I quite like FFXIII PC (it's my favorite of the FFXIII albums by far) but there's a slight issue I've noticed with the recording.  Basically there's an audible hiss that seems to rear itself most often when a chord is played in quieter passages.  The beginning of "Sulyya Springs Motif" is the most noticeable place though there are others in other tracks as well.

Has anybody else noticed it?  I've been listening to my own CD rip in FLAC on multiple sets of equipment so I'm pretty sure it's an issue with the album recording, but it'd be nice to hear some confirmation from someone else who has the album before I mention it in a review.

Could be the sound of cloth moving (from the performer) or the piano hammers slightly touching/brushing each other. Actually I heard this sound in a lot of other tracks (not on this album) as well, and at least for me it gives the whole performance a much more natural touch.

I'm fairly used to hearing rustles and the sound of the actual contact with the instrument (is there a term for this?) and such from the performers in orchestral albums, but I'm pretty sure it's not that in this case.  The hiss sounds very much like a recording issue; if anyone who has the CD could give a listen and chime in I'd appreciate it.

I have the album and listened to the corresponding track before writing the post. So if you don't mean the sound I was referring to, then I don't experience this hissing.

EDIT: I'm using an AKG 701 as headphone system.

Adam, I was listening to Vielen Dank this morning and noticed some sort of hissing-type noise in the background, most noticeably during track #17 ("Zufall"). It happens frequently during the more forceful notes, but is always on-time with the music so it sounds like it's just the sound of the piano or what Liquid Acid mentioned in his earlier post. Take a listen if you can - I can upload an MP3 of the song if you want to check it out and don't have a copy on-hand.

I think I know what you're talking about -- it's probably the sound of the pedal. It happens in piano recordings that are recorded very closely.