Is the left chanel always louder for you?
- Thread starter Kingsrule
- Start date
I've experienced this myself, and I put it down to imbalanced hearing. I mentioned it to an audiologist once and they had zero interest once I could hear "fine" in both ears.
Violins are on the left for classical of course, with the basses on the right, and since my system is a bit bass shy the problem is exacerbated.
Violins are on the left for classical of course, with the basses on the right, and since my system is a bit bass shy the problem is exacerbated.
You have now opened yourself up to being told to get your hearing checked, by people who say things like "It's terrible. Now I've reached 70 I can't hear much above 19 kHz".
In reality, could it be that your room acoustics are responsible? Also, could it be that there are standard ways of mixing certain types of music that put drums to the left, vocals to the right or whatever?
Most probably a system or room problem.
If you swap channels and it persists on the left side, then try also exchanging the speakers. IMHO you should discard the possibility of being the system before thinking about the room.
I've noticed this myself on various occasions, but it's not loudness. A lot of albums are cut or mastered with more info on the left channel. Sometimes on the right side as well, but moreso left.
If you are listening to a vinyl playback setup, it could be that the azimuth on your cartridge needs a bit of adjustment
In my system the right channel is favored a little over the left channel. I checked with a mono recording and sure enough the image was in the center. I also checked with a recorder and noticed that a lot of records have more energy in the right channel, mono of course gave equal levels. I'm afraid its the studio's fault so I'm not worrying about this anymore.
While there are various test CDs it seems none of them have the ability to play a tone, at the same level, for a single speaker. for example, 5 seconds on the left, and five seconds on the right. This would be perfect and allow me to adjust the level on each channel. Then if there were any imbalance it would be because that is the way the CD was recorded.
Left for me too. I set my balance +1dB on the right to better balance the image. +2dB is too much. This has always been the case for me on different systems, different rooms so my right ear I'm guessing is less sensitive of some frequencies.
Too much loud music at gigs is probably to blame plus age. I always remember to adjust back if I have guests listening.
Interesting that many recordings may have a left bias. If this is the case then it's exacerbating my 'condition'.
Blue58
Too much loud music at gigs is probably to blame plus age. I always remember to adjust back if I have guests listening.
Interesting that many recordings may have a left bias. If this is the case then it's exacerbating my 'condition'.
Blue58
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Ding Ding Ding.... we have a winner!!!
Over the thousands and thousands of files I've looked at, there seems to be more energy in the top (left) tracing than the bottom (right). Not all, but >50%
I view this as a trait of engineers. Look at rock bands.... "most" bass players stand on the left side.
Another possibility is that your ears need to be cleaned out by an ear, nose and throat doctor. I am not kidding. I have this done every couple of years. After the procedure I hear details much more crisply!
I can't really say I've noticed imbalances in the channels in my source material (at least when I look at it on my workstation), however I also notice a generalised bias to the left channel when listening. I can explain a small part of this on account of my hearing. A test I had a few years back showed I had "flat" hearing 0 - 8,000 hz (highest pitch tested) in my right ear - in other words it was at the 0 dBHL mark, but my left ear actually went 5 dB "above" 0 dbHL at 6,000 and 8,000 hz. Apparently it is an unusual result - especially for a male nearly 50, but not unheard of.
But I think more of it has to do with what I listen to (orchestral music) almost exclusively. Many of the instruments over to the left operate at frequencies to which the human ear is more sensitive. Put it this way, you are going to be much more inherently biased to hearing a violin, flute and French horn than you are a tuba or double bass. Infact composers know this and write their music knowing what will "stand out" versus what will simply enhance to the overall sonic soundscape.
It's not like I perceive an actual imbalance that I would want to ever "fix" - it's just the nature of music I believe. Furthermore, if you took all the classical music ever written and collectively analysed it, you'd find more often than not, the principal melodies will come from the left side of the orchestra. That is not to say they do not come from other sections- they obviously do and on a regular basis of course. But take the total number of hours of classical music ever written and surely the first violins on the left hand side have it over all the other sections in terms of total time spent with the main melody.
But the OP should have an audiogram
Just to check that everything is OK. And if it isn't, that is no big deal either. My hearing is not what is was when I was 15 years old and it isn't what it was when I was 30 either. But the brain compensates incredibly well and perhaps if there is a problem, the OP can compensate for it (speaker placement, room treatments, etc).
But I think more of it has to do with what I listen to (orchestral music) almost exclusively. Many of the instruments over to the left operate at frequencies to which the human ear is more sensitive. Put it this way, you are going to be much more inherently biased to hearing a violin, flute and French horn than you are a tuba or double bass. Infact composers know this and write their music knowing what will "stand out" versus what will simply enhance to the overall sonic soundscape.
It's not like I perceive an actual imbalance that I would want to ever "fix" - it's just the nature of music I believe. Furthermore, if you took all the classical music ever written and collectively analysed it, you'd find more often than not, the principal melodies will come from the left side of the orchestra. That is not to say they do not come from other sections- they obviously do and on a regular basis of course. But take the total number of hours of classical music ever written and surely the first violins on the left hand side have it over all the other sections in terms of total time spent with the main melody.
But the OP should have an audiogram
Just to check that everything is OK. And if it isn't, that is no big deal either. My hearing is not what is was when I was 15 years old and it isn't what it was when I was 30 either. But the brain compensates incredibly well and perhaps if there is a problem, the OP can compensate for it (speaker placement, room treatments, etc).
I had that done by a doctor for the first time when I was about 20. I was astonished. And it was yucky. You can now buy very safe syringes for home use that purposely do not aim the water at the ear drum but rather to the sides of the canal where it is safe. It is also completely impossible to insert them past the first bend. A bit of softener first such as Waxsol and it becomes a good regime around twice per year for me.
Agreed, especially on room acoustics - also seemingly small path length differences can affect perceived balance.
When all is correct, I have never experienced this issue, except for a few outlier recordings - and they could favor either channel.
Switch your interconnects from L>R and see if the volume difference switches sides or remains left-heavy. That will help you begin the process of understanding where the differences come from.
Lee
Lee
...Or switch speaker's positions with each other.
* Matching tolerance can vary from half decibel to a full decibel, depending of the speaker's manufacturer. ...Some less (quarter of a decibel).
In my case, one particular pair of speakers, with dedicated Left and Right (that's the best positioning of the tweeter in relation to the listener in the center spot), the Right speaker is louder by roughly 0.77dB ...so I compensate for it with the balance control...by adding roughly one dB towards my Left speaker.
* Matching tolerance can vary from half decibel to a full decibel, depending of the speaker's manufacturer. ...Some less (quarter of a decibel).
In my case, one particular pair of speakers, with dedicated Left and Right (that's the best positioning of the tweeter in relation to the listener in the center spot), the Right speaker is louder by roughly 0.77dB ...so I compensate for it with the balance control...by adding roughly one dB towards my Left speaker.
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If it is indeed loudness and not the effects of mastering as I previously pointed out, how do room acoustics come into play? Can you explain (in simple terms please) how room acoustics affect loudness levels...I'm not following that.
Very seldom that two speakers from a pair are measuring exactly the same. ...Regarding the loudness level.
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