do you or not? Is it even possible to get a perfect symetry loudspeaker output in a room for left-right channels without some?
My listening room is 8 sided (octagon shape). The right wall is a hard surface ( fireplace ) and when I sit in my sweet spot the right channel is a bit louder. When I made my pre amp I used stepped volume and balance controls. The balance control is one notch over to the left. All is well now. The only reason I have a balance control is because of the hard surface. The wall opposite the fireplace has a big arm chair. My previous pre amp did not have a balance control and I had to sit a bit off center to balance the sound.
I don't generally use the balance control, but it's nice to know it's there in the event I have to tweak.
I passed on a QED A240CD integrated amp to my son - it has a balance control that can be bypassed to take it out of the signal path.
I passed on a QED A240CD integrated amp to my son - it has a balance control that can be bypassed to take it out of the signal path.
I have a balance control on my preamp (Hafler 915) , but never found a need for it during normal listening. I only use it for diagnostic purposes, when something seems amiss and I want to crank the balance to one side. I could certainly live without it. If I were to design a new preamp, I would not include the feature.
It is certainly not the most used feature. Am I using it? No.
However, it also depends, whether we are talking about a preamplifier, an integrated amplifier or a pair of monoblocks.
Let me put it this way: If given the choice, which options would you like to have on a (pre-)amplifier, regardless of whether they are used or not?
However, it also depends, whether we are talking about a preamplifier, an integrated amplifier or a pair of monoblocks.
Let me put it this way: If given the choice, which options would you like to have on a (pre-)amplifier, regardless of whether they are used or not?
- Input selector
- Volume control
- Tone controls (Bass, Midrange, Treble)
- Balance
- Loudness
- Speakers A, B, A+B
Although the integrated amplifier I mentioned earlier did not have bass, treble or loudness controls, the manufacturer still deemed it important to include a balance control.
By switching the balance control off, purists could revel in an amplifier that was "fully signal path optimised". 😎
I do. One of my active speakers has more gain than the other. I added more gain as the overall gain was too low. I haven't got round to changing the other speaker yet since I can just use the balance control 😊.
My first DIY preamplifier design had an input selector, volume control, built-in phono preamplifier, balance control, headphone output, crossfeed circuit to either decrease channel separation when you listened to stereo over headphones or to increase channel separation when you listened to binaural recordings over loudspeakers, and a loudness control with adjustable amount of loudness compensation.
My second DIY preamplifier is a phono preamplifier with a couple of switches and potmeters after it, no crossfeed or loudness control anymore as I rarely used them, but the balance control is still there. (I have another way to drive headphones now.)
As my system warms up, the balance can be off, so yes, to a slight degree I do use it. In fact, I installed an Audio Note brand balance control to help ensure that it was the best that I could do. Most of the other options are a far cry from Audio Note. Also, the way that a balance control is implemented makes all the difference.