[oinkbanana]

Hi,
last Christmas I got Sennehiser HD650's, that i've been loving, and decided I should take them into the balanced world.
I recently got a LD MK-6, and a balanced cable.
I'm using a MOTU 896HD as balanced source.

my main problem is that the left and the right are not level. the right side is always louder, and this just sucks.
I'm also having connection problems with the headphone end of the left can (turn my head, wiggle it a bit and i lose contact... totally lame, but I'm sure the cable maker will fix this as soon as i'm in touch with him [knocks on wood], i never have problems like this with the stock cable).

so,
how can I check to see if it's the cable or the amp that's giving me the volume loss?

i don't know much about tube rolling. the new tubes were numbered and the slots were numbered, so i just put the tube in the matching slot. moving them around gives me the same results.

any help would be appreciated.

 

[oinkbanana]

I'd rather not name and flame the cable maker before getting feedback.
but is this standard workmanship for a 180$ balanced cable? the cardas connectors are burnt by the iron, the sleeve covering just looks rushed and shoddy.

 

[FallenAngel]

A "bad cable" is not likely to make volume differences. As for craftsmanship, yes, it could use a little work.

 

[scootermafia]

If they were finished with epoxy, they wouldn't get like that - with the channels dropping out. They look burnt, like they were sloppy with the soldering process. The heatshrink isn't even covering the gluing area all the way. They need to be reterminated.

 

[scootermafia]

The channel balance issue may be unrelated but if the cable is "dropping out" on one side this means that the Cardas plugs are busted.

 

[oinkbanana]

yeah,
thanks for the feedback on the cable, I'm getting a new one shipped out monday.


any ideas on the uneven left/right?

 

[glitch39]

Check the gain switches on the amp. Make sure they are set to the same level

 

[oinkbanana]

I read that in the manual, checked it already.
both sides are both "on on" (recommended for hd650)

 

[tenzip]

I have no (zero) experience with the amp in question, so be gentle with the following suggestion, it could, in some weird way, cause damage, although I doubt it.

Try setting the gain switches so they aren't the same, that is, so the side that is louder is on low gain, and the side that is quieter is on high.

Perhaps there was a wiring oops when the amp was constructed and one of the switches is wired incorrectly.

Also try swapping the cables, L for R, if this is possible.

 

[DoYouKnowJim?]

Uh, I think you're headed down the wrong trouble-shooting path. A poor/wrong connection in one of the cable can and will create a channel imbalance. You need to make sure the cable maker that not only does he/she need to re-terminate the connectors, but also needs to test the cable integrity and check for mis-wiring. Given that your left channel is dropping out AND you have a lower level there, the evidence is pretty straightforward. Of course you can always test it by connecting your left connector to the right ear-cup and vice-versa.

 

[cafe zeenuts]

The workmanship on your cable is awful.....Dude its really bad it is not acceptable.

I dont think its the LD MK6 after seeing those pics.......

Got another balanced cable to try out to see if its the amp causing the problem?

 

[apatN]

That is not okay for a 180$ headphone cable. You would expect top notch work and that clearly is not.

Just try your stock cable and use your Sennheiser with a simple mp3 player or your computer for example. Then you can rule out the headphones.
Your problem sounds a little like something I had btw. One of my tubes was dying causing channel imbalance.

 

[nikongod]

Have you tried swapping your gain (6sn7) tubes from one side to the other? If the channel balance switches, one of your tubes is toast. Replace both of them.

As another more reasonable guess: If you are at "max gain" (which it looks like) and the pot is down around the "barely off of mute" in the first 5 or 10 min of swing on a clock face, it could be the pot. Try one of the LOWER gain settings.

That is really not such bad construction for a cable. It could be cleaner to be sure, but I have seen worse. Bad cables cause total drop-out: its very rare for them to cause channel balance issues although this happens from time to time. If good strain relief was used (heatshrink and gluing the ends in, IE it was in this case) I strongly doubt it.

 

[oinkbanana]

i've ruled out the headphones,,, i get no problems with stock cable connected with other devices. checked my source. those are ok.
that amp is NEW (still under warranty), the tubes are new, i've had it unused for 50 days waiting for a 4pinXLR cable to use it. first delay excuses from APureSound, and then delay excuses from another cable maker... and finally i got to try my new amp (cough) when this broken cable got delivered

when i switch the left and the right endpieces of my balanced cable, it is still the "black" end that i have problems with.
the cable maker is shipping me a NEW cable tomorrow. he had soldering issues with his last batch, so mine wasn't the only problem. i mentioned the poor heatsink/burnmarks, so hopefully the new one will be done with care.

maybe the drop in volume is because of the bad connection..? maybe with both "+" & "-" signal disconnected i get no sound, but with just one contact i'm getting 'half the sound' [-6dB?] (and damage since it's not pushing&pulling)

due to the bad connection, should I worry about my headphones? my amp?
if my headphone speaker was only receiving a "+" signal, and the "-" was disconnected (or vice versa), is that bad for the headphone? is that bad on the amp? i know for a fact you shouldn't run an amp without a load.

my brainstorming is getting me really worried.

<<i'm going to rant a little, so ignore this next part
do you think my foray into balanced setup might just be karma stacked against me?
Maybe I should have read the signs and just sent the amp back to china when i cancelled my order with alex from APureSounds because he was taking REALLy long to ship the cable (yes longer then his 14-21 days)... and then this new guy said he'd do it over the weekend, but took a reminder email the following weekend to get it shipped out... maybe i should have been more patient with alex to begin with?

this has not been the most pleasant experience so far. and with expensive gear it's hard to enjoy something that causes frustration. i hope the amp isn't damaged. it's already lost lots of value since i bought it when the canadian dollar was so weak...

[where's the exasperated emoticon?]
>> end rant


i hope it's just the cable, i'll know for sure once a new one arrives.
and i'm buying a reterminated stock cable from glitch39, to use as reference

thanks for your feedback so far
it's very much appreciated.

 

[oinkbanana]

nikongod:
i switched the tubes around, same results.
the volume knob is comfortable in the noon position (which is the middle)
both internal gain settings are set to "gain 5",

i didn't try the "gain 10" setting.. should i? i assume that's the louder output.