NAD question: Mesa D-350 noise

[lastminute]

I got myself a Mesa D350 and Mesa 1x12 Ultra lite cab. I got it because I'd heard its good reputation for being silent. Now that I have it, I want to make sure it lives up to its reputation, but I also know I'm very sensitive to noise, so I want some more objective opinions on this.

With the amp on but no guitar plugged in (and Mute NOT activated), and all knobs at 12, I can barely hear that washy/ocean wave/steamy sound that most amps have (sitting on ground 3 feet from it), and I probably wouldn't catch it if I wasn't listening for it.

I definitely hear it more when I crank both input gain and Master to 2 o clock (which is as loud as I'd probably ever get it), but again; barely (when a car passed by on the street outside, it would drown out the hiss). And if I step away and put around 8 ft distance, I can't really hear at all.

Does that sound right? Is this the usual noise level one could expect?

 

[agedhorse]

I got myself a Mesa D350 and Mesa 1x12 Ultra lite cab. I got it because I'd heard its good reputation for being silent. Now that I have it, I want to make sure it lives up to its reputation, but I also know I'm very sensitive to noise, so I want some more objective opinions on this.

With the amp on but no guitar plugged in (and Mute NOT activated), and all knobs at 12, I can barely hear that washy/ocean wave/steamy sound that most amps have (sitting on ground 3 feet from it), and I probably wouldn't catch it if I wasn't listening for it.

I definitely hear it more when I crank both input gain and Master to 2 o clock (which is as loud as I'd probably ever get it), but again; barely (when a car passed by on the street outside, it would drown out the hiss). And if I step away and put around 8 ft distance, I can't really hear at all.

Does that sound right? Is this the usual noise level one could expect?

Yes, that sounds right. It also depends on where your tweeter level is set on the cabinet. You should turn the input mute on as tat terminates the input too, it's at the very front of the preamp. Alternatively, you can terminate the input with a termination plug wired for 15k, this is the approximate DCR (worst case) of a pickup;.

 

[lastminute]

Yes, that sounds right. It also depends on where your tweeter level is set on the cabinet. You should turn the input mute on as tat terminates the input too, it's at the very front of the preamp. Alternatively, you can terminate the input with a termination plug wired for 15k, this is the approximate DCR (worst case) of a pickup;.

Tweeter level was around 9oclock (which is -2db).

Putting it on mute did quiet it a tad, though not by much (which maybe speaks to more to how quiet the engaged mode is). With mute on, I can hear it faintly, but again, I feel like I'm listening for it, but a person not doing that wouldn't probably notice.

 

[Al Kraft]

Gain and master at noon is, for most basses IME, a pretty high volume level with that cab...2 o'clock on both is up there. If you had been playing a bass line with that minimal background noise, I think the the signal to noise ratio would have been very high.

Every amp, just due to spurious signals in the air, quality of/artifacts in electrical power, and their own electronic operation will have some noise IME. Based on years of time with the D-350 what you're hearing sounds normal to me. If you are noticing it a lot while playing that would be unusual IMO.

My advice would be to plug in and play a bit and see what you think.

I hope that helps you feel a bit more comfortable that everything is okay. If you do feel there is a problem you have the industry's best warranty and support team including the engineer who designed it (agedhorse) to help you out.

 

[Lowbrow]

Sounds like you're in good shape based on your description.

 

[lastminute]

Gain and master at noon is, for most basses IME, a pretty high volume level with that cab...2 o'clock on both is up there. If you had been playing a bass line with that minimal background noise, I think the the signal to noise ratio would have been very high.

Every amp, just due to spurious signals in the air, quality of/artifacts in electrical power, and their own electronic operation will have some noise IME. Based on years of time with the D-350 what you're hearing sounds normal to me. If you are noticing it a lot while playing that would be unusual IMO.

My advice would be to plug in and play a bit and see what you think.

I hope that helps you feel a bit more comfortable that everything is okay. If you do feel there is a problem you have the industry's best warranty and support team including the engineer who designed it (agedhorse) to help you out.

I can't really hear any of that washing sound when playing, so it's probably fine, I'd think?

 

[agedhorse]

I can't really hear any of that washing sound when playing, so it's probably fine, I'd think?

It's been fine for hundreds of players, zero complaints about noise floor,

 

[Al Kraft]

I can't really hear any of that washing sound when playing, so it's probably fine, I'd think?

Honestly, the signal to noise ratio when playing is what counts the most. I'd be shocked if even a discriminating person like yourself (and FWIW I'm the same way) didn't hear this as a very clear and clean amp when doing what it was designed for...playing notes!

When you have electronics that are meant to amplify sound, they are going to amplify everything including normal circuit background noise. If we were in an environment where we had 100% clean power and there were no radio frequency or other electromagnetic energy coupling into things (and we are not even close to that ideal world) there would still be a little noise generated by the circuitry itself.

As a for instance, things like LED lighting and cell phones can couple in wirelessly or via the electrical lines to add noise. My sense is that you're fine. The amps are burned in a bit and tested at the factory before they are shipped. Component design and selection is top tier with a good QA program on components and assembly. The evidence of that is the five year warranty even if you use the amp every day as a professional musician...and Mesa has very few warranty claims on the SW amps last I heard.

 

[winston]

Also - no fan noise to cover the hiss, pretty rare on mini heads these days!