Left Front Channel much louder than the right. (1 Viewer)

[Mike_Stuewe]

I got a new Denon AVR1082 a couple weeks ago and have noticed a problem.

Basically it seems that the front left channel is much louder than the front right. Whenever I play something in stereo, it seems that what should normally be heard in the center of the sound stage, that it is coming strong from the left speaker. I noticed this first in Buffy Season 2 dvd's before I had my center and rear channels hooked up and I was watching them in stereo. All of the dialog was coming from the left channel. I started noticing it on CD's and TV as well whenever I would watch something in stereo. After I had hooked up the rest of my speakers, I replayed the same episode of Buffy and the center channel contained all of the dialog as it should have. However, when I perform a test tone, when both are settings are at the same level, they seem to sound the same, although I do not have an SPL meter to test them with.

I tried switching both speakers in and out of phase to see if that might have been the problem.

I swapped the left and right channels so that my right speaker played the left channel information and that speaker then became stronger than the other. So I am guessing that it has nothing to do with the speakers or the room set up.

This happens when I play all my components.

My setup includes:
Denon AVR-1082
2 - MTX C12 speakers for front left and right.
5 - MTX MP52B speakers for center and the four surrounds.

Do you guys have any idea as to what might cause this, and how it might be fixed????

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[KC Alewine]

I had pretty much the same problem with my Sony DA30ES receiver & Paradigm Titans, but I didn't discover it until I tried to calibrate the sound system using Avia and a Radio Shack SPL meter. I tried swapping out speakers on the low channel (front, right), but a bad speaker wasn't the problem.

I ended up simply adjusting the balance control on the receiver from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock and re-calibrated with Avia. That fixed it.

KC

 

[Swami]

I had a similar problem with my Studio 60s. Turned out to be a combination of speaker placement and bad speaker wiring. Check them both out.

Swami

 

[AntonS]

I noticed the same thing with my setup once. It was like there were a whole lot more low frequencies coming from one side. Turned out to be a loose speaker cable on one of the terminals.

In any case, you have to calibrate your speakers with an SPL meter.

 

[Sebastien David]

is one of your cables way longer than the other one?
that could cause something like that.
again, calibrate your system, it's of primordial importance to get the most out of your hardware!

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

Well,

After working on it for a few hours (and watching Nascar) I have tried the following and am totally lost.

1. I plugged in my Audio Technica headphones and played back the same material as before. Everything came out dead center when it should have.

2. I placed a voltage meter on the terminals for both speakers and played the same 1 KHz tone on both at the same volume output of the receiver, the strange thing is that they both read very similarly, about 500 on the meter, but it isn't a digital meter so I think i will grab one from work tomorrow if it is still a problem.

3. I double checked all the EQ for the unit and it was all totally flat.

4. Tried it at different volumes, the left channel dominance seemed steady.

I do want to grab a SPL meter, although my dad is telling me to get a Spectrum Analyzer which he can get at rep pricing ($1500 :wink: )

Thanks for all the help guys, and if there are any more comments, please keep them coming.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

Just cut brand new 9 foot speaker cables for it and that didn't do the trick.

 

[AntonS]

Can you actually adjust the levels so the sound is centered? If you can, how big is the adjustment for one channel comparing to the other? If the difference is too big (say more that 5dB), then there is something wrong with the amp. Most probably one of the output transistors has failed. You need to have the receiver serviced.

 

[Chu Gai]

Assuming that your digital VOM reads the same, and I suspect that it will, that would suggest, that at the 12 o'clock position your receiver is putting out power properly and that its balanced. In fact, everything you've taken a look at so far, suggests your playback system is not at fault. After confirming that this is not an out of phase issue with your cabling a few possibilities suggest themselves.

First of all, getting a RadioShack SPL is a good idea. Buy or borrow one. Take a look at how your front speakers are toed in with respect to your listening position. Consider using an inexpensive laser pointer to aid in the alignment. Also if you haven't done so, move your speakers slightly forward of any audio rack you may have. The C12's are a shade under 34" tall, with the tweeter/midrange drivers lower. Consider raising the speaker to bring the tweeter/midrange more in line with your ears, which in conjunction with toeing them in properly, should lead to improvements in their imaging.

 

[John Garcia]

is one of your cables way longer than the other one?
that could cause something like that.

This is completely untrue. The lengths would have to be dramatically different for there to be any noticable difference.

I will second Chu Gai's recommendations. How are the speakers located? If one is nearer to a side wall or corner than the other, that is most likely the problem. A level adjustment on the receiver done with an SPL meter and proper positioning relative to the listening position will likely solve this issue.

 

[AntonS]

If swapping the speakers at the receiver terminals the sound became more loud from the other (right) speaker, then it's obviously not speakers/cables/room/position.

