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MDR-XB950N1 has constant hiss/noise while turned on

moeburn
New

MDR-XB950N1 has constant hiss/noise while turned on

These headphones are supposed to be noise cancelling, but they're basically the opposite. If I go into a totally silent room, it's quieter with the headphones off than it is with them on. That's because the moment you turn them on, the internal speakers start playing a constant droning hiss, I have no idea why, and it's infuriating. - This hiss is only present when the headphones are powered on. It is not present when using the hard wired 3.5mm cable, as long as the headphones are powered off. - This hiss is present REGARDLESS of what the active noise cancelling setting is set to! The Active Noise Cancelling does actually work, if I turn it on while sitting next to a fan, I stop hearing the fan. But that annoying background noise that is constantly there, is the same whether the Active Noise Cancelling is turned on or off, using the button on the side of the headphones. So we know this hiss isn't the "seashell effect" or me hearing my own blood in my ears, because it only shows up once I press the power button to turn the headphones on. I put the headphones on, and when I press and hold the power button, it goes from silent, to hissssssssssssssssssssssss. And we know the hiss isn't a result of the active noise cancelling, because the hiss is present with or without the ANC turned on. I press the NC button on the headset, I hear the voice say "Noise cancelling turned off", the background noise does change slightly, but the hiss is still there. I also know I'm not the only one experiencing this issue, because I found this forum post from over a year ago complaining about the same thing: https://us.community.sony.com/s/question/0D50B00004IKw96SAD/static-noise-hiss-electric-noise-mdrxb95... What's the deal? Why are these $150 headphones playing so much static out of their own internal drivers as soon as they get powered on, regardless of the noise cancelling setting?
1 REPLY 1
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gcac2828
Member

Hiss from headphones can be because the input signal is too low volume so the headst volume has to be higher than normal.

I get same on my wireless headset (not bluetooth) increasing the audio to them reduces the hiss.