Dartzeel Preamp Hiss

[howiebrou]

Does the hiss stop if you select an unused input on the preamp ?

No.

 

[Elliot G.]

I guess so. I wonder how many others use the Dartzeel preamp with other brand amps and get black backgrounds. There is something to be said for system matching i guess.

lol Howie I think someone said that at the beginning that you had a system mismatch

 

[howiebrou]

lol Howie I think someone said that at the beginning that you had a system mismatch

Ha. Yes of course.

I guess the problem with Analog Domain is they don't actually have a preamp. Having said that it seems only the Dartzeel that doesn't match perfectly at this moment but i guess many would use it with Dart amps anyway so it wouldn't be an issue.

Since neither the Dart or AD amps are mine i guess it's a bit academic at the moment as well. The Dart does sound very good though...as does the AD with the Trinity.

 

[microstrip]

Although I do not know how it will behave in hiss terms in your system - we do not have measurements of its noise - I would not discard listening to a conrad johnson GAT2. It is still my favorite tube preamplifier to drive solid state amplifiers if we want good airy transients with refinement in a system.

The GAT2 is hiss free in my system using the ART amplfiers or the Quad 606 mk2 (both around 26 dB gain) with the XLF, contrary to the cj ART series 3, that showed considerable hiss in similar conditions.

 

[Folsom]

PS: When PSU turned off(battery is full charged) , How much time can dartzeel work?

Given the size of the battery, could be a week.

 

[dandylinpsst]

Given the size of the battery, could be a week.

Only 2 hours than power off automatically.The middle led is red.
My dealer told me that the PSU must be always turn on.
When the dartzeel power on , you turn off the PSU,will cause the control system of the machine to fail.
You must reset the dartzeel to recovery charging control system.
Is it right?

 

[Folsom]

I could not tell you, don’t own one. But the other guys tried without...

Preamps only take ma’s to function, so if it turns off it is probably some other reason.

 

[dandylinpsst]

I will let the dealer send the dartzeel NHB-108 Model TWO to test.
To confirm if the dartzeel 18+108(connect with dartzeel 50ohm cable) can solve the "Hiss" problem or not??
This will be a challenging task

 

[EricAlasia]

I will let the dealer send the dartzeel NHB-108 Model TWO to test.
To confirm if the dartzeel 18+108(connect with dartzeel 50ohm cable) can solve the "Hiss" problem or not??
This will be a challenging task

No, it doesn’t.
I have the dartZeel NHB 18 + 108 (zeel connected) and the hiss is there... audible from 20cm I would say...
I tried pretty much everything has been suggest in this thread and nothing really changed.

 

[microstrip]

Only 2 hours than power off automatically.The middle led is red.
My dealer told me that the PSU must be always turn on.
When the dartzeel power on , you turn off the PSU,will cause the control system of the machine to fail.
You must reset the dartzeel to recovery charging control system.
Is it right?

There are several versions of the power supply and several upgrade levels. Unless we have full details the answer is meaningless. Using fresh batteries with the upgraded software I could get about 5-6 hours playback time from my original NH18 NS . But batteries would loose the capacity after more than one year use. However they were inexpensive - around 20 euros x 4 for a quality set and simple to replace, but needed a soldering iron.

 

[howiebrou]

I have tried 3 power cables to see if they would reduce the hiss, to no avail so far (Crystal, Kondo and Trinity cables). I also found the hiss a little too audible this evening with some quiet passages. I have no idea whether the 468 would resolve this but it would appear from other posts that other users are living with this rather audible hiss...hmmm could be a deal breaker for me but i have really wanted a Dart for over a decade!

 

[howiebrou]

No, it doesn’t.
I have the dartZeel NHB 18 + 108 (zeel connected) and the hiss is there... audible from 20cm I would say...
I tried pretty much everything has been suggest in this thread and nothing really changed.

So are you accepting it as a condition of ownership? I thought of doing so but now am not so sure. I would really like to find a solution though.

 

[XV-1]

I have tried 3 power cables to see if they would reduce the hiss, to no avail so far (Crystal, Kondo and Trinity cables). I also found the hiss a little too audible this evening with some quiet passages. I have no idea whether the 468 would resolve this but it would appear from other posts that other users are living with this rather audible hiss...hmmm could be a deal breaker for me but i have really wanted a Dart for over a decade!

Howie, it certainly would be for me.

I remember buying the VTL 7.5 and it was noisy with hiss with any amp over 26db gain. I told Luke Manley and he just flogged me off as my issue stating I should not be use amps with gain over 26db, his pre amp was perfect and he had never heard off this issue before.
Then a reviewer said the same thing when he mated with his fav Lamm amps and other users noted the same issue.

I sold off the VTL as a disgruntled customer.
Luke Manley realised his design was flawed after all and went V2 with a different tube driver section to stop the noise . No respect for VTL since.

 

[Folsom]

The hiss is almost certainly related to the loop area of the IC's, not anything to do with the power incoming.

 

[adyc]

I have tried 3 power cables to see if they would reduce the hiss, to no avail so far (Crystal, Kondo and Trinity cables). I also found the hiss a little too audible this evening with some quiet passages. I have no idea whether the 468 would resolve this but it would appear from other posts that other users are living with this rather audible hiss...hmmm could be a deal breaker for me but i have really wanted a Dart for over a decade!

Trust me. It will not solve it with 468. I can’t stand the hiss issue and move away from dartzeel pre.

 

[dandylinpsst]

So are you accepting it as a condition of ownership? I thought of doing so but now am not so sure. I would really like to find a solution though.

Hi howiebrou,what your FW version in dartzeel pre?
My FW version is 3.4.0. Is it the latest version?

 

[howiebrou]

Hi howiebrou,what your FW version in dartzeel pre?
My FW version is 3.4.0. Is it the latest version?

How do i check?

 

[howiebrou]

Howie, it certainly would be for me.

I remember buying the VTL 7.5 and it was noisy with hiss with any amp over 26db gain. I told Luke Manley and he just flogged me off as my issue stating I should not be use amps with gain over 26db, his pre amp was perfect and he had never heard off this issue before.
Then a reviewer said the same thing when he mated with his fav Lamm amps and other users noted the same issue.

I sold off the VTL as a disgruntled customer.
Luke Manley realised his design was flawed after all and went V2 with a different tube driver section to stop the noise . No respect for VTL since.

A crushing sense of disappointment as i see it slip away...Shane, your VTL story is disheartening. I can sense your disappointment even now.

 

[howiebrou]

The hiss is almost certainly related to the loop area of the IC's, not anything to do with the power incoming.

Yeah, i was willing to try anything except perhaps, ear plugs.

 

[Folsom]

Can you build your own IC's? You could build some with a 10ohm resistor on the ground and see what happens, might clean it up.