I just got an Arc PSM to play with (many thanks to Babyboy) and had a question about the floor noise.

I searched around the forums and found users would turn the master volume down to about -15 or so. That does help, but it is still VERY noticeable. The voltage is set to 2 and the firmware is up to date.

The noise is definitely coming from the PSM. I can bypass it and plug my RCA cables back into the amp and it goes away. The power wires of the PSM are going to the battery. Is anyone aware of a setting I may be missing that would reduce that "white" noise?

I really like the functionality of the PSM. It does everything I want it to when I click on the interface, but that noise is very surprising and annoying.

 

have tried using the high level input section instead of low level? what is the voltage output from your source unit?
m

 

Floor noise from what I've noticed is a big function of amp gains. If too high, you'll get a lot of noise

 

Imho the ARC master gain should be as close to neutral as u can reasonably get it. I shoot for the -5 to -10 range.
I also use high level input and have no floor noise.

T

 

Thanks for replies folks.

As I mentioned I can unplug the PSM and the floor noise is gone, so that should eliminate amp gain as an issue. If I plug things up the way they were, there is no noise.

Also if I unplug the input to the PSM the noise is still there.

 

Drop me a line if you have any questions or issues with that PSM.

 

Thanks Babyboy I think the PSM is working as it should, I just was wondering if I was missing an adjustment of some kind. Everything I ask it to do it does without hesitation. I have heard others mention the noise at low volumes but was wondering if there was any way I could adjust it out.

I guess every device we put into the signal path has got to cause some distortion of some kind. This DSP is so powerful with what it can do it may just be noise from all the processing going on in that little box.

Thanks again for working with me on it I have definitely been able to make the front stage sound better. That SS PN4.1000d seems to work real well with it. No matter how hard I crank it or how wild I get with the EQ settings it never breaks a sweat.

 

just for giggles, wire it up with the high level input and see what happens. if it's still there, no big loss, but if it goes away, boom you're a happy guy. most of the people that i have seen report this issue, say it goes away when switched to high level in. I've put a few of these in and Not had this kind of issue. the other thing to check out is making sure that you have very good grounds and that your power and ground wires are not in close proximity to your signal input wires.
m

 

marco if I had the speaker wires accessible I might try that but they are all tucked away pretty good. Since the noise is there even with no inputs connected at all do you think it goes away for some reason when the high level inputs are plugged in?

 

I'm no expert on the DSP stuff but when guys have mentioned to check the gains they are referring to a verification that the DSP and amp are working in conjunction with each other. If the amp gains are too high the DSP has to suppress the output. If gains are too low the DSP will be forced to create artificial output.
There apparently is a happy medium that must be obtained so take to time to experiment with the relationship between ur amp gains and ur DSP.

Also, the high level input has proven to greatly assist with the floor noise in many cases.

Just my .000000002 cents.

T