Headphone "Hiss"

Hey,

I was just wondering if it is common for the previous gen MacBook, to have a hiss-sound, when you listen to audio (music and movies) through headphones.? It's kinda hard to explain....

I've tried to use different headphones, thus I can definitely say it is not the headphones.

Thanks for any input,
Sander

 

think this has been an issue with macbook pros. not sure if its fixable/worthy of a return. maybe give applecare a try

 

shielded cables has fixed the problem for me.

 

i think i have the same problem, try using ur macbook with the loudspeaker and see if you still hear the hiss..

 

try to use the grounded (3 pin) power connector.

 

would this really make a difference?
i never thought about that

 

I did *NOT* hear this on the Macbook Pro (late 2007) model I played with last year, for what that's worth.

I HAVE heard it on a number of Dell systems, but not all. I hate it, and wish no laptops did that, as NOTHING costing >$100 should have any hiss at all.

EDIT: All hiss would have been heard through iPod headphones. That's what I use, so...there

 

Thank you very much for all of your answers

I don't know what to do about it this, though I do not notice it as much as I fool myself to think.. The hiss is mostly noticeable when no sound is playing and headphones (whichever I use) are plugged in..

Though, I think I'll have to live with it

Again thank you..!

 

try showing it to one of the genius

 

I definitively would take suggestions from few above posts, and get a good shielded set of headphones. Best thing is to take the notebook with you when you try the headphones out at a store.

cheers ...

 

I read that higher impedance headphones help. My current headphones are only 16 ohms and the hiss is very bad. Can anyone confirm is this is true and if so what impedance?

 

I've heard excuses like that before on some notebooks or other devices, but anything SHOULD sound just fine like on Apple's headphones or whatever.

 

I have a pair of very high quality headphones in addition to the apple earbuds. Both have the same static/hiss sound on my Macbook Pro (santa rosa). Ive kinda just gotten over this minor annoyance.... Even though I am a bit of an audio freak the sounds aren't audible during music playback. My suggestion is just to get over it. The *only* time that you should be able to hear it clearly is right after a sound has ceased, and the sound card seems to completely shut off the audio (and the subsequent hiss) after a few (~30) seconds.

 

I've heard that on a couple of old Dells, and a 2007 Macbook Pro I *didn't* hear that. Personally I'd be really pissed off if I heard hissing in something I spent more than $100 for. I mean the iPod Classic is $230, and you don't hear it hiss, so why should any notebook?

 

I have some hiss with my early 08 MBP. Once, I got my earbuds to pick up a radio signal.

 

yeah, using my earbuds (sony MDR-EXLP95, not sure about this though) i have had not problems so far.

Using my logitech speakers i cant hear them either, but using my JBL Creature i do have these problems, but its probably due to the crappy cable im using.

 

I think this is just the way the macbook pro sound card was build. There is a static sound coming from the output jack but depending on the headphones that you use you may or may not hear it. With the apple canals ( the 1st gen ) it is quite audible. You should also note that the notebook turns off the jack after 30 or so secs of inactivity. So you should play a sound and then immediately after that the static noise should be audible. It is not a hardware problem though and Apple will not replace your computer. The weird part is that if you use cheaper headphones then the problem is not audible. Anyway I got used to it and I don't really think about it much. If you want really great sound and you don't mind a slight increase in the size of your notebook look at Echo Indogo. They have a version that fits in the express slot now ( OS X drivers should come out any day now ). I personally switched to my grado's but open air design is not always and option. I also tried using my FSI monitors but the static was even more annoying ( granted that the cables are not really shielded ).

 

If you use the grounded 3 pin and a gold-plated headphones jack there should be no hiss what-so-ever.

 

I've had no problems using non gold plated jacks. Again, its about the cable shielding, and probably like other people have mentioned the impedance of the device.

 

The 3-pin power plug actually does make a difference too. Worst case scenario, if you need the best sound, get an external USB or expresscard sound card.