[ben_r_]

Has anyone compared the E1 to the Emotiva XDA-2?

 

[daws0n]

It looks like my E1's USB input has developed a fault
 
"Error code 10 unable to start device"..
 
Any ideas guys? Luckily it's still functional over toslink/coax inputs.
 
More info here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/696701/error-code-10-dac-no-longer-recognized-by-windows

 

[Compfy Listenin]

I have recently acquired an E1 Muses edition and a pair of Beyerdynamic T1's. I am already going crazy with the issue of channel imbalance. Please bear with me.

I have read through the majority of pages on this thread. Especially the ones that mention the issue of channel imbalance.

I live in Europe and ordered the unit from Hong Kong through accessoryjack.com. Best deal I could find at that moment. I paid a VERY pretty penny for this piece of hardware. A little over 1000 dollars plus a hefty customs import tax for my country; And right off the box I have to deal with this? Ridiculous. How much do you have to pay before these issues are polished out by engineers? This is completely outrageous.

Off the box, the unit sounded great but it did take me a couple of days to actually believe my ears as I thought It was just the tracks I was listening to that were engineered with an emphasis on the left channel. But no: the issue is with the E1.

Right now I have my windows mixer set to 94% volume on the left channel. This is far from being a perfect solution, however, as it prevents me from taking advantage of bit perfect and to make matters worse the Beyerdynamic T1's actually exacerbate the problem! The issue is noticeable on my ATH M50's but not as severe as on the beyers. Could it be due to the Beyerdynamics having much better soundstage? It is entirely possible that the Beyers themselves have an issue with the right driver that is compounding the existing E1 channel imbalance.

Oh, right! And the channel imbalance is present through the entire range of BOTH the volume pots. I have a pair of Audioengine A5+'s connected through RCA and the left one is louder than the right one.

I don't know and honestly I am losing my mind a little bit worrying about this.


Can someone help? How do I find out if the T1's right driver is faulty? At the moment, the only equipment I can connect them to is the E1 because of their large jack (I don't have an adaptor but will get one if it is required to solve my predicament).

And what do i do about the E1 muses? I could care less about the gain switch and volume pot; and to be perfectly honest "bit perfect" is more of a hassle than a boon for me but the channel imbalance is a ridiculous issue which should not be present.

So with this in mid, I don't need or necessarily want to exchange it. It sounds great apart from this channel imbalance issue. If I can just iron out this issue by myself. But to do this and gain peace of mind I need to get a sense of how much to diminish the volume on the left side through software. Is there a piece of software which can measure that for me?


Excuse the long winded post.

 

[leeperry]

Usually stereo mistracking is only obvious under 9 o'clock, definitely not on the whole volume range and definitely not always on the same side. IRL it basically comes and goes <9 o'clock.
 
Can you try headphones with flat non-angled drivers and reverse them several times? You'd need to troubleshoot whether the problem comes from the recordings, the headphones, the E1 or your hearing. Using mono test tones would help a lot with your troubleshooting.
 
That's the problem with importing expensive gear from abroad: import taxes and headaches should RMA be needed. And you might be forced to pay import taxes again when it'll be back from RMA. Asus might provide a worldwide warranty so if the problem really comes from the E1 I would talk to them first.

 

[Compfy Listenin]

Ok, I might be going crazy here. After another hour of earnest testing with my ATH Ad700x's (by listening to the same song with them connected to the E1 muses and then to my X-fi xtreme audio) and then with the T1's (doing the same) It seems that the imbalance is mostly caused by the T1's favouring the left driver.

lol, this is crossing the hilarious threshold. I had tested this before and could swear it was the E1. Could it be the burn-in phenomenon playing tricks with my ears?

Still, I'm not completely sure that the T1's are faulty. It could just be damaged hearing which the very detailed HP's revealed exists (although doubt it, as I'm only 25).

How do I know for certain that the T1's are favouring the left side? Is there a tool or measurement I can use? Maybe ask someone with better ears?

And then there is still the issue of the A5+ speakers. The perceived channel imbalance on the speakers could be due to their positioning. I'll try to reverse the stereo signal through vlc tomorrow when i can crank them (not at this hour. of night though).

This is embarassing, frustrating and laughable all at the same time.

 

[leeperry]

  How do I know for certain that the T1's are favouring the left side? Is there a tool or measurement I can use?

 
I would measure the impedance of both drivers using a multimeter, use mono test tones and try the E1 with a phone that has flat non-angled drivers

 

[Gandah]

  I have recently acquired an E1 Muses edition and a pair of Beyerdynamic T1's. I am already going crazy with the issue of channel imbalance. Please bear with me.

I have read through the majority of pages on this thread. Especially the ones that mention the issue of channel imbalance.

