I recently stole a Sherwood s-7100a from my folks, and I'm very happy with it, except for one small thing: the channels seem to be switched. I.e. when I put my headphones on and turn the balance knob to the left the sound goes in the right ear, and vice-versa.

I've checked all over for some kind of switch that might switch the channels, but there is none to be found. It's hard for me to believe that they just built it wrong, but I can't imagine what else it would be.

So the crux of the matter... what's wrong? How do I fix it? I'm very hesitant about opening it up and messing with the insides, but I will if I have to.

swap the inputs then, that should solve it.

edit: oh wait, that's if the channels really are switched, if it's just the balance control i wouldn't worry too much.

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Oh, ok. I guess I won't then

That's what you get for stealing...

Hey, it was languishing in a corner covered in cobwebs and the like. I saved it

Anyway, better it go to me than be sold in a garage sale (perish the thought!)

Well, I finally found a song to test if the channels were truly switched. It was Rain on the Roof by Lovin' Spoonful, of all things. The opening verse came in the right ear on the cd player and the left ear on the amp. I switched the inputs and ta-da! problem solved. Thanks goose. The balance is still reversed, oddly enough. But I'm not going to worry about that

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Next time steal something that works

[size=xx-small]Sorry, couldn't resist[/size]

This is very strange. Is this with all sources or just the one ?

The same left-right channel reversal is found on the vintage Fisher receivers such as the 400, 500C, and 800C. Even an early 1970s Fisher receiver, model Futura Series 201, I owned briefly had the headphone jack wired backwards from today's normal wiring. It seems that when these stereo components were being designed and manufactured, stereo headphones were not that common, and there was no industry standard for how to wire the left and right audio channels to the stereo headphone jack.

If you only listen to CD or LP records, just plug the left and right RCA jacks from these audio components into the opposite channel socket on the back of the receiver. Of course, when adjusting the balance control, you will have to turn the control in the opposite direction of what you would expect, but this is a small inconvenience.

If your headphones are truly symmetrical in shape, you can just wear them reversed and correct the left-right thing. If your headphone cable disconnects from the body of each side of the headphone, as is the case on the Sennheiser HD-580 and HD-600 phones, you can swap the cable connections at the headphone, instead of swapping the RCA jacks at the back of the receiver.

You could open the receiver and resolder the connection to the headphone jack, but you might screw up an otherwise working headphone jack and finding an exact fit replacement may not be possible. That is why I have decided to leave the headphone jack on my Fisher 400 alone, and make the channel correction elsewhere in the audio signal chain.

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I just did a test for the phono option and yes, the left and right channels are switched there too.

Thanks mkmelt, that explains a lot.

I'm curious though, what's the difference between switching the input and wearing the headphones backwards? I'd think you'd want the right channel going into the right can (same for the left) and so switching the inputs would be the way to go. Or does it make a difference? I've always been puzzled as to wether or not headphones are constructed, as you say, symmetrically.

If your switch the left and right input cables at the back of the receiver, this will give you the correct stereo program at your headphones, but only for those inputs where you can switch the cables such as LP, CD, or Auxilliary. The FM stereo tuner is built in to the receiver, so you would still get reversed stereo when listening to FM.

If you leave the inputs connected to their respective left and right RCA jacks, but wear your headphones reversed from the way the two sides are labeled, you would get correct left and right channels for all stereo sources including the FM stereo tuner.

I use Sennheiser HD-600 phones, and while you can wear these headphones with the left and right cans on the opposite sides from the way they are labeled. There is a definite tilt angle to the way these headphones are made, that feel a bit more comfortable if you wear them the correct way. Because of this, I choose to reverse the left and right cables where they connect to the phones. Normally the red cable connector is meant for the right channel, but I have this plugged into the left side of my HD-600s.

odd. That's

If you have Sennheisers, you could switch the cables at the earcups.

Profile shows Grado SR-60s, even easier...

Yeah, I've got SR-60s. It may be that I'm being too gentle with them, but I don't see how to switch the cables at the earcups themselves.

Anyway, I'm going to want to use them with portables, so I think I'll switch the inputs on the reciever. I really don't listen to the radio, and something doesn't seem quite right about wearing them backwards. It's not really a comfort issue with the SR-60's, but I'd have to retrain myself to wear them backwards every time I put them on. I'm just glad I have multiple options (and that I don't have to sodder anything )

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LOL, no, I didn't mean to imply a cable swap (they do not disconnect). I meant you could simply put them on L/R reversed, or you could swap the earpieces (either by spreading the gimbals slightly till the driver enclosures release or by slipping off the antenna cap and slipping the driver assembly down and swapping them).

Of course swapping the inputs of your source L/R is the easiest and most logical option.