Quiet Stereo Amp Suggestions Options

[PhantmShado]

My HK 3490 I use on my desk with bookshelves about 2 feet away from me always seems to have a low hiss noise (slightly louder on right channel then on left) that is always present at some volume regardless of chosen input. The noise at times bothers me more than other times just listening to the speakers, but if I plug in audio technica headphones (which I've found to be easy to drive) the hiss becomes unbearable.

To this end I was wondering if there are any stereo amps I might look at that eliminate this hiss? I currently use the optical in and so would like a replacement that also has that. The speakers are Linn Majik 109s and they are pointed in at me each at about 2 feet from my ear.

Thanks.

[soulsearchingsun]

Reasons for this:
- do you happen to control the volume on your source (e.g. computer) rather than on your receiver? For best performance, set your sources to full (or near full) volume and control loudness with your receiver. Otherwise you'll unnecessarily amplify noise.

- your receiver has a defect

- you're super sensitive

I don't think build quality should be a problem with this amp. It has a claimed SNR of 95dB which is good imho.

edit: Be sure to disable all DSP or headphone enhancement, somtimes they add a notable amount of noise.

This post has been edited by db1989: Apr 12 2012, 14:30

Reason for edit: removing pointless full quote of first post