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Phono cartridge left / right output voltage differ

Just received a new Denon DL-S1 cartridge and noticed that the output voltage for the left and right channels are different.The left is .16 mv and the right is .18 mv.Though this is only a .02 mv difference it turns out to be about a 12% difference between channels.

Will I hear this channel imbalance ? Should I send it back ?

Thanks
carbonfiberone
larryi
4,117 posts
 
I must have remember the formula incorrectly--I thought it was 10 log (P1/P2).

In any case, one db is not that big a difference if you have a balance control.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I must have remember the formula incorrectly--I thought it was 10 log (P1/P2).
It is. However we are dealing with voltage, not power, and it is 20log(V1/V2) as Mulveling explained. Since for a given load power is proportional to the square of voltage, the logarithm gets multiplied by an additional factor of 2 when calculating from voltages.

log(X squared) = 2(log(X))

Regards,
-- Al
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
It is also mathematically correct to compute 20 log for each voltage and subtract the results. However, you have to get the decimal points correct for millivolt values. That was my mistake. Using the quotient method as Al posted avoids the pit I fell into. :-)
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