Experiencing speaker imbalance, while amp headphone output is fine. Any ideas?


Hi all. Purchased a brand new Audio Research i/50 integrated amp a few weeks ago. Sounded fantastic straight out of the box. Left town for a week, came back and the left channel is now sounding substantially louder than the right. I have Vandersteen VLR CT’s paired with it.

The amp also has a built-in headphone amp. I’ve checked that, and the L/R balance is perfect.

Does anyone have a clue here what could be happening?

Thanks so much for everyone’s time.

128x128gnarmite

Tubes are a consumable.  If that doesn't set well with you, solid state was invented for guys like that.

 

I'm glad it worked out well for you.  It's very frustrating when equipment is not functioning properly, but when you're buying new from a dealer, part of what you are paying for is a warranty and insurance for your peace of mind that someone will be there to assist you when something goes wrong.  I recently had an issue with a new phono preamp. I emailed my dealer and within the hour I received a detailed email from the distributor that explained how to address the issue.  It would be nice if this could be done with used gear as well, but unfortunately it's much more unlikely.  

@gnarmite

glad you figured it out

did you take @oldhvymec ’s advice and get pepper spray too? he also keeps a fire extinguisher handy next to his listening chair too, as i understand it

great mechanics are always prepared... 😂👍

I'm glad it worked out well for you.  It's very frustrating when equipment is not functioning properly, but when you're buying new from a dealer, part of what you are paying for is a warranty and insurance for your peace of mind that someone will be there to assist you when something goes wrong

Thank you. Luckily I have a great dealer and he got me sorted asap.

did you take @oldhvymec ’s advice and get pepper spray too? he also keeps a fire extinguisher handy next to his listening chair too, as i understand it

Best advice on the whole thread, and maybe the cheapest!!