White noise from speakers, normal?

O

OD66

New Member
A new AX8 owner and a novice in frfr world here. Interested in Matrix FR10 for its weight. A question for experienced users of Fractal+FRFR rout and owners of FR10 in particular.

I tried a few, DXR10, ZLX12, etc, at various stores. They all have a low level white noise coming out of the tweeter when nothing is connected and volume all the way down. It is not audible from more than a few feet away unless you really focus your attention. Is this normal with all these speakers? Is this the case with FR10?
 
I don't have experience with FR10, but have experience with various PAs and FRFR types.

I think the little bit of hiss from the tweeter is completely normal and expected from high output speakers, and I should think that FR10 has it as well.

With my DXR10, the hiss level doesn't change much with the volume all the way down or all the way up. So at least in this case the hiss is a baseline of noise independent of the power amp level.
And if you think about it, these loudspeakers are rated to produce ~120 dB. (And the tweeters have high sensitivity of ~110 dB.) If you consider quite low overall noise rating of like 0.01% which is -80 dB, that would still mean ~40 dB of alowable noise from them.
So it makes sense that this is a trade-off with high output speakers. You'd need a ridiculously low rating for noise to get zero hiss (-120 dB = 0.0001% noise rating...).

Even with studio monitors producing lower levels, you're bound to hear some hiss if you put your ears up against the tweeter. As you've said, it's not audible from a few feet away, which is the intended use for these loudspeakers. It's completely fine, and to be expected.

Relevant read:
https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/system-noise/
 
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Seems to depend on the speaker, type of amps used, etc

I returned my ASM12 because the constant white noise was annoying at home. Switched to a CLR and it’s essentially silent. If I stick my ear right against it there is the slightest hiss, but I can’t otherwise hear it in the room, same as my desktop monitor speakers.

I think some monitors are just going to have a little hiss which depending on the application may or may not be a dealbreaker
 
lqdsnddist said:
Seems to depend on the speaker, type of amps used, etc

I returned my ASM12 because the constant white noise was annoying at home. Switched to a CLR and it’s essentially silent. If I stick my ear right against it there is the slightest hiss, but I can’t otherwise hear it in the room, same as my desktop monitor speakers.

I think some monitors are just going to have a little hiss which depending on the application may or may not be a dealbreaker
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Thanks so much, Iqdsnddist. I bought and returned a DXR10 for the same reason. I suppose the noise from DXR10 would have been OK in a sufficiently sized venues, but I would like to use it at home as well as in small venues. Maybe I should invest in CLR if it is as quiet as desktop monitors.
 
OD66 said:
Thanks so much, Iqdsnddist. I bought and returned a DXR10 for the same reason. I suppose the noise from DXR10 would have been OK in a sufficiently sized venues, but I would like to use it at home as well as in small venues. Maybe I should invest in CLR if it is as quiet as desktop monitors.
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I have both DXR10 and CLR, noise levels are about the same at similar levels. And if I crank up the master gain knob on the CLR, noise is actually louder than with gain knobs cranked on the DXR10.

DXR10 really doesn't have that much hiss noise. If you're bothered by that, I imagine you'll be bothered by most products in the market.

Do you have experience with guitar tube amps and their hum and hiss? Seems questionable if the PA hiss is a real problem... Hiss should disappear as soon as you start playing, it's not a problem in practical usage.

If you had more hiss than that, it was a faulty unit.
 
I'm not hearing the crazy amounts of hiss/noise with my DXR10 or ASC-12. I do hear some but it's not unbearable. I did notice today it's really loud when it comes on but goes down significantly after a few seconds.
 
I have hiss on my DXR10s and CLRs (1st generation). In a venue setting, the noise is completely imperceptible.

I've never used my CLRs as desktop monitors, but I do hope to try it some day. In a quiet setting like a mixing desk, I would probably notice the hiss at low volumes.

IMHO the CLRs and DRX10s would both be fine for playing at home, unless you are playing at such low volumes where hiss would be a factor. For me at least, the hiss is acceptable compared to the volume I play at. For extremely low volumes, nearfields may be good enough.

For mixing, between CLR and DXR10, the CLRs would be better because the DXR10s are not completely flat.
 
I don't know of too many high power amps that don't produce any noise when hooked to a speaker. Guitar amps do this all day long and if you play through any high gain amps it sounds like there's a massive waterfall somewhere deep inside your cab.

To the OP, just turn up and play you won't hear it :D
 
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