2. amps-preamps
  3. 1253067970

No preamp 'Balance' control?

Are preamps made without a Balance control? If so, can you live without control of balance (happily)? Depending on the recording, I make slight balance adjustments to lock everything in balance. Is this some sort of purist approach (if so, why not use a seperate volume control for each channel), or what's up with no balance control?
In advance, thanks!
louisl

Showing 4 responses by bondmanp

bondmanp
1,789 posts
 
I bought my preamp, in part, because it offered a large, continuous range of balance adjustment.  My room is asymmetrical, so that is one reason.  But, seriously, are we to just assume that every recording ever made is perfectly balanced left-to-right?  Heck no.  Outside of classical recordings, I have heard crazy channel imbalances, which even differed from track to track and LP side to LP side.  And are we also to assume that every component and pair of speakers is perfectly balanced internally?  That's a big assumption.  I bet there are many channel imbalances in audio gear, especially phono cartridges.  So, why should we not be able to correct these imbalances and restore the true sound stage?

I think one of the reviewers at TAS refers to balance controls as "sound stage controls". 'nuff said!
bondmanp
1,789 posts
 
g_nakamoto - AFAIK, the mx series are home theater pre-pros, so they must include individual channel level controls for all channels, including the right and left.  Not as convenient as a front panel knob, but equally effective.
bondmanp
1,789 posts
 
schubert - If your SS pre has a tape monitor output or some sort of home theater pass through, you can route your source components through the SS pre and then into the tube pre, adjusting the balance in the SS and volume in the tube pre.  Hopefully, both are quiet enough that the elevated noise floor won't be an issue, or, at least, less of an issue than your current situation.
bondmanp
1,789 posts
 

@wolf_garcia - Well, IMHO, there is more to it than that.  When you move your seat, it changes more than just the relative loudness of the speakers.  Each position in the room will have its own room response, so if you have dialed your system in for one spot, moving out of that spot has costs, like a change in bass response, or reflections in higher frequencies. 


And, I am not ashamed to admit that I sometimes listen to random tracks on my server.  Should I move my chair for every new track?  Is that a better solution than tapping the balance control on my remote?  I am not looking for an abdominal workout, wolf, but rather to relax and enjoy the music (directly centered) in front of me.

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