[AdamCalifornia]

Recently I read that HeadRoom's Micro headphone amp
has a (minor) flaw namely: one channel (Left or Right)
is noticeably louder than the other one while playing at
low volumes. Has anynone noticed this as well?
Could anyone test it? Has the channel imbalance been already corrected?

This imbalance thing is, I guess, common with inexpensive amps.
I've read somewhere on this site that also Go-Vibe v.2 or v.3
(but perhaps not v.4) had this problem in certain situations.

How about Gilmore Lite, any L/R imbalance reported?

See you on the 'Balanced L/R'

Side of the Moon

Adam

 

[marvin]

Usually it's a pot issue and pretty much happens with all amps that use cheaper pots for volume control. More expensive pots do better with low level channel imbalance, and stepped attenuators make it a non-issue. Headroom's higher amps use better Nobel pots or stepped attenuators, so they don't run into the channel imbalance issue. Also, the Micro, with it's gain switches, is one of the better low end amps when it comes to this problem.

 

[gpalmer]

What marvin said. All pots are off to some extent, they tend to track best in the middle of their range and worst at either end. This isn't in any way specific to HeadRoom nor does it indicate any problem with the amplifier or their quality standards. If the gain is adjustable, try to set it so that the volume knob is in the middle of it's travel. If it still bothers you then a stepped attenuator is the answer, but they can cost more than your amp did!

 

[Trea]

Mine doesn't have this problem even at the lowest volumes. I guess it just depends on the pot. FWIW my go vibe v2 does have a slight channel imbalance at low volume, but it evens up around 8 o'clock on the knob.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Thanks! How about a headphone amplifier with
dual controls for independent channel adjustment?
Would such a toy cost over $1,000? How about
add-on dual volume controls for independent L/R
adjustment attached to the headphones cable?

See you on the 'Dual Volume Controls'

Side of the Moon

Adam

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia Thanks! How about a headphone amplifier with dual controls for independent channel adjustment?

Man, what a pain that would be... you'd have to use some sort of mono test tone to adjust it every time, and I'd probably still be obsessing over getting a perfect balance...

 

[Lightnin Joe]

My first Micro had this problem and I found you could get around it by changing the gain to a lower setting. This means you are using the "sweet spot" of the amp and pot.

That Micro lost its left-channel input after 2 days. One call to Headroom and they had another Micro sent to me Next Day Air with a return shipping label for the broken unit. The new unit doesn't have an imbalance problem and has performed very nicely since it was received.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Just like with a standard stereo receiver there's
a balance volume control for L/R channels. This
would be useful because on many recordings
the Left and Right channels are not balanced.

Anyway, as you mentioned your next Micro amp
did not have the imbalance problem! That's great.
So, it looks like some of Micro amps have and
some have not the imbalance problem.

I wonder, whether this imbalance problem has also been
reported with Gilmore Lite?

See you on the 'Balanced L/R"

Side of the Moon

Adam

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia Just like with a standard stereo receiver there's a balance volume control for L/R channels. This would be useful because on many recordings the Left and Right channels are not balanced. Anyway, as you mentioned your next Micro amp did not have the imbalance problem! That's great. So, it looks like some of Micro amps have and some have not the imbalance problem. I wonder, whether this imbalance problem has also been reported with Gilmore Lite? See you on the 'Balanced L/R" Side of the Moon Adam

As mentioned earlier, it's really just a consequence of the pots used. They're not bad potentiometers, it's just the type used does this to a greater or lesser extent regardless.

Also, see you on the "Most ridiculous way to end every post"

side of the moon.

 

[RnB180]

Any imbalance issues with the amp is negligiable. Nuff said. This amp is pretty damn good.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia I wonder, whether this imbalance problem has also been reported with Gilmore Lite?

Just as NotJeffBuckley says, all amps with pots are subject to this problem including the Gilmore Lite, it's just a question of the degree of the problem...

EDIT - BTW, I was chatting with Justin about my new amps this evening. I asked him about this since I thought I remembered he does a fair amount of cherry picking of the pots for his amplifiers though I wasn't sure about the ones for the Gilmore Lite. He tests all his volume pots to make sure they are well balanced especially in the low end and only uses about 20% in his amps...