Speaker balance

[Blacksabbath25]

I would like to ask a question about speaker balance because I am sitting smack bang in the Center and from where I am sitting and one speaker seems more dominant then the other side I’ve used the balance knob to correct this but is this down to speaker position or the recording ? That the sound image seem more one sided is there a way to correct this with speaker position ?

My speakers are 2 meters apart and 21 cm from back wall and not toed in

 

[Blacksabbath25]

- Are you making an equilateral triangle with your speakers. ie. If they are 2m appart, you should be 2m away (and in the centre).

- Are both speakers toed in by exactly the same amount.

- Is one speaker nearer a corner, than the other one.

from where I sit it’s more it’s 2 meters 600 ?

 

[CnoEvil]

- Are you making an equilateral triangle with your speakers. ie. If they are 2m appart, you should be 2m away (and in the centre).

- Are both speakers toed in by exactly the same amount.

- Is one speaker nearer a corner, than the other one.

IIRC. Ellis talked about how precisely Dr. Jack Oclee Brown set up the Kefs....measured to the mm.

 

[CnoEvil]

from where I sit it’s more it’s 2 meters 600 ?

I just added a comment about Dr. Jack, from Kef in my above post.

Try and get everything as symmetrical as possible and see what you then hear. If one speaker is nearer a corner than the other, it could upset the balance.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

- Are you making an equilateral triangle with your speakers. ie. If they are 2m appart, you should be 2m away (and in the centre).

- Are both speakers toed in by exactly the same amount.

- Is one speaker nearer a corner, than the other one.

IIRC. Ellis talked about how precisely Dr. Jack Oclee Brown set up the Kefs....measured to the mm.

with Dali your not meant to toe them in and yes one speaker is near a corner but 1 meter from the corner but the other speaker is open nothing next to it that’s the quieter one .

the one that sits next to the corner is the dominant one which must be amplified sitting even a meter away from the corner

 

[Blacksabbath25]

from where I sit it’s more it’s 2 meters 600 ?

I just added a comment about Dr. Jack, from Kef in my above post.

Try and get everything as symmetrical as possible and see what you then hear. If one speaker is nearer a corner than the other, it could upset the balance.

So would you widen the distance between both L+Rs to 2m 600 then ? To make the seating position correct ?

 

[CnoEvil]

the one that sits next to the corner is the dominant one which must be amplified sitting even a meter away from the corner

That would be my thought as well.....but that's a guess.

 

[insider9]

With your setup it's unlikely to be room positioning. I don't remember noticing anything when we listened. I'd measure up where the central position is and if it sounds off centre that it would likely point to channel imbalance of an amp. Have you noticed this on A-S2100 or your AVR?

Edit.
As long as the distance to each speaker is the same the sound should be bang in the middle. Check mono tracks to confirm this. It won't matter if you sit too far or too close.

 

[CnoEvil]

So would you widen the distance between both L+Rs to 2m 600 then ? To make the seating position correct ?

Can you experiment?

Have a read of this: http://www.cardas.com/room_setup_main.php

 

[insider9]

If you moce your left speaker more towards the wall it may make things worse. If you're intent on nailing this I'd think to move the whole setup more centrally in the room.

 

[Electro]

If it is only a few recordings that it happens it could be the recordings themselves , many are recorderded biased to one side or the other.

But if the bias is only ever on the corner side then it seems logical that may be the problem in which case some diffusion or diffsorbers placed around the corner area may help .

Another unusual solution that just popped into my head is to put a right angled screen or false corner next to the free space speaker at the same distance as the corner the other side .

 

[Blacksabbath25]

With your setup it's unlikely to be room positioning. I don't remember noticing anything when we listened. I'd measure up where the central position is and if it sounds off centre that it would likely point to channel imbalance of an amp. Have you noticed this on A-S2100 or your AVR?

Edit. As long as the distance to each speaker is the same the sound should be bang in the middle. Check mono tracks to confirm this. It won't matter if you sit too far or too close.

