Finally. I've been trying to post this for the past week but the system wasn't taking my responses--very frustrating.
Just wanted to let you know my problem is solved. After reading your posts I went back and re-checked my individual speaker levels more closely and the right speaker was indeed a bit louder than the left. After adjusting the channel levels the center image snapped in placed and has remained locked there ever since. The problem appears to lie in the speakers(looks like about a 3db difference between the speakers, which I'm pissed at Soliloquy about--that seems a little much to me), but I still don't understand why the situation didn't reverse when I switched the speakers. At this point I don't care because I'm just enjoying being able to relax and listen to music again without having to constantly change speaker positioning or having to scootch across the couch to get correct imaging.
I want to give a sincere thanks to all of you who pitched in with your thoughts. I probably would have found the problem eventually, but you guys helped point the way sooner and I can't tell you what a relief it has been. Happy listening.
Tim |
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I have slight off-center imaging due to room asymmentry, even though I listen in the nearfield, and resort quite successfully to a balance-control tweak to pull the image a bit. As the thread-head states he tried the system in a different ROOM with the same asymmetrical results, I guess we have to assume the problem is electrical. Maybe the pre or amp outputs are unbalanced? 1/2 dB would be enough to pull the image, correct? A leaky old cap in my old NAD amp resulted in such an imbalance. 1/2 dB difference in sensitivity is pretty common with speakers, but that's already been ruled out, eh? Well, good luck, and let us know what it turns out to be! |
Guys, the dude says he's tried other speakers -- w/out the problem. Logically then, it shouldn't be room related...
Acssavings, have you tried any of this out? I'd be intereseted in results.
Cheers! |
I think it's most likely a room thing, even though you say it doesn't happen with other speakers and happens in other rooms. Perhaps the Soliliquy's have a radiation pattern that is susceptible to whatever the room problem is, and perhaps the other room you tried happens to have similar characteristics.
The most likely culprit is a reflection or diffraction to the side of the right speaker. Imagine you put a mirror up against the wall to the right of the speaker, located so that as you look at the mirror you see the tweeter. The mirror is at the first sidewall reflection point. Pay particular attention to absorbing or diffusing the sound at that point.
Another possibility is a diffracting surface between the speakers, like a widescreen TV or something.
Are there any diffracting discontinuities to the right of the right speaker? Like the edge of a bookshelf, or a table, or a door frame? If so, try covering the feature up with a towel and see if that helps. Also, is there a doorway or other "hole" behind the right speaker? That would also tend to pull the image in that direction. In that case, the fix requires a bit more experimentation.
You might make sure that there are no screw heads sticking up around the tweeters, just to eliminate that possibility. A screw head is small, but close to the tweeter it actually interacts with a sizeable portion of the tweeter's output.
One final question - do the sibilants - the "sssss" sounds - seem to come from the same point in space as the rest of the vocalist's voice? If the sibilants are off to one side, that will pull the image over. Possible causes are a high frequency imbalance, which you seem to have eliminated, and/or reflection or diffraction of the highs. If the two speakers sound the same (placed side-by-side with a mono source, switching back and forth) then it's most likely a room thing.
Good luck! |
I've got one other possible cause- it could be that your left ear needs to be cleaned. Jay |
Wywhcan has the easiest solution. If your speaker set up is symetrical but your room isn't then don't expect balanced sound in the listening spot. I've been toeing in and out for months and discovered if I toed the left channel speaker more, which has a sofa beside it and about ten feet of room to the side wall, then it sounds balanced with the right channel, which doesn't have as much room. I'd read somewhere that you should just experiment until it sounds right and don't worry about the aesthetics.
Regards, |
If you have not already try switching(left/right) a pair of interconnect, and maybe speaker cable (with interconnect switched back to normal) in order to eliminate the question of an electronic phenomenon. If the sound is still leaning to the right and it is not too much trouble, try to make your room as symetrical as possible. I have also had this problem, and when I moved my computer monitor from one side of the desk to the other, the vocals settled in the middle. In any case, don't compare your 5.3's soundstaging with other speakers. Different speakers load rooms differently, and the other pair somehow may be more immune to your right side leaning. I have noticed this with my bookshelfs. They never had a problem with soundstaging, it was the floorstanders that required a little work. Good luck, I know that problem can get a little annoying. |
PS: My center image was off even when I listened in the near field, so it was not a room problem. |
Hase you tried switching the left and right IC's back and forth? Other than the room the imbalance may come from the electronics or the cables (maybe just a poor or dirty connection if you are lucky). It looks like you have already rules out that it is the fault of the speakers. I recently had an off center image after playing around with a bunch of cabling, when a friend dropped by. I had originally though that I may have damaged a micro wire digital IC that I use, which is very fragile, but discovered after merely removing all of the cables, cleaning the contacts and reinstalling everything again, the sound was back to normal and I did nothing else. Hopefully you solution will be as easy. |
Uncanny, as presented! Do you get this at all volume levels? Since U have switched speakers with identical results, it shouldn't come from the Sol's. Have U checked the right speaker's mid/tweaters' 1st reflection point vs the left? (but then, you've tried another room...) Anyway, if not, try dampening both reflection points identically -- try anything for starters (pillows... any absorbant matl).
Also, check out 1st reflection points on the ceiling. Finally, you may have one channel stronger than the other across the volume range -- or a phase inversion on one channel (unlikely).(but, again, you've tried other speakers).
Good luck! |
Since switching the speakers doesn't change the skewed imaging, I'd guess that it may be environmental - i.e. bare wall on one side and sofa/absorving material on the other side. I've had the same problem and, by playing with the balance control of my pre/pro I was able to centre the image. |
Maybe the right speaker output is more than the left. I'd call Soliloquy and ask them about it and see if they could test the output of each speaker in their facility or maybe a Radio Shack spl meter will tell you. Hope I've been of some help. |
