Sure sounds like it to me. Why are you concerned? Given the non-symmetrical attributes of your room, I would adjust the balance of the left/right speakers to compensate for the difference.
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Yes, but then I will know there's more juice going to the left to compensate, which will always be in my head, driving me bat sh*t
ill give it a try or just learn to live with it. Thank you |
I can't put a photo to show my setup can I ?
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If you can I'd pull the speakers another foot or even another two feet into the room if you haven't already done so and see what happens. It might help and you may find an improvement in imaging and soundstaging although probably at the expense of some bass loading, which may be part of the problem. I'd also experiment with toe in -- maybe try crossing the speakers a bit in front of you if you haven't already done that yet either. As suggested you can use the balance control if you have one, but I find this can sometimes compromise sound quality. If you have the flexibility you could also try placing the speakers so they flank the corner (so the corner would be midway between the speakers). I've seen this done at audio shows to help mitigate smaller or irregularly shaped rooms. In all seriousness and if positioning doesn't help at all, you might consider getting your hearing checked just to rule that out. Best of luck. |
The speakers have two ports in the back, which also came with foam port plugs, which speaker should I plug with the plugs? Or are the port plugs for something different ????
plug the right side (which has the louder sound??)
top or bottom port?
will this limit my loudness, making one speaker accept less power from the amp, possibly damaging it at loud volume?? |
The early reflections off the nearby walls on the corner-loaded speaker have the effect of increasing the loudness of that speaker. Not much you can do about it in the bass region, but it is possible that aggressive use of absorption on those wall surfaces might make a worthwhile improvement at mid and treble frequencies. That being said, using the balance control, if you have one, is the easiest and probably best solution, as absorptive material will also act somewhat as a tone control because it will be most effective at short wavelengths and becomes progressively less effective as we go down in frequency and the wavelengths get longer. Duke |
arcticdeth -
I sympathize. For whatever reason channel imbalance makes me crazy. I don't know why it can bug me so much. If you have a balance contral, by all means use it. BUT first if it were me, I'd be reversing speaker cables at the amp to see if the louder speaker remains on the right. That should eliminate a component problem as the cause. For me, knowing it was not gear would make me a lot less anxious. The room is what the room is. If you have a mono recording, maybe use that and the balance control to get things centered. This is NOT to dismiss other suggestions about positioning speakers differently if that can be done. Experiment with the foam port plugs too. Seems like using them on the right would be the way to go (intuitively) but upper or lower? can't say. You would have to experiment. Hope this helps. Good luck. |
PS - Any way you can put a bi-folding decorative panel(s) behind and to the side of the left speaker? If it is room asymmetry, maybe that would help. Something lightweight you could move out of the way when not listening to music. |
I put three pillows on end to the right of the speaker, seems to help soak up a little of the bass/loudness. Til the boss(wife) sees it, and forces me against my will to remove the pillows, but it sounds a lot better now.
Thank you you for all your help! |
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Certainly a matter of room acoustics. Keep experimenting w/ speaker placement.
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+1 for GIK acoustics, great products with good pricing. Also take a look at ASC's website for guidance on various trapping formulas for various room configurations. Proper trapping and diffusion will be one method of correcting your inbalance. |
arcticdeth,
I have the same phenomenon due to speaker placement, and it bothered me. Take gdnrbob’s advice and do what I do; simply adjust the balance. Fortunately, my tube preamp allows me to adjust the volume for each channel plus a L+R main volume control. Either that or move your system to a room with less placement restrictions (obviously). |
Try toeing the right speaker outward a bit, and following listening to this experiment toeing the left speaker inward a bit (if needed) to further achieve L/R balance.
I’m talking tiny adjustments of the right speaker (like 1/2 inch to start) and then even more minute adjustments to the left speaker.
It may take many tries to achieve a decent channel balance (it’s a balancing act ruled by the room and it’s furnishings).
I have an “L” or a “U” shaped listening room (take your pick, but I consider it a lopsided “U”) and have been able to balance various speakers over the years using this approach.
My speakers are approx. 10-13 feet from the seated listening position, with the right speaker being distanced the furthest
DeKay |
you can create a system with a photo, description, and diagram as a jpg on here
set so everyone can see it and then point people to it |
I am about nine feet from the speakers,, I sit center of them.
They are about 7-8 feet apart |
A lot of good advice, so far.
-Ghosthouse's advice of using a folding panel might be a way to reflect sound.
-Dekay's advice of using small adjustments to speaker position should also help.
Since you already notice an improvement from using 3 pillows, I think the advice erik-squires probably will probably give you the best result.
As far as 'more juice to the left', that isn't so. It is simply that you have one side reflecting more sound to your ears than the other side. 'Power' isn't a factor, just acoustics.
As I said before, if you can adjust balance, give it a try. Or, try moving the speakers incrementally.
If you want to nip the problem in the bud, then I believe going with acoustic treatments will provide you with the most effective means of resolving the problem.
Like most folk with high performance stereos, we don't have the ability to own a home with a room with perfect sound properties, so we have to either accept the deficiencies or try to compensate for them as best we can.
HTH
Bob |
