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[Reggmail]

SubterFuse & Splurt, what's up.

Just wanted to offer some help.
I have been using my Zero 8 mixer for some months now, and although their is some (lots of )problems with this mixer ( I can testifie to that), obsessive hissing is not one that I am experiencing, and my last three serial # ends with 280.

I am using a TASCAM CD-X1700 dual CD player along with my PC laptop and a QSC PLX 2402 power amp.
I am coming out of the Zero mixer from the XLR +4 dBu ( Bal) output going into my power amp with 12k Balanced input with very minimum to normal hiss.
Do you hear the same hiss in the headphones or when using your computer speakers? (turn off all FX / Mixer on flat)
If you do hear that hiss from headphones or PC speakers then it's possibly could be a polarity problem or bad amp output from the Zero mixer.
If you don't hear the hiss from the headphones or another output.
I would also try using the mixer from other sources, such as another amp that I could hook up with the Zero 8, or take it to a location ( to the place of purchase, if you got it from a store)where I could hook it up using various cables and outputs or another Zero mixer if I can, to see if it's a problem with the mixers amp, cables, polarity switching, or whatever. ( As you booth know it's a process...of elimination) I am sure with the knowledge that you booth have you will get to the bottom of this issue.
Please keep us all informed while we wait very patently on Korg's announcements on the very badly needed update for the Zero 4 + 8 Mixers.
Hope that info could help you.
Peace & blessings.

[subterFUSE]

The hiss I am getting is definitely coming from the Korg, and it is not ground loop noise or noise from the firewire.


Here is how I have confirmed this:


My setup includes the following:

Mackie SRM-450 powered monitors (master)
KRK V6 powered monitors (booth)
Korg Zero8
PC Laptop
2 Technics 1200M3D tables


To reproduce the noise issue, I can follow this procedure:


1. Unplug everything completely.
2. Plug power to Mackie SRM-450 speaker.
3. Turn on Mackie speaker
4. Mackie speaker will power on and play a very low background noise. This is a low-level noise floor, and within acceptable limits. If I leave the speaker in the auto-power mode, the noise floor will not be sufficiently loud enough to keep the speaker powered on. It will turn off after about 90 seconds.
5. Plug power to Korg Zero8.
6. Turn on Korg Zero8 and allow to boot.
7. Connect XLR cable from Zero8 master to Mackie speaker.
8. Instantly when connected, the background hiss becomes much louder. So loud, that the speaker will not alllow itself to auto-shutdown. This is a hiss sound, not a hum.... so I know it is not a ground loop.

The hiss is unaffected by the master volume or channel faders on the Korg. This hiss is also present in the booth output, although not as loud.


Notice, all I must connect to cause the hiss is the Korg. If I connect the computer via Firewire, it makes no change to the hiss.


Just FYI - the Mackie SRM-450 is designed to accept an +4dBu XLR balanced input. The Korg master output is +4dBu XLR balanced out. So they should be perfectly matched.

The only way I can make the hiss level low enough to tolerate is to turn down the gain on my Mackie speakers almost to minimum. Then I must run the volumes on the Korg at full tilt just to get the music loud. Obviously this is just a basic example of maximizing S/N Ratio. Since the hiss is unaffected by the volume of the Korg, you therefore want to run your signals as hot as possible to make them louder than the noise floor. In this regard, this is no different than any other mixer. The difference is, the noise floor on this Korg is so much higher than my Allen & Heath mixer I had prior.

Of course, I would never expect Korg to be able to produce a mixer as good as Allen & Heath. A&H make the best DJ mixers in the world. But one would hope they could do a better job than say Pioneer. Pioneer mixers are garbage, but the one I had years ago wasn't this noisy.