Lower gain in left channel.


I just noticed last night that the volume from my left speaker is lower than my right speaker. It is enough that images are pulled towards the right speaker, but it is not glaring. Could this be a sympton of a power tube going bad? I'm running An Air Tight Preamp (with 6 month old new tubes) and a c-j Premiere 11A. I'm not sure the age of any of the tubes of the c-j, I bought it used and have had it for about 1 1/2 years. Would a tube or tubes going bad manifest in this way. There are no strange noises or anything coming from the left channel, just the slightly lowered gain. Thanks for your help.
128x128jond

Showing 1 response by garfish

Jond; I've had the problem you describe for years, and it's why I always use a pre-amp with channel balance control. My left channel output volume is higher than the right channel, so I always have to dial in about 3-5 dB (biased to the right) of volume to achieve good channel balance and proper imaging. I CAN get good imaging by slightly biasing my listening position-- which is then slightly off center.

I've blamed my room, my speaker set-up, my hearing etc, but in 4-5 years in my present room have yet to figure out why this is the case. I've also changed tubes in my pre-amp several times and it has made no difference. Sorry I can't help. I'll follow this thread with interest. Craig