Hiss on X-Series using in ear headphones

[purkit]

OK I bought an X-1060 yesterday and I've noticed that the hiss you get when the music is not playing or very quiet is very noticeable. Its much worse then my old D2, Samsung YP-Z5 and Clix2. I'm going to have to send this back, the sound quality is degraded massively with the constant hiss.

Whats going on? How come so few people seem to mention this? I've since heard a second 32g one and a 16g one all with the same level of hiss from two different Shure in ear headphones and some JVC in ear headphones.

Anyone else noticed this?

[CrowdAds]

[The DarkSide]

The reason most of us don't mention the hiss is because we all tend to use different headphones/iem's with the X Walkman. I know I do, so I've never had a reason to complain - sorry.

[crazycanuck332]

To be honest I never hear the hiss when I'm listening to my music but I do hear them when nothing is playing. If you can hear the hiss when playing music but when it only happens when nothing is playing I dont think its something to complain about.

[Dreamnine]

It's just with the included iems - they are harsh and horrible-sounding anyway.

[WalkGood]

Although I do not own a sony x, this is not what I have read, the x seriers hiss with all low ohm sensitive iem's and hisses a bit louder than most DAP's. Also have read that a portable amp does not help remove the hiss, only very high ohm phones can mask it. This is unfortunate as there are other sony's that do sound better.

[Ascariss]

well it is true that hiss is quite obvious with the included headphones but I like using them for their NC function, but when using my other sony headphones there is no hiss, but I have decided to accept that fact that there is hiss for the superior sound quality.

I have listened to about 6 other mp3 players side my side with my X and none compare to its sound quality.

[purkit]

Thanks very much for all the responses guys!

I'm in two minds about sending it back. I already tried a J3 (a friend bought one) and although it did have great sound quality, the user interface was fairly bad. I'm loving the overall experience of the X-Series, its a great player, it would just be better with less hiss.

I was looking at the FiiO E5 as a solution, but maybe not if WalkGood comment is correct.

Ah well, any other advice would be welcome. Thanks!

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by purkit

... I was looking at the FiiO E5 as a solution, but maybe not if WalkGood comment is correct. ...

It’s obvious that you have sensitive hearing, not all who own and use it hear it. You stated you hear the hiss and I stated that is what I have read. I also noted that I do not have one and have not listened to one, so you can take my comment with a grain of salt if you wish. On the other hand I wouldn’t waste money on the e5 to eliminate hiss for iem’s, a cheap amp like that can possibly introduce crosstalk and additional hiss. You may want to wait for feedback from a few members that ordered a lod for their sony’s from ebay to see if that helps with a better amp.

Originally Posted by purkit

I'm in two minds about sending it back. I already tried a J3 (a friend bought one) and although it did have great sound quality, the user interface was fairly bad. ...

If you liked the J3 SQ, you might look at the s9 or the i9 which should sound similar and have the same sound enhancements.

[Szadzik]

I heard the hiss with the provided IEMs, but with my AT ESW9s ther eis none, ane they are not high hi Ohms.

Besides, if you think there is even one Sony Walkman that sounds better you are very wrong.

It is not only X series that hisses, lots of other DAPs from various manufacturers do that too.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Szadzik

I heard the hiss with the provided IEMs, but with my AT ESW9s ther eis none, ane they are not high hi Ohms. ...

You probably misunderstood me; I was not referring to the over 100 ohm class of headphones. Obviously at 42 Ohm impedance the ESW9s are just right for you not to hear any, per your statement of not hearing any, as compared to the low impedance/sensitive iem’s which do hear the hiss.

Also I would agree with you that all portables hiss to some extent, just some more than others and some can be fixed with either an impedance adapter plug or a portable headphone amp.

[Dreamnine]

For me, the S639 hissed considerably more than my X ever does, whichever iems I use; but the X's bundled iems are rubbish, noise-cancelling notwithstanding.

The X is the best-sounding Sony I tried, S series, E series et al.

[purkit]

Hi guys,

A final update on the background hiss.

I bought:

1. One Line-out with female stereo jack (ebay).
2. A Fii0 E5 headphone amp.

I first ordered the Line-out from ebay. It completely removes the hiss, but unfortunately added distortion to the bass and treble. This was when directly connected to my Shures. I tried plugging the line-out into a full sized amp and the distortion vanished. I concluded a headphone amp would probably fix the distortion problems.

I decided to buy the Fii0 E5 headphone amp because it was by far the cheapest option and if it didn't work it wasn't a major waste of cash. I'm pleased to say the Amp works well and fixed the distortion. There is a slight hiss generated by the Fii0 E5 but as the line-out completely removes the players hiss its much better than it was.

Overall I'm happy with the solution. I get to use my Shures and the sound quality is overall very good. One warning, the Fii0 E5 goes REALLY loud, so be careful when trying it for the first time.

[Szadzik]

I have been using a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ESW9 headphones and no hiss is present with them.

I now purchased and should be receiving shortly a pair of Sennheiser MX980 earbuds and will report back on how they work with the X and whether there is any hiss.

[dmistry]

The hissing only happens with the supplied Noise Cancelling earphones. I get no hiss when I just use non noise cancelling earphones/headphones.

It has something to do with the in-built microphones

[Szadzik]

Originally Posted by dmistry

The hissing only happens with the supplied Noise Cancelling earphones. I get no hiss when I just use non noise cancelling earphones/headphones.

It has something to do with the in-built microphones

I think you may be partially right. I tried my 5 quid Sony earbuds and got no hiss.

But AFAIR people were comlaining about hiss with some other than supplied IEMs.

[dfkt]

Hiss happens with phones that have too low impedance and too high sensitivity.

Anything that's around ~16 Ohm and ~115dB/mW will inevitably hiss with the player. Anything that's 32 Ohm with somewhat normal sensitivity will behave better, and anything above ~50 Ohm should be just fine.

[Szadzik]

Got my Sennheisers today. No hiss. Nice.

[purkit]

Originally Posted by dmistry

The hissing only happens with the supplied Noise Cancelling earphones. I get no hiss when I just use non noise cancelling earphones/headphones.

It has something to do with the in-built microphones

Sorry, not correct. As dfkt helpfully pointed out its an impedance issue which effects certain headphones, not just the supplied Noise Cancelling ones. I'm currently using Shure SE210 and I know the same happens with the Shure SE420s.

I'm thinking about getting some Sennheisers in the future and I'd recommend them if you are still looking at buying a cut priced X-Series as they seem to sound great without the hiss

Also I did mention twice that I wasn't using the Noise Cancelling ones but Shures, but I suppose you would have to read my posts to know that

[Szadzik]

Originally Posted by purkit

I'm thinking about getting some Sennheisers in the future and I'd recommend them if you are still looking at buying a cut priced X-Series as they seem to sound great without the hiss

And we still need to remember that the hiss is only present at veeeery low volumes and not all the time as some may imply.