Balance on Tube Amp

I have a slight hearing imbalance where some higher frequencies in my left ear are not as strong as my right ear. I only noticed this when I bought a decent tube headphone amp and headphones.

If you’re running single ended connections, I would try the Douk Audio (Nobsound) balance control. It’s built using Yamaha control board slide controls.  I noticed no degradation in sound in my headphone setup. 

For $150, it worked and is built better than I expected. It has a very fine adjustment range. You can find them on the bay searching “HiFi Stereo Passive Preamp Lossless Audio Preamplifier with Volume Control” 

get thee a Chase RLC-1 Remote Line Controller. They were made to add remote control to existing non-remote equipment.

105 db Signal to Noise Ratio is true: I and my friends are simply unable to hear whether it is in or out of the signal path. In, you get remote volume, balance, mute, treble, bass, and it has 4 selectable Line Level Inputs. Use it direct, to an input, or thru a tape or processor loop.

You MUST have the remote, there are no controls on the unit. Any RLC-1 remote will work, they all use the same KP-1 Remote.

Adjusting balance, from your listening position, for your specific needs, or for specific tracks, once you have it, it is amazing how much improvement to imaging a small adjustment can make.

You can have a problem with balance in your system, from who knows what: compensate, keep listening, enjoy, find and fix the issue later at your convenience.

both XLR and RCA ins and outs

manual volume control, individual L & R

Schitt SYS, Switch Your Stuff, 2 Way Switch with Potentiometer, use a pair of them for independent L & R, $49. each

Sounds like you do not have a preamp. There are multiple reasons to use a preamp, balance control is on of them.. a good one will improve the sound quality significantly in nearly all systems.

If you did not experience an imbalance with your previously mentioned amp - perhaps there is something wrong with the "recently purchased" unit.

DeKay

There aren’t many integrateds with volume balance capability. I have this issue and was going crazy with all the vocals shifted left, solved with the PSAudio Stellar, then decided to get tube/SS hybrid and finally found Mac MA352.  That Schitt box might have widened my horizons had I known about it but that’s ok. If you get your hearing checked you might be surprised. A balance issue can be a hidden problem, especially if you are one of those who is always straightening pictures on your wall.

I want to thank all Of You and Wish Every One A Merry Christmas..      Since I just purchased the Raven Audio Reflection from previous Osprey Amp this has widened the sound stage and much more detail is coming out of speakers than ever before....But this also makes me want to hear as much as possible..So I have Tinnitus really bad 50 years but I am still blessed at what I do hear and noticed left speaker was not as full sounding as right channel and moved left in 8 inches and OMG the difference and that is what made me think how can I adjust the balance to get that full sound stage...I may try Shiit SYS....

When you swap tubes between the left and right channels, doe the balance change? If yes, you may want to go for matched tubes in the future. 

I will try that today just to make sure they are matched tubes.

The tubes were suppose to be matched for they all have markings

of were to place them...Will not hurt to try rolling them..

Thank You ..I really love this Reflection Amp..

The Chase Unit is a far better choice, even if just using the REMOTE BALANCE,

small risk, likely work together, total $85.

this one, broken, comes with a needed remote

CHASE RLC-1, to get the remote needed for a unit without a remote $30.

get the non-working unit to have a case in good condition  

Powers On, needs remote $55.

or

New in Box, asking $210, make offer

.............................

Well just changed power tubes left to right and that seems to have made enough correction for my hearing ..Will have to play some more music to prove what I am hearing... I saw the tubes from factory were marked for locations in amp and like anything not always test numbers prove best sound for individual listening hearing.

There was/is a thread running in this forum from an OP who noted that one side of his system was noticeably stronger than the other side and he was looking for troubleshooting tips.

As far as your tubes, I don’t have any experience with your gear, but I do have a test CD that has a specific tone for testing AC voltage (with a multimeter set to ACV) at the speaker terminals or amp terminals. I have noted that the tubes in the balanced input sockets of my preamp will have an effect on thie readings. In other words, if one side has a higher reading than the other side, if I swap the balanced input tubes around, the high and low readings follow the tubes.

Where I was going with all of that, is maybe you have a weak tube(s) in your tube complement and it isn’t your hearing causing the issue you are experiencing.

(As far as your power tubes, I would have thought that if the bias was equal on both sides, that would compensate for a weak tube.  After re-reading your thread, maybe I was wrong in my thinking.)

With Tinnitus I am very sensitive to sound and detail and since I do not play music any higher than 78db I am searching for every noise that comes out of the speakers...And I ask my wife if she hears this and that and has NO Clue what I hear.. I have been listening for years to this same music I am playing and never heard what I hear with this tube amp & speakers...To me every tube even tested and balanced may still produce slight change in sound ..Your hearing is the only true test of what you hear from each tube .. If not for me coming here and asking about balance and response I probably would have not changed the tubes ..But doing so sure has made me a believer that each tube does produce different frequencies in what we hear..Thank You