Btw, did you measure voltage with the speakers connected? They should have been. What was excaly the RMS voltage on the meter? 500 is a strange number. If it's 500mV, then it seem a little low. At the speaker terminals it should have been few volts, depending on the volume. Also, was the 1kHz tone more loud from the left speaker at the time of measurement? Can you doublecheck? Can you present lower and higher frequency sine waves too, maybe 250Hz and 4 or 8kHz?

I just re-read your first message. You said that when playing test tones, the volume seems to be the same from both speakers. On what inputs did you notice that the channels sound diffeent? Are they digital or analog? If analog, swap them and see what's going to happen.

 

[Chu Gai]

AntonS: well yes and no. understand that what i'm about to say is not an implication that anyone is crazy but rather a well known psychological phenomenon. when we, for whatever reason, expect a particular phenomenon to occur, our mind transfers that belief in order to maintain consistency with our perception and sometimes extends that phenomenon to other areas.
Mike for reasons yet unknown, hears the balance shifted to the left. He's done some tests that indicate all is well with his system yet he still hears it. Switching wires and now everything is shifted to the right. Mentally, the mind transfers the balance in that direction. Now part of the reason is because he's become sensitive to the uniqueness of the left channel information which is now coming from the right. In fact, it may well be that he's altered his head position slightly.
Similar experiences have been found in people who have subjectively listened to two cables. Although both were identical, they were told that cable a has been constructed differently and been independently reviewed and found that it lacked high end definition. Not only do they state this to be true, compared to cable b, but a significant number also state that cable b seems to lack midrange presence. Keep in mind, they're identical! the statments of 'lacking midrange presence' has to do with the mind seeking to invent other factors, which don't exist, to substantiate their perception of a lack of high end definition.
Mike has a bit more work cut out for himself.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

Ok lets clarify some things

AntonS:

I just re-read your first message. You said that when playing test tones, the volume seems to be the same from both speakers. On what inputs did you notice that the channels sound diffeent? Are they digital or analog? If analog, swap them and see what's going to happen.

Just to clarify, those are the test tones produced by the receiver, not from the sound check cd that I have. The signal has come out strong left coming from the following sources:
PS2 connected by Optical Cable
DVD connected by Coaxial Cable and Optical Cable

I think when I get home from work today, I will try the analog sources, as well as the tuner. The thing is, would the source type really affect this, especially considering that it sounds correct when I hear it from the headphones.

I'll be checking some things that you guys have given me ideas about when I get home from work. I really appreciate all the input that you have given me so far.

 

[Kevin. W]

Mike,
Before you begin to worry about sound levels that come from the speakers you MUST and I stress MUST get a Radio Shack SPL meter and adjust the output of each channel. The investment in the meter is worth every penny. If you think the 1082 is the only receiver you'll ever have your dead wrong. HT upgraditis will eventually set in and ever time you swap out a piece of equipment you'll have to re-calibrate. Once EACH channel is properly calibrated you'll have no complaints. This is something that unless you are an expert can not be done with an untrained ear.
Kevin

 

[Wayne Ernst]

If you think the 1802 is the only receiver you'll ever have your dead wrong.

But, he has the 1082 (3802 equivalent).

 

[Larry B]

Is your room symetrical? More specifically, does one side open into an "L" shape? If so, the sound may seem to be louder on one side, even though meters show the two sides to be identical. Someone else mentioned this phenomenon a few months ago.

Larry

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

The room is set up symmetrical, there is a large opening into my dining room (which i want to make a studio ) but as I said before, I swapped the speakers at the terminals so that the speaker on the right was playing the left channel information and vice versa. The right speaker (left channel info) then became dominant.

 

[Chu Gai]

well when you measure your tones, say off a disc, that should shed some additional light on the matter.

 

[Kevin. W]

But, he has the 1082 (3802 equivalent).

ps error in my typing. But all numbers aside, all it will take is a listen to another system, maybe some external amps, etc and the upgraditis will set in.
As to the original topic, again I MUST stress, until you set everything up with a SPL then worring about room dimension, speaker wire, etc is mute.
Kevin

 

[John Garcia]

The right speaker (left channel info) then became dominant.

Based on that statement, what are your speaker level settings? Are they the same or is the left higher? As Larry mentioned, I also have a large opening on the right rear of my room (half wall, raised eating area) which gives me a similar issue - my right rear surround sounds louder no matter what, even when calibrated, so I end up turning it down 1dB to make it sound even.
Due to a door on the wall where my front stage is, my right speaker is close to the wall, while the left is quite a 3+ ft away from the left wall. There is a 1dB difference between the two when calibrating, and without it, my system sounds as you have described - always right biased. Calibration and some "tweaking" of the right rear cured all of this.