Hi all,

I just purchased a pair of HS80M studio monitors.  They sound absolutely great!

I have my Motif ES8 going into an Apogee Duet audio interface.  Then from the Apogee to the HS80M.  These are all unbalanced connections because the Apogee Duet outputs -10 db to the monitors.

I’ve read Bad_Mister’s posts regarding setting the gain control on the HS80s.  He mentions setting them to match the output of whatever is feeding them.  In my case, I would set the gain knob to the full open position labeled -10 db.  But, at this setting, I get major hiss, not a buzz, but just a hiss that’s fairly loud.

If I decrease the gain knob to the mid position labeled +4 db, the hiss is much less noticeable.  But, I’m confused because in theory, I should be running them at the full open position.

I’m also confused as to why the Yamaha gain knob is labeled opposite to other manufacturers like KRK and Mackie.  They all call the knob “input sensitivity”, but unlike the Yamaha monitors, they other brands go towards the + (positive) db when turning clockwise.  Whereas the Yamahas go towards the - (negative).

All I know is that I cannot set my Yamaha HS80s to the -10 db setting without hearing a lot of hiss.  I have to run the monitors at the +4 db setting which does not match the output of the Duet.  The hiss does go away when I mute the monitors via the Duet’s encoder knob though and there is no hiss at all on the headphones.

I have 2 more days to return the Duet if I don’t like it.  I was thinking as an option of going with a MOTU Ultralite MK3 which features balanced +4 db outputs.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

Anyone???

KenJ - 09 March 2010 05:37 PM

If I decrease the gain knob to the mid position labeled +4 db, the hiss is much less noticeable.  But, I’m confused because in theory, I should be running them at the full open position.

Because speakers are in the end of signal line, everything that comes first will be amplified, including all the electronical noise (hiss, hum etc.). The more you amplify, the more noise you get.

In your case you can just “ignore” the theory and use consistently the levels that feels comfortable for you to listen and has the best signal to noise ratio. Mid position is a good starting point, if it leaves enough space for faders to move and gives you comfortable sound pressure levels. Increase or decrease as necessary.

When you have found the right levels, leave it there. Generally there is no need to adjust speaker levels between the sessions when working with the same gear in the same space.

Thanks for the reply tuquoque.  I’m just going to keep the monitors at the mid point and forget about all this db matching.  The monitors sound great!