My Roccat Kave has a problem of loud hissing/white noise when just having it powered: no matter if audio plugs are connected or not and no matter if powered by AC to USB adapter or a laptop running on battery. I contacted Roccat's support for the issue and tried everything to make sure the problem wasn't caused by any external interference. Roccat's support concluded that it was a defect so I RMAed the headset. Now I've gotten new Kave in exchange but this unit has exactly the same problem of hissing. I'm going to RMA again but I'm starting to think it's a design flaw and not just bad luck of getting two defected products in a row.

I'd like to know if anyone can confirm that there exists Kave that don't hiss at all (as perceiving hissing is subjective).

I've tried powering Kave with two PCs (a desktop (both on and off/stand by) and a laptop (both connected and not connected to mains)) and also an AC-to-USB power adapter: always the same hissing when powered. While testing I turned off nearby equipment that could cause interference with no effect. The Game/Movie Mode and volume settings on the remote have a negligible effect on the quality of the hissing.

I would hate to be forced to choose another headset because I really like the sound quality of Kave; the hissing of this magnitude just makes it impossible to enjoy them, but it's good to know, it's not a design problem. So I will keep on RMAing until I get a non-hissing unit.

Thanks for assistance!

I just tried with my friend's PC (another laptop both connected to mains and on battery): same hissing. I've tried now with 3 PCs and an AC-to-USB adapter. I wouldn't blame anything but Kave itself for the hissing anymore. I would accept a little amount of hissing like I've experienced with Speedlink 8793-SBK Medusa NX 5.1 but the magnitude of hissing with my Kave is unacceptable.

So it doesn't hiss at all on your PC - even when not playing music? In my case playback doesn't make the hissing stop. Of course loud playback hides the hissing but every time, when there's a more subtle part in playback, the hissing is easily distinguishable.

Yes, I've checked any microphone settings too: tried turning volume settings down and also muted/disabled all the playback and capture devices too. I believe the problem can't be fixed with any settings because the hissing is the same with a PC on stand by/turned off state and even with an AC-to-USB adapter which should exlude bad USB ports too.

Yes, I tried that too with no effect. Anyway, I'm keeping Kave despite the hissing.