audio imbalance issues

[starduck]

Hello all,

I have been suffering from audio imbalance issues for quite some time now, the left channel is slightly stronger/louder then the right one.
at first i thought it may be a faulty pair of headphones so i bought a new pair of dt990 pros and im running them through a fiio k5 pro dac/amp [imbalance was noticable even when not using the k5 pro). However, the issue has not been solved.
Oddly enough, if i put on my headphones backwards (L->R, R->L) the audio is much much more balanced and less irritating to listen to.
Also,my hearing is supposedly normal according to an ear expert & the hearing test i went through. (although i will try and visit another doctor for a second opinion)

Any advice on what i can do to improve my current situation would be greatly appreciated.

p.s - i also have a pair of IEMs and they have a much more balanced sound then any of my over ear headsets.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

check your headphone cable plug to your headphone maybe, it could be inserted +/- flipped. If it's not your hearing issue, maybe your player's issue.
You may consider getting a new DAP, with channel balance adjustments functions, if the problem persists.

 

[ADUHF]

Fwiw, my 250 ohm Beyer DT-770's also seem to have a slight imbalance. Though it is the right side which seems slightly louder than the left.

I have also used the flipped earcups trick to fix this with other headphones in the past. (It helps if you can also flip the cables, so you're at least feeding the right sound to each ear.) My hearing is slightly worse in my right ear though. So I notice the imbalance less with these particular DT-770 headphones. I still make a small correction using the left/right volume balance controls on my PC though, when listening to music.

Most headphones will have some imbalance or asymmetry in their drivers. So a L/R balance adjustment is always a handy feature to have somewhere in your gear. In the player, DAC, or amp.

At least on the Beyers it usually seems fairly consistent across the frequency range. So a simple L/R adjustment will usually do the trick. Other headphones with different imbalances at different frequencies may need separate EQ correction curves for the two channels to fully correct the issue.

If your current player/DAC/amp does not have either a L/R balance adjustment, or some way of EQ-ing the two channels, then you may want to try something different, as AmericanSpirit suggests. Or maybe there's an app you can use to add this capability to your player?

 

[starduck]

Im mostly using the headphones through my PC and not through a DAP.
sadly, lowering the left driver audio is not a great solution for prolonged use like i need. the audio doesnt stay at "12 o'clock", sometimes it goes back to being louder on the left or even sometimes louder on the right driver (when lowering the left channels level)

 

[S0undJunk1e]

This is not a cheap answer by any means, but the RME-ADI2 DAC/amp has all the settings you would ever need to correct the issue. Including separate EQ for the right and left channel so that you target the specific frequencies where it's happening.

 

[ADUHF]

Im mostly using the headphones through my PC and not through a DAP.
sadly, lowering the left driver audio is not a great solution for prolonged use like i need. the audio doesnt stay at "12 o'clock", sometimes it goes back to being louder on the left or even sometimes louder on the right driver (when lowering the left channels level)

How are you lowering the volumes of the different channels?

 

[starduck]

How are you lowering the volumes of the different channels?

levels tab through windows sound settings

 

[ADUHF]

That is what I use as well. And it is a bit annoying that I have to recheck it each time I turn on my system.

There is unfortunately alot of variation in the centering of recorded content. Sometimes it's due to mastering errors. But it can also be deliberate as well. And the vocalist will sometimes be intentionally positioned a little to the right or left of stereo center. If that's what you're experiencing, then I wouldn't sweat it too much.

The position or seal of your headphones can also effect the relative volumes in each ear. So the balance may be slightly different each time you put on your headphones. Repositioning the earcups a bit can sometimes rectify that. I usually have to make small adjustments though to the L/R setting so it sounds correct each time I listen. And also make small adjustments for different tracks. So I keep the Levels Tab & L/R Balance open or within easy reach at all times when listening from my PC.

There may be some slight differences in the balance at different frequencies in your headphones as well. So depending on the spectral content of the recording, and what areas of the frequency range are more emphasized, the sound may be balanced a bit differently.

The same can be true of your hearing as well. You may have more hearing loss at some frequencies in one ear than the other, which together with the spectral content of the recording can shift the perceived sound more to the left or to right. A frequency sweep can give you some idea of just how bad the imbalances are in both your hearing and the headphones at different frequencies.

Monophonic recordings, and pink, brown and white noise may also be useful in helping to better understand where stereo center is.

I have more hearing loss in my right ear than in my left ear btw. So I actually set the L/R balance so that the sound seems to be coming slightly from the left of stereo center to my ears. The reason I do this is because that's the way I'm normally used to hearing things in real life.

To hear things the way I normally do in real life, I want the sound to be as perfectly balanced as possible in the headphones, and not in my ears! To better achieve this, I will sometimes flip the headphones on my head. And will adjust the L/R balance setting until the headphones have approximately the same slightly left-of-center sound with the headphones in either orientation. This ensures that the sound coming from the headphones is correctly centered at stereo center. I will use both sound patterns and also recordings (often monophonic ones) for these tests.

There could be some issues with your audio port as well, which are not allowing reliable contacts for both channels, and balanced sound to be transmitted to your headphones.

 

[ADUHF]

Are you using any sort of an adapter, or extension cable when plugging your headphones into your PC? Such as an 1/8" to 1/4" adapter?

I have also had problems with the stock 1/8" to 1/4" adapter plug that came with my DT-770's. So I use one that I purchased separately from an audio supply shop instead.

 

[ADUHF]

This is not a cheap answer by any means, but the RME-ADI2 DAC/amp has all the settings you would ever need to correct the issue. Including separate EQ for the right and left channel so that you target the specific frequencies where it's happening.

My last pair of headphones had some fairly bad imbalances at different frequencies. So something like this probably would have been handy for those.

The imbalances on my Beyer DT-770's seems to be more uniform though across the frequency spectrum. And it's just the overall volume which is mostly different on the left and right side. I think this is actually a design flaw that is common to alot of headphones with single-sided cables.

The drivers seem to be reasonably well-matched though in terms of the emphasis (or lack thereof) at the different frequencies. So a basic L/R control has generally been sufficient for correcting the issue with my set. Beyer seems to be a little better with the quality control on that than the last brand of headphone that I used.

I think there may be some software-based EQs that can be used to separately equalize the left and right channels as well. But it is not something I've experimented with. There may be some way of doing it with the Equalizer APO as well. But not something I've attempted, or really feel a need for with my current HPs.