I was playing the Mamas & the Papas greatest hits album and I noticed it with this album but the sound is only slightly out the singer is in the middle but the speaker that’s sits near that corner is slightly louder then the other one .

I would have to setup the Yamaha A-S2100 to find out but basically I’ve trying to move that speaker that sits near that corner more out of the corner and move everything a long a bit to see if this changes things but in regards of moving my speakers wider apart so it matches sitting position distance I can’t do it as the stuff in the room like furniture .

 

[ErwinC]

I would like to ask a question about speaker balance because I am sitting smack bang in the Center and from where I am sitting and one speaker seems more dominant then the other side I’ve used the balance knob to correct this but is this down to speaker position or the recording ? That the sound image seem more one sided is there a way to correct this with speaker position ?

My speakers are 2 meters apart and 21 cm from back wall and not toed in

If it is only for a few songs then it is probably the recording.

If it is always then it can be the room positioning or your ears.

 

[ellisdj]

If you had a channel imbalance you would notice it straight away - if you have a digital preamp / processor and you select the gain just one knotch either left or right you cant not notice it, I have tested it loads - thats not what this is from my assumption as it would have been obvious from the off

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I’ve improved things a little by moving my hole setup a long the room a bit more well as much as I can move it along I think it was more to do with the speaker I’ve got sitting next to a corner magnifying sound from that speaker even though it was roughly a meter away from the corner but gained 10cm by moving that speaker along a bit more along which has made a difference .

Its amazing how your hearing picks things up like this

 

[Nemo]

could be a build up of earwax. Just saying...

 

[Blacksabbath25]

could be a build up of earwax. Just saying...

lol yer it could be

 

[insider9]

No doubt that with new amp you're listening more intently. But I agree hearing is incredibly sensitive. I notice even 0.3dB differences in my setup that shift image and feel it isn't right.

I'm sure Ellisdj also noticed that Dirac Live when setting filters can sometimes adjust channel balance. And you can't really force it not to which is annoying.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

No doubt that with new amp you're listening more intently. But I agree hearing is incredibly sensitive. I notice even 0.3dB differences in my setup that shift image and feel it isn't right.

I'm sure Ellisdj also noticed that Dirac Live when setting filters can sometimes adjust channel balance. And you can't really force it not to which is annoying.

it’s a lot better now I’ve had a play round it’s amazing what 10 cm does

 

[ellisdj]

No doubt that with new amp you're listening more intently. But I agree hearing is incredibly sensitive. I notice even 0.3dB differences in my setup that shift image and feel it isn't right.

I'm sure Ellisdj also noticed that Dirac Live when setting filters can sometimes adjust channel balance. And you can't really force it not to which is annoying.

Dirac does but you can disable it - on things are more focused but a little dynamically restrained - off things are bigger but not as tight - tough one to decide on

 

[insider9]

No doubt that with new amp you're listening more intently. But I agree hearing is incredibly sensitive. I notice even 0.3dB differences in my setup that shift image and feel it isn't right.

I'm sure Ellisdj also noticed that Dirac Live when setting filters can sometimes adjust channel balance. And you can't really force it not to which is annoying.

Dirac does but you can disable it - on things are more focused but a little dynamically restrained - off things are bigger but not as tight - tough one to decide on

Disable after it created the filters, yes. But the filters are made with the adjustment in mind that's the annoying part. There is not option to tell Dirac not to do it at point of filter creation.

 

[ellisdj]

The adjustment here to level is about 0.2db or something tiny and similar for balance 0.2ms that is more noticeable.

Makes sense it needs to adjust the speaker level as part of the gaining symmetry process if that comes across how I mean it

 

[Gaz37]

At the amp & then swap the speakers around, that will rule out everything but positioning

 

[newlash09]

In the same location, on the same track. Just connect the left speaker to the right amp channel and right speaker to the left amp channel. If you still have a louder left channel, you will know it's not the amp.

I had the same issue in my previous house, I used a professional grade decibel meter to adjust the balance to get the same loudness in my listening position. All was great after that.

 

[Gaz37]

Didn't I just say that? Lol