Phono cartridge left / right output voltage differ

I had a 103r that had about the same percentage channel imbalance. I bought it from a discout store so I figured it was how denon filtered out the better cartridges from the poorer ones and still sell them hence making a profit versus reworking them or scraping them; my guess (opinion). Can't say I could hear the imbalance during play back but I was always concerned about it.

I sold the cartridge after having snapped off the cantilever and replaced it with a Benz Wood SL.

Chuck

That is a difference of almost exactly 1 db, which is quite small. But I would be hesitant to say that it is completely insignificant. If your preamp has a balance control that is either continuously adjustable or has small steps near the center position, you should be able to determine if there is any audible significance, and compensate if necessary.

Regards,
-- Al

I doubt that they would have let it pass QC if they thought it would be a problem. Did you think to try it and listen for yourself? My guess is that you will not, but now that you know they are different you will convince yourself that there is a difference and will forever be in doubt.

That translates into (almost) exactly a 1.0 decibel imbalance. It'll be quite audible, and some (myself included) will find it extremely annoying. Others are oblivious to channel imbalance until it's more severe.

Unfortunately - until you get into the big money cartridges - many models are spec'd by the manufacturer at no better than a 1.5 dB channel differential. Some models are spec'd at 1.0dB, and once you get into the high end, 0.5dB is more common. So your cart is almost certainly considered normal - especially since it was stated right on the spec sheet!

You could try to mitigate this by playing off other imbalances that may exist downstream. E.g. if you have an imbalance due to asymmetric room acoustics (and you don't mind swapping L/R). Or, you could have a custom 1.0dB attenuator built and place it between the weaker channel's phono -> preamp link. Or you could return/sell that cart and keep looking.

It's irritating when this happens. We expect "new" to be perfect and free of problems. I bought a DL-103 from AudioCubes years ago and it happened to me, but I don't remember hearing a difference between channels.

Should you complain to the vendor? I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but I wish you luck.