2. misc-audio
  3. 194490-80822

Out of Balance

So this morning I loaded a Mozart trio CD to go with my morning cup of joe.  Immediately I noted the piano and violin pushed way to the left and the cello dead center.  Unlistenable!  While I virtually never used tone or balance controls, a did this time.  A quick turn of the balance control and all the instruments now floated in space perfectly positioned (at least in my mind). 

Made my wonder did the sound engineer suffer from unilateral hearing loss!  Hard to imagine a wonderful performance would be ruined by such careless balancing.  I have had this happen with a few other CD's.

Just wondering how often other members have had this happen and did it bug you as much as it does me.

corelli
corelli OP
1,054 posts
 

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. 

mahler123
3,549 posts
 

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

corelli OP
1,054 posts
 

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

curlyhifi
158 posts
 

Spot on! A couple of years ago I noticed my system was definitely out of balance.

Yes I checked the cables replaced tubes. Went as far back as having the manufacture test the preamp. I ran my DAC through the amp and still missing part of the sound in the right speaker. 

A friend was having a Party and asked if I would supply the music . I brought over my Allen & Heath mixing board along with my Yamaha Powered speakers and Focal subwoofer. Sounded great not a problem after I adjusted the Pan control.

Playing music now through my regular system and use the balance control every now and then. 

Thank yo for bringing this to attention . This is equivalent to hearing a hum in your speakers finding out you have a ground loop after you paid good money to send your system out for testing

sns
3,780 posts
 

This is simply another recording variable, strange mixes aren't that unusual. Trying to 'repair' these mixes on an individual basis is a recipe for unhappy listening sessions so I just accept them as is.

More to discover