Balance control?

paulgardner 

You've received a lot of good advice yet still have an imbalance problem .

Do you hear an imbalance with mono records ?

Do your classical symphony records have the correct orientation ?

Dealing with this problem for some time ? What did you change when it started ?

First have you switched everything left and right one by one !

from phono cables to speaker cables to left and right tubes .

Do you use a good magnifying glass when setting up your cartridge alignment ?

Do you have any old equipment , cables or tubes to switch in and out ?

Good Luck .

@paulgardner This does not sound like a cartridge problem. You switched the leads and came up with nothing conclusive- this suggests the problem is something else.

The most likely problem is a tube. First identify the phono section tubes in your amp. Turn the amp off and swap the tubes that are the input to the phono section- this is where most of the gain is produced. Warm the amp up- did the problem move?

If yes you know the bad tube. If no, proceed to the next pair of tubes in the signal chain and perform the same procedure- continue this until the problem moves.

But- if you have a line level source like a CD player, try that. Does it have the channel imbalance? If no, the problem is only in the phono section. If yes, its not the phono at all. Perform the procedure above only starting with the preamp tubes at the line stage level. FWIW this could be power tubes as easily as any other tube so it will sound better when you get this sorted out.

Keep us informed- good luck.

Some cartridges are just built like that.  I had a Dynavector XV-1S that had an imbalance - not much I could do except adjust azimuth by twisting the headshell. I hated doing that so I got rid of the cart. If it is the cart (your other carts do not have imbalance issues), you either need a great microscope or get a Fozgometer and test record to determine the extent of the imbalance. You can then decide if you want to live with it or get rid/retrip the cartridge.

While extremes of azimuth adjustment do have an apparent effect on channel balance, the cure is worse than the disease, because the stylus tip will be at a suboptimal angle to the groove resulting in aberrant wear on both the stylus and your LPs and audible distortion as well. I advise against adjusting azimuth to cure channel imbalance.

Lewm and Slaw are correct. Using the placement of a vocalist in the mix is not reliable.
And if your problem is not electronic you could be obsessing over something that could have you chasing your tail for some time, instead of enjoying your records.

Here’s something that happened to me.
After upgrading my turntable table in 2020 I pulled out a test record I had picked up at a used record fair for $1. My main purpose was to check the anti-skating. But a couple of tracks also helped me to evaluate channel balance, which up to that point I thought was just fine. Turns out, it wasn’t, It was skewed noticeably to one side.

Even though my speakers are are equidistant from the side walls and the wall behind them my room layout is asymmetrical. I have CD racks on one side and records on the other and the location of doors, windows, electric outlets together with media storage dictated placement of everything that goes against a wall. I am convinced that this is what caused the sound to tilt a bit to one side.

The test record and the balance control on my preamp helped me to solve the problem. And when I did, it was like… aaaaahh.

Your preamp’s balance control will set you free.
As God and the manufacturer intended.
Peace and long life.

Woof