Hum when full volume and small leak Xone 92

[MmoneibParticipant]

Hello, I’ve recently repurchased the Allen & Heath Xone 92 after having to sell it when relocating. I’ve never had any trouble with it and the sound quality is spot on as always. I usually mix with headphones when I’m home to avoid making too much noise, I realized yesterday when trying the new Xone I can hear w hum in my headphones when no inputs are in the mixer. This decreases to almost nothing if I click the aux 1 or aux 2 but I need those to be off to hear the master in my headphones. Is it normal to hear that white noise with no inputs at all? I just can’t seem to remember

Another thing is if I max out headphones volume I can hear just a tiny slight leak from whatever channel with input playing. It’s definitely nothing to be noticed but again, is this normal?

[MmoneibParticipant]

To clarify the sound with no inputs is more of a hissing white noise

[MmoneibParticipant]

I’ve tried changing parameters and noticed the hiss is still there even with all gain knobs turned off, eq center, headphone volumes turned down and faders down. There’s still some white noise in my headphones and not sure if I’m supposed to hear that. I also tried both headphone inputs and hear the same thing

[MmoneibParticipant]

Quick update, I’ve tried connecting the headphone output to an Audio 10 and figured the decibels. The highest it reached was 39 (-96) with the headphone volume completely turned up and all faders and gain knobs max (nothing connected to the mixer).

[KeithJ A&HModerator]

@mmoneib

Some noise is inherent in analogue circuitry and with the pretty powerful headphone amp in the XONE:92, it’s completely normal to be able to hear the broadband circuit noise (especially if listening to every channel at once!) and even boost the output to the point you can hear crosstalk.

As you’ve quoted some figures, I’ll presume you have some means to measure, so you could check against the specs in the user guide here – https://www.allen-heath.com/media/1623.pdf#page=34&zoom=auto,-274,816
That should let you know whether there’s anything to be concerned about.

Cheers!
Keith.

[MmoneibParticipant]

Hello Keith, thank you for the thoroughly reply. I checked the specs and they do align with what I hear. My concern is that I still hear the noise floor even with all gains and faders off and headphone volume to zero. Would that be normal?
I also get a very slight bleed from all channels when I turn any channel cue on and have the headphone volume all the way up.

[KeithJ A&HModerator]

@mmoneib

It’s impossible to say for sure without looking at the unit, but as mentioned, it would be perfectly normal for there to be a tiny amount of noise.
I am surprised there is audible noise with all gains, faders and headphone level turned completely down, to test this properly you would need to scope the headphone output, though as long as you have a reliable reference source to calibrate to, you will be able to get a good idea of whether it’s within spec using an interface.
The ‘slight bleed’ you talk about is called crosstalk, for which there is also a figure in the user guide specifications linked to above.

All units are fully tested (including for noise) before being shipped, so it’s very unlikely that there is an issue with a brand new unit. However, as Luke suggested in the conversation you were having with us via facebook, if you do still have concerns, please contact your dealer.

Thanks,
Keith.

[MmoneibParticipant]

Okay that makes sense. I’ll try seeing if this is the same with a different unit. That would give me a better understanding if it’s the same. Thank you for your explanation and help!

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