I live in Europe and ordered the unit from Hong Kong through accessoryjack.com. Best deal I could find at that moment. I paid a VERY pretty penny for this piece of hardware. A little over 1000 dollars plus a hefty customs import tax for my country; And right off the box I have to deal with this? Ridiculous. How much do you have to pay before these issues are polished out by engineers? This is completely outrageous.

Off the box, the unit sounded great but it did take me a couple of days to actually believe my ears as I thought It was just the tracks I was listening to that were engineered with an emphasis on the left channel. But no: the issue is with the E1.

Right now I have my windows mixer set to 94% volume on the left channel. This is far from being a perfect solution, however, as it prevents me from taking advantage of bit perfect and to make matters worse the Beyerdynamic T1's actually exacerbate the problem! The issue is noticeable on my ATH M50's but not as severe as on the beyers. Could it be due to the Beyerdynamics having much better soundstage? It is entirely possible that the Beyers themselves have an issue with the right driver that is compounding the existing E1 channel imbalance.

Oh, right! And the channel imbalance is present through the entire range of BOTH the volume pots. I have a pair of Audioengine A5+'s connected through RCA and the left one is louder than the right one.

I don't know and honestly I am losing my mind a little bit worrying about this.


Can someone help? How do I find out if the T1's right driver is faulty? At the moment, the only equipment I can connect them to is the E1 because of their large jack (I don't have an adaptor but will get one if it is required to solve my predicament).

And what do i do about the E1 muses? I could care less about the gain switch and volume pot; and to be perfectly honest "bit perfect" is more of a hassle than a boon for me but the channel imbalance is a ridiculous issue which should not be present.

So with this in mid, I don't need or necessarily want to exchange it. It sounds great apart from this channel imbalance issue. If I can just iron out this issue by myself. But to do this and gain peace of mind I need to get a sense of how much to diminish the volume on the left side through software. Is there a piece of software which can measure that for me?


Excuse the long winded post.

I feel your pain bro, and that's the only reason why I no longer own the E1.  I'm sorry to say the imbalance isn't fixable as the imbalance is a curvature of volume and level of source

 

[DMarasovic]

And then there is still the issue of the A5+ speakers. The perceived channel imbalance on the speakers could be due to their positioning. I'll try to reverse the stereo signal through vlc tomorrow when i can crank them (not at this hour. of night though).
 

Play monaural recording through speakers, remember the stage position, then swap R<>L cable plugs at E1 outputs. If E1 is not in balance, stage position should change (to the right?).
If there is not change, E1 is OK. You can also try to wear headphones R to left ear, L to right ear. The sound should not be correct as drivers are angled, but volume is comparable.

 

[daws0n]

Why not hook it up to your computer's line input and measure the r/l volumes using rightmark audio analyzer? I did the same test with mine due to channel imbalance Ive read about and the pot is balanced fine above 9-10 o clock.

 

[Compfy Listenin]

Why not hook it up to your computer's line input and measure the r/l volumes using rightmark audio analyzer? I did the same test with mine due to channel imbalance Ive read about and the pot is balanced fine above 9-10 o clock.

 
That sounds like a good idea but how do I go about connecting it like that, pardon the noob question. I mean, the E1 has a coaxial input but all I have on the back of my PC is a light blue Analog line level audio input. Should I get a coaxial to minijack cable? I'm really a noob when it comes to this.

 

[daws0n]

It is easiest to hook it up to your computer via usb.

Connect rca outputs using phono>3.5mm jack wire or headphone output using 6.3mm>3.5mm jack wire to your sound card's line input.

Rightmark will then use these connections as a real time monitoring "loop"

 

[Compfy Listenin]

It is easiest to hook it up to your computer via usb.

Connect rca outputs using phono>3.5mm jack wire or headphone output using 6.3mm>3.5mm jack wire to your sound card's line input.

Rightmark will then use these connections as a real time monitoring "loop"

Thank you very much. I have RMAA open. Where is the section where I can measure r/l volumes?

Edit: Nevermind. It wasn't even necessary to plug it into the line input. A USB connection was suitable to check the levels. IT's just since you said "connect it to the line input" in your first comment I took it that it was necessary.

All I had to do was select the E1 in playback devices on the rightmark audio analyzer. Everything seems to be balanced. I don't know if it's just my ears, but the problem seems to have gone away after a few hours of use and using the pots themselves (I seem to remember someone else in this thread said their problem simply went away after some time using the device, as well).

O well, back to cranking my speakers with the Robocop OST flac files . Audio bliss.


Thank you very much to everyone who answered.
 

 

[daws0n]

If you don't measure using the soundcard inlut you are just measuring the output from rightmark, it will having nothing to compare against..?

 

[palmfish]

If the problem went away all by itself, then it was your hearing (brain) all along.

I'm glad you got it sorted out!

 

[DMax99]

Getting a higher impedance extension cord can solve the imbalance problem of the lower impedance headphones