Out of Balance

Switch to Seattle's Best.

I love Remote Balance, a small adjustment can make a large improvement, especially while in your listening position.

I use a Chase RLC-1 Remote Line Controller specifically for that purpose, it has very many 1db steps, mute, other features you might or might not use, including automatic and progressive implementation of bass boost that only begins at very low volumes.

NIB, $167. delivered, you MUST have the remote, no controls on the unit

There haven’t been any with remotes, or new for sale for a while lately, don’t hesitate.

Sunday my friend and I were comparing both Mono and Stereo LPs with high quality streaming. Volume differences need to be adjusted for fair comparison. His Audio Research Preamp has remote mute, you can adjust the volume while muted, then change the input, then un-mute. Very nice, AND it has remote balance and a slider display I could see clear enough from 12 ft away! 

His system/speakers came alive when he got this model, he knew his prior AR Preamp had sounded better long ago, I never heard it, his memory was correct.

Normally, it would not be my norm to add an inexpensive piece of gear or additional preamp circuitry into the signal path, BUT, given the profound improvement I experienced this morning by just using a simple twist of my balance control, who knows what's next---a tone control!?!?

Seriously, I am happy with the vast majority of my CD's as is.  But in the future, I will be a bit less reluctant to use the previously unused controls on my preamp. 

Was it an analog recording that had been transferred to digital?  

No, this is a DG DDD recording from 2005, Mozart Trio, featuring Anne-Sophie Mutter.