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Position of speaker cables and irregular behavior

 I move my speakers around a lot, experiment with placement, also move a few different sets in/out of rotation.  Reason:  I have a persistent problem in that my left speaker is dominant. Playing in mono the image is centered about 2 feet left of center. In stereo, not only are vocals shifted left, the right side just doesn’t carry the same level of volume , soundstage and depth. 

Equipment: Bryston 7b monoblocks, Bryston pre, Opp BDP105, Grover Huffman Empress speaker cables, Siltech xlr interconnects.

I have swapped/reversed every single component to try isolating a culprit. No luck.

Although there are differences in left/right side walls in the room, the parts that matter ( reflection points ) are basically the same.

my speaker cables are 8ft so I have about 3-4 ft of excess. When I move the cables around it affects the dominance to either lessen or exaggerate to the left.  Sometimes I get close to almost centering the image , when that happens the right side blooms open. But it lasts a few hours or days and then I’m back to playing with speaker and cable placement.  I’ve suspended the cables off the floor , sometimes helps temporarily. 

I have tried adjusting the balance on the preamp . that makes the volume equal but not the brilliance of music which remains duller on the right.

There are even times when I’m listening to a song and as I’m listening the image shifts either more to left or more to center.  I thought it might be a sound pressure issue in my room, then I move the speaker cables and it gets better....for a while.

its not my hearing, when I attend audio exhibitions or meets the sound is equal.

I have moved my speaker cables so many times, like bending a wire hanger back and forth, they eventually broke. Grover huffman was kind enough to repair my speaker cables...twice.. Have some bending going on to fasten on binding posts. 

I sprayed Deoxit on all connections, that didn’t make a difference.

i routed all power cords neatly and away from speaker cables.

I’m thinking of getting 4ft speaker cables so that I have a straight run. Otherwise I’m out of ideas.

any help?

 

 

jacksky
jacksky OP
103 posts
 

sorry, a little delay in getting back tot he nice folks that took time to offer help...

I thought it best to be methodical in carrying out changes so I decided to start at back end. switch left/right speakers, then cables, and so on.

first think I learned is that I am not as limber as I used to be, its a pain bending and doing things with 2 hands that could use 3 or 4.

before touching anything I tried self testing my hearing so I listened to familiar music on headphones. image is balanced and centered.  then I listened to my system warts and all as is, nearfield. then I turned around to listen with my back to the speakers. image, brightness and intensity is consistently skewed left.

I don't think its my hearing. 

I physically switched L/R speaker positions. image still centered left.

I physically switched L/R speaker cables. Image still centered left.

tomorrow I will switch L/R monoblock amps followed by interconnects.

ya know, this kinda stuff can drive a person crazy.  when I moved the speakers I noticed the right (weak one) is a little wobbly, started turning the foot screws. I coulda sworn it made a little difference....then nah, just wishing.

 

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,465 posts
 

You are doing this correctly. I can’t believe you are not on the brink of solving the problem. Root cause analysis will give you the so,union.

holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

+1 for @ghdprentice 
It is not the speaker…
It is not the cable.

It is the source or the RCAs.

(Sounds exactly like when I had a problem a few months ago.)

femoore12's avatar
femoore12
683 posts
 

Why isn't the room being considered as the issue? That is a large opening on the left wall.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,944 posts
 

Let me ask…

how far are your speakers apart center to center?

what is your distance to each speaker?

how close to each other can you position your speakers? I would pull them together like 5.5-6ft apart center to center than listen from about 6ft in equilateral triangle and see if it gets better. 
also if there’s anything that absorbs sound behind the right speakers more than it does on the left side it can cause this issue. Remove objects that can absorb sound behind the speakers. 
if you tried what I recommended and nothing helps it’s an issue with cables, components or room. Try different source as well…may be another cdp or DVD player to rule that out…

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