2. amps-preamps
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Different sound between two channels

I have noticed recently that the sound of my left speaker is slightly different than my right speaker. The right channel appears to be brighter sounding than the left channel with the right channel sounding slightly richer sounding. I've tried reversing my speaker cables at the back of my Pass X250 and the problem kind of switches channels. I'm not sure if the problem is with my Hales T5's or the Pass X250. I think it may be a bit of both. I replaced the voice coils on both the tweeters of my Hales and the sound in general improved but the issue of the right channel being slightly brighter remains. The difference is noticable with the entire speaker as when I play just one channel or the other I notice this characteristic sound with the enire speaker. If my preamp is muted I will get a bit of residual noise from the amp in my right speaker(which is the brighter sounding speaker) and I imagine this residual noise is constant and may be causing the varient sound between the speakers. If anyone has any possible explanation or similar experience your feedback would be appreciated. I should mention that I spoke to Pass and they said it was normal for the X250 to be slightly different between it's two channels and that some residual noise in one of the channels is normal. I should also mention that what I'm experiencing is only noticable when listening right up to each speaker and is not noticable from my listening position.
128x128mitchb
distortion
571 posts
 
If you switch speaker cables and the problem switchs speakers then....it is not the speaker. If the problem doesnt switch then....it is the speaker(unlikely) or one of its cables. Try this first. Put everything back as before.

Then, remove the inputs from the amp, if the problem persists then....it is the amp. If it does not, replace the inputs on the amp and begin removing source inputs from your Preamp. One at a time, then power up and listen. Whenever the problem does stop the last piece disconnected and its cabling are the culprit. If you disconnect all the source inputs and the problem persists then...the culprit is the Preamp, to make sure, disconnect the inputs to the amp again.

A pain in the butt? You bet. But process of elimination is the most sure fire method. Good luck.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,230 posts
 
Carefully examine the placement of all your cables. It's possible that a single cable is picking up inteference from a nearby source.

Practically speaking you do not have a problem. From what you've written the noise is only apparent if you position your ear 1" away from the speaker. At that distance many if not a majority of systems will exhibit some noise.
mitchb's avatar
mitchb OP
336 posts
 
Thank you all for your help. It turns out that after much experimentation this evening trying all combinations of cables being switched back and forth it turns out that two things could have been the culprit. One, I suspect a loose connection or something as when I switched all my cables around left to right and right to left, the problem mostly went away having a pretty balanced sound. What I did discover is that my CDP's right channel is slightly brighter than the left channel. I did not think this possible. Perhaps it's the mono function on my Pass X1 which only blends high frequencies and not lower mids or bass. I am getting a replacement player in about a week for other issues but at least it's not the Hales(no warranty) or the Pass X250.
mitchb's avatar
mitchb OP
336 posts
 
In living with my system I notice the problem remains and is not a loose conection or the CDP. It is subtle but it is there. Could it be a room issue even though the room appears symmetrical? I do have windows on the right side of the room but they are covered with blankets. The windows will rattle with loud bass however. The bass has to be pretty loud.The right speaker generally all around sounds slightly thinner, even the bass which does not seem to go quite as low as the left speaker. But then again it's only noticable at the speakers and not the listening position. My concern is that it's a speaker crossover problem and since Hales is out of business I wouldn't know where to begin to get the crossovers fixed or even looked at.
Please help. Thanks
mitchb's avatar
mitchb OP
336 posts
 
I figured out that I had a crossover problem with one of my speakers and am now in the process of having both crossovers redone with high end caps, coils and resistors. The crossovers of my speakers were checked by a technician and one was OK but the other was off by over 10%. The problem was in fact with the speakers. As well I noticed that the right and left channels of my Pass X250 sounded quite different so my amp is now at Pass to be looked at and adjusted or fixed where necessary. I miss my system as it is now out for repair but I'm sure I'll get a better sounding system when the amp and speakers are returned. At least I won't be haunted as to whether or not there is a problem with speakers or amp. Problems solved.
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