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Channel imbalance with turntable playback

So I’ve been having a slight channel imbalance for awhile now. Vocal tend to lean left and just overall left leaning gain. I swapped the L&R input on the phono preamp and it sounds way more balanced. Any harm in just leaving it or should I swap them back and figure out what the problem is causing this? Thoughts? Thank you!
paulgardner
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,714 posts
 
No harm leaving it!
A possible cause is antiskate. Antiskate is used to counter the force which is pulling the tonearm to the center of the record. Too much or too low antiskate will cause the stylus to ride one side of the groove more than the other, which will cause channel Imbalance.
paulgardner OP
183 posts
 
Yeah that’s what I suspect after doing some research. Does having the L&R inputs swapped doing anything to the sound quality?  Thanks for the reply!
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
You need a Test Record to check channel orientations, phase and polarity. Look for Cardas Test LP or Hi-Hi News Test LP.
There is only one right position for all cables in your system from cartridge lead wires to your speaker cables. You have to check all of them using a test record!
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,714 posts
 
No!
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