so that you can run the output level at a lower level the overall noise floor is reduced. On the ASM, I guess its just outputting a fixed level, with the input gain giving between 0-30db attenuation, (I think the manual said noon equals -12db) so you have to do a lot of level control via the Axe output knob. That works fine with regards to amplification of the Axe signal, but if the amp is always trying to run at a high intensity level of output maybe as a side effect its producing the hiss sound ?

I found a used CLR I purchased that should be here next week. I'll give that a comparison and hopefully it should be better, and then decide if I want to either return the ASM as defective, or try exchanging it. I have a feeling that what I'm hearing is louder than any expected level of background circuit noise though. This was a used ASM-12 as well, so doesn't appear there is any ability to get warranty coverage for it. I worry that should the hiss be coming from a component that is suspect that something else in the amp or driver may fail too, then I'd have a totally dead unit opposed to one that just hisses.
 
You should be able to get warranty on it. The warranty is probably 1 year....and i'm assuming it's transferrable.
 
Friedman Limited Warranty Friedman provides
to the original purchaser a two (2) year limited
warranty on materials and workmanship on all Friedman
cabinets and loudspeaker components from the date of
purchase.
 
I definitely get hiss in my CLR with the master at noon. I was told it was normal. Apparently not. Rather frustrating, but I don't notice it live, of course. I just keep the master down a little further at home.

I believe my Xitone has a little less than the CLR.
 
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