Speaker Balance Question

I am currently listening to an ex-dem pair of Lumley speakers and it seems to me that the right hand side speaker is much more prominent in sound than the left. So much so that the soundstage seems to be focused to the right. Still sounds like a stereo image but something is not quite right.

Since my amp doesn't have any balance controls do you think this could be a feature of the amp or the speakers? I have tried the amp with my other speakers and it is much less so but still slightly emphasised to the right.

Itis possble that my left ear is more hard of hearing than my right but the missus also noticed it.

Anyone experience this or know what could be the cause?
Other equipment is a Pathos TT and Cyrus Cd8x cdp with PSX-R

 

Try switching the speaker cables at the amp so that the left speaker's wired up to the right amp output etc.
If the left speaker then plays louder you know the amp's to blame but if the right's louder you know it's the speaker (or possibly the cable).
If it is the speaker it's more likely to be down to the crossover components than the drive units.
Don't rule out the source or interconnects either.

 

Check that the drive units on the back are playing the same level on each speaker. Just because the controls are set the same doesn't mean the level is...

Swap the cables at the back of the amp like Andy suggested. If it does not follow the cable swap, it is probably the speakers, but it might also be room acoustics. Swap the speakers around to make sure it is them.

If its the amp though it is probably the pre-amp stage.

If it is only slight, a DEQ may be the easiest way to correct for it along with what we were discussing about the LSA.

 

Swappped the speaker cables at the amp terminals and the emphasis shifted to the left speaker so it sounds like an issue with the amp.

Oh no!! Was hoping not to move the amp again as it weighs almost 90lbs.

But what could be wrong with it?

 

Not slight - quite noticeable. Would really like to have it fixed at source. if one of the valves went the entire channel would not work right?

Tried it with my MA speakers and though less noticeabl than the Lumleys still noticieable and there!

 

Before you do anything to the amp, try switching the interconnects between it and the source just to make sure.
Same applies again. If it changes it's the source.
If not it's down to the amp.
Don't really know much about valves i'm afraid although i'm sure someone here would be happy to help out.

Good luck.

 

check the valves by the same method, swap them left to right.

 

Changed the interconnects to a spare I had and the problem persists.

Are the values changeable like lightbulbs?

 

They should just pull out but be gentle-they're delicate.
How many valves are there and are they different types/sizes?

also did you try switching the left and right interconnects over to rule out the problem being at the source(ie cd player).

 

Letting the amp cool down now. The valves have got little cages so since I have no idea what i'm doing, pehaps I should consult with the dealer first?

 

There are just two. They both appear to be Sovtek 12AX7LPS valves. Since the amp is under warranty, I'm going to leave it till I speak to the dealer tomorrow.

 

If there is only two valves you can't really go wrong, just pull them out with a little bit of a wiggle and swap them over.

 

If your still under warranty and you don't feel confident you should definitely take it to the dealer but do try switching the left and right interconnects at one side only (cd player or amp)to rule out the possibility of the fault lying at the cd player.if you do the switch and there's no change, you know the amp's to blame.
Tenson's right though you can't really go wrong just turn the power off before you remove the valves and leave it off til you've plugged them back in.

 

okay swapped L and R interconnect at the CD end and this didn't change the emphasis which was still on the left side ( since I swapped the speaker cable over)

tried to wiggle out the tubes but they won't budge. Don't want to exert too much force there. Seems like it is definately the amp. However, if one of the tubes has blown I would have thought that entire channel wouldn't work right? Don't really know how tube amps work (or transistor ones either for that matter).

 

Tubes can degrade too, not just work or not work. Probably the tubes I would guess. If it stays the same when the tubes are swapped though, I think you need the advice of someone who knows about valves! I wouldn’t be worried though, this sort of thing is usually very simple.

 

May be that the valves can vary in output too.
I'm pretty sure i've heard of them coming in matched pairs. not 100% on this though(sorry,bad memory-sign of a mis spent youth:MILD: ).
Could also be the pre-amp section as T mentioned earlier.
Either way, your dealer should be able to sort it for you.

 

The pre-amp section is valve based. Since I cannot get them to budge I'll see what the dealer SOM says and take it from there.

Thanks all for your helpful advice.

 

No probs.
Hope it works out.

 

You should really be able to pull them out with a bit of a circular wiggle - they are designed to do that. 12AX7 is a pretty common valve and is cheap to replace - say £5 and upwards each. You could look at some web pages that describe the characteristic sound of different brands and try something a bit different while you are about it, if you fancy or if there is something about the preamp sound you want to tweak.

 

your describing a problem I had with a valve power amp ...the drift to one side will be away from the dying valve [I think....!] try and get your valves checked or just get a new set....

for me it was the cheap chinese valves ....once up graded to groove tubes they lasted upard of 5 x as long ...in fact there still running as far as I know at magpie tims [to whom I sold the amps].

hotrox offers a valve checking service ...if you can drop them round or post them to him. It was £2 a valve ..which sounds a lot but the hair pulling saved , it was well worth it.