2. digital
  3. 181525-527

Oppo 105 favoring one channel

Hi everyone! My Oppo 105 seems to be favoring the right channel slightly over the left. Now, before you ask any questions, here’s the system and the troubleshooting I’ve done:

System:

Sources: Oppo 105 (digital); Hagerman Trumpet MC phono stage

DAC: Schiit Gungnir

Amp: Schiit Ragnarok 2/Yamaha 801

Speakers: Reference 3A MM Gen 2

Cables: Acoustic Zen and Belden ICs/ Nordost White Lightning speaker

Troubleshooting:

  1. Swapped speaker cables - no difference (i.e., right side still favored)
  2. Swapped speakers - no difference
  3. Swapped inputs on the amp - no difference
  4. Swapped amps - no difference
  5. Run IC’s straight from the Oppo to amp, bypassing the external DAC - no difference
  6. Tried both balanced and unbalanced outputs from the Oppo - no difference
  7. Listened to both CD and Tidal playback - no difference
  8. Yet when I play from my phono stage, the sound is even and instrument placing is where it should be, even when using the IC’s I had used with the Oppo
  9. One thing i haven’t done yet is try a different digital source - mainly because I don’t have one.

Is this a thing? I would chalk it up to speakers or, more likely my room acoustics except for the perfectly balanced soundstage generated by the analog components. Thoughts?

 

128x128simao

Showing 5 responses by simao

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,750 posts
 

Hey Erik. Yes, I tried crossing the speaker cables and the sound migrated accordingly to the left

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,750 posts
 

Yes, switched those cables, too. Still the same result. I also swapped R and L speakers and the sound stayed on the right. Again, this phenomenon is NOT present when I'm running analog. 

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,750 posts
 

@designsfx ​​​​@knighttodd Thanks for the remote and set-up suggestion. I'lll lug the unit to the closest tv and use the visual interface to adjust balance and such. Oppo stopped providing firmware years ago, but their app still works on Apple devices (though not, as far as I can tell) with Samsung devices. In fact, I can't even find it in the Play Store. 

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,750 posts
 

@jeffseight Good to hear that. The 105 is a forever piece for me. Until it isn't. But until then it is. 

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,750 posts
 

Problem solved! And for a much cheaper solution than I had anticipated.

@designsfx That solved the problem. When I went to the Audio Setup menu, the right speaker trimmed 2 db higher than the left. Whew! What a relief. Thank you for the solution. And yes, I did just now find the Oppo app on Aptoid! 

@clearthinker I had been thinking the same thing. I've had several infections in my left ear over the years and I was wondering if the hearing had dropped off. I'm glad it hasn't. 

@hrlywd I was thinking that, too. Due to a closet cutout, the left side of my rear wall is several feet deeper than the right side, and I was wondering if I was hearing the right side louder because of closer reflections. I brought up one of those bamboo tri-panel room dividers to act as a surrogate wall, but noticed no difference. Thank you for the guidance, though. 

@curiousjim Please! I'm not an audiophile Philistine. But maybe I should try it... 😉

 

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