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
clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 

When did the channel imbalance start?  Was the system and the room arrangements the same before you heard the imbalance?  Did you ever hear this issue previously?

Could it be a change in your hearing?  Sometimes if one of my ears gets a bit blocked I hear a reduced volume on that side.  If it's definitely not your ears...

If the imbalance suddenly came on with the same system and room arrangement and you are sure of what you are hearing (?get a decibel meter and measure a sine wave tone from equal distance and height) then one of your components has an issue.  Probably only one as lightning doesn't strike twice....

Re-check the phase and tightness of your connections and continue to test by swapping components in and out.  Possibly take the components to a friend's house and swap them in turn into his system.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,700 posts
 

So you are running your phono preamp through the Oppo??

 

hrlywd
2 posts
 

Not certain if this could make the difference, but are the settings the same in the speaker placement configuration? Distance / Trim Size?

simao's avatar
simao OP
1,819 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... 😉

 

designsfx
793 posts
 

@simao 

🤘Awesome! Glad you were able to get it worked out. Now just keep that remote out of the sofa cushions!

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