[ColdWolfSong]

So I've been having this issue for awhile now that I cannot seem to solve. It started when I got my MEE Audio Pinnacle P1. After a time of listening to them, I noticed it seemed slightly biased to the left ear. Vocals and other instruments that should have been dead center would be just off to the left, and more instruments seemed grouped to the left than the right. It doesn't ruin the experience with them, it just bugs me as a person who really likes symmetry.

I just came to accept this as a driver imbalance. It couldn't be my hearing because I do not have this imbalance when using headphones. I thought then that it might be the shape of my ears, perhaps one of my ear canals is shaped differently, causing the imbalance.

But then fast forward a few months and I finally got around to buying filters for another IEM of mine: The JVC FW01. And when I listened to that set again after many months of not listening, I was baffled. It had an imbalance to the right side. So I went about trying everything I could to see what was causing this issue.

I tried changing sources to see if my portable player is causing it. Nope, the imbalance persisted on both earphones. I tried changing tips. No change. I changed cables. No change. It can't be my ear shape as they both have a different imbalance. So the only things I can think of are:

1. I just so happened to get two pairs of IEM's made my completely different manufacturers, in different parts of the world, with completely different proprietary technology, in two different price classes that have a driver imbalance.

2. The small one or half decibel differences between two drivers in a set of IEM's is somehow apparent to a user because the driver is so close to the eardrum (which is unlikely given that I've never heard anybody state this before. Other people would have to say that their IEMs have the same phenomenon.)

3. Or the pieces of the song that were off actually were like that, but haven't been able to tell with full-size headphones because the driver isn't as close to my ears and don't bypass the outer ear structure. (Also unlikely because I listened to mono samples through the IEMs and there was still an imbalance, albeit smaller.)

So, what do you think could be causing the issue? Any similar experiences?

 

[Dulalala]

4. The placebo is strong with this one...

All jokes aside,
1. Completely possible, it's not as unlikely as you think.
2. Some people are more sensitive to change in SPL. You can test out how sensitive your hearing is here if you like... http://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_index.php. Obviously don't turn up your amp to force yourself to hear it, do it at a controlled, average listening volume or it's not going to be very accurate.
3. If the issue occurs on both the right hand side with both IEM with the same source, then yeah it's the song, if it's on the right channel on one and the left on the other, probably not.

 

[Grimbles]

Out of interest, what are you listening to? A lot of older recordings I own (60s and 70s stuff particularly), even stuff that has been remastered for Hi-Res (and cost a pretty penny) have a strong bias or channel separation (e.g. all vocals in one ear, all instruments in the other). I really dislike the effect on headphones but it can give the illusion of space on more widely positioned speakers. I might be stating the bloody obvious here, but is this mechanical i.e. have you got some fluff or something down the end of the socket which is stopping the plug from connecting up properly?

 

[ColdWolfSong]

Out of interest, what are you listening to? A lot of older recordings I own (60s and 70s stuff particularly), even stuff that has been remastered for Hi-Res (and cost a pretty penny) have a strong bias or channel separation (e.g. all vocals in one ear, all instruments in the other). I really dislike the effect on headphones but it can give the illusion of space on more widely positioned speakers. I might be stating the bloody obvious here, but is this mechanical i.e. have you got some fluff or something down the end of the socket which is stopping the plug from connecting up properly?

I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, but most of it is newer. Last 20 years or so. And no, it isn't any kind of blockage as I've tried the IEMs on multiple sources with multiple cables. Same effect.