Balance control in source or amp?

[virometal]

Recently, I found that my left ear has lost some ability so some sort of balance control is desired in my system.

So which area, in theory anyway, is the best spot for application - source or amp?

 

[virometal]

I am surprised at the lack of response.

Who would like to help me before I spend thousands on some new components?

 

[Teerawit]

Do sources (non-computer) even have balance controls?

I would get a balance control in the amp but that would be quite costly...considering your amp would most likely be balanced with 2 stepped attenuators

 

[virometal]

That is a good point. However, I am looking at universal players like the Denon 3910 and Sony 9100es that do have balance and delay controls in their set-up menus.

The better question might be where does the balance manipulation happen in said sources in the analog section or the digital secton, and does it degrade the signal? If so does using balance in an amplifier offer a benefit?

I was wondering if someone can help with this? Which way is the best for fidelity?

 

[jefemeister]

My guess is that it's done digitally in the circuit that applies the surround sound algorithms, bass management, etc--ie in the DSP. I know for a fact that Wadia implements their balance and volume features digitally in DSP. Some sources with volume controls use an analog pot in the output stage but I don't believe I've seen one that implements balance in this manner. Gain scaling in the digital versus analog domains is a broad topic with many valid opinions on it. I firmly believe that, as long as you don't attenuate too much, digital methods are the way to go. For a balance control I can't imagine you applying more than about 3 or 4 dB of attenuation which should be transparent as far as overall resolution is concerned. The math says that for every 6 dB of attenuation there is the effective loss of 1-bit of resolution. This isn't necessarily true because you can play some tricks with dither, etc but it's a good rule of thumb. You have to also take into account that there are losses associated with analog gain scaling--you just can't assign a nice sucinct phrase like "bits of resolution" to it.