Sulaco Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I have RB-5 II's on 24 inch stands and am using a Harman Kardon AVR-120. I have the speakers bi-wired using Radio Shack 16 guage speaker wire. The speakers are about 7 feet apart and about 3 feet from the back walls. They are toed in so the tweeters intersect just behind my head in my normal listening position about 7 or 8 feet from the speakers. Between the speakers, I have a tv stand with a 27" tv and my audio components below it. The tv is about the same height as the speakers. On top of the tv is my RC-25 and just to the right (about 2 feet) of my right front is my Velodyne CT100. My RS-25's are mounted about 5 feet high on the wall opposite my front's and are about 8 feet apart. All of my other speakers use Radio Shack speaker wire and I use an assortment of Radio Shack and Monster cable for the rest (I am slowly upgrading). Anyway, all of my stereo (2 channel) material (with vocalist's, mostly females because that is what I have) plays back with the voice coming from just to the right of center. I can adjust the balance a little to the left and it helps slightly but I don't want to use this as a fix. I tried switching the left and right RB-5's but it made no difference. It is really annoying and takes away from the performance a good bit. Any ideas? Could there be something wrong with my receiver? Maybe something in my room is screwing with the soundstage? I have tried moving the speakers around to no avail. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 If you connect the Right speaker to the Left channel output of the HK and vice versa, does the imbalance in the soundstage shift to the other side? If so, it would suggest the problem is in the amp or in your source component. Does the imbalance remain stable across various source components? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulaco Posted July 28, 2003 Author Share Posted July 28, 2003 I called Klipsch and talked to Steve and he said to try the same thing. He doesn't think it is a speaker problem (and I agree) but more likely either a source or room acoustics problem. I will try switching the channels on the receiver end tonight and see what happens. Can I assume that if the problem stays after I do this, it would either be a source (DVD player) or room accoustics problem? I have another DVD player and another receiver I could try out to eliminate the source issue. As for the room acoustics, I wouldn't know where to start other than just adjusting the balance (which I don't really want to do). I only have one source, and that is my DVD player which I use for audio CD's as well. Well, I have a TV and a VCR, but I don't really have any way to use them to test a good stereo feed. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 This is what the balance control is for. Why do you want not to use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Another thing you could check is to listen if both tweeters are playing (up close) given that midrange is handled by the mid-woofer... seeing that you flipped the speakers around, this might point to a faulty "bi-wire" Just a thought... Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 If room acoustics are causing the problem they you will have to use the Balance to correct it -- that is what it is for after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Are you using the reciever in 2 channel mode when playing audio? Or is it set to one of the HT suround sound modes, or fields, or auto detect? If you specifically set it for 2 channel, how does it sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulaco Posted July 28, 2003 Author Share Posted July 28, 2003 I don't want to use the balance because it lowers the levels of the other channel thus affecting the accuracy of the original recording. Plus, if it is a problem with the receiver, I shouldn't have to. I always use the 2 channel mode unless I am watching a DVD encoded for DD or DTS. Which leads me to another problem. I noticed recently (since I purchased my center and surrounds and have been able to make use of DD and DTS) that if I play a DVD encoded for DTS and DD in DTS mode, my bass (which I have going to my powered subwoofer) response becomes almost inaudible. I can turn up the volume on the subwoofer as well as the level on the subwoofer out (on the receiver) and get an almost audible signal, but nowhere near what it should be, nor where it is in 2 channel or DD. I called HK and talked to John who said I should send the unit to HK's service center and have it repaired/replaced. I guess I will be w/o a receiver for a few weeks. Maybe I will get lucky and they will replace it with the newer AVR-125. Thanks again for the help guys, and any other advice will be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulaco Posted July 28, 2003 Author Share Posted July 28, 2003 Ok, I switched the channels on the amp (left to right) and the soundstage followed suit. Where the main voice (which should be dead center) was shifted right, it is now shifted left. So, this tells me it is definitely the receiver, right? I also tried another source and it made no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Yes, based on your details it sure appears to be the rec'r. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 My room's acoustics are near ideal. I still use a balance control. In fact, my balance control is even more extreme. Its more of a 'audio imaging' control. It doens't just move the balance right to left. I can mix various amounts of right or left signal to the opposite channel, from full stereo to mono & reverse, adjust the relative volume level of each channel to the other thru 3 pairs of balance controls. Not all recordings are made well. And certainly they are not all made or mixed the same. If you take the 'absolute purist' route, it's unlikely that you're ever going to be able to hear much of any recording at its best, or how it was intended. Or even how it will sound best, TO YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I would check all wiring very closely for polarity. Please don't cringe. I'm not saying you're a Bozo or that I'm a Bozo. Yet this Bozo (myself) has screwed up despite marking wires with great care, making good connections, and thinking he had good hearing. For example, the wiring to the bass bin on one of my home made K-Horns got loose. Something was odd but I couldn't figure it out by ear. I also had a polarity issue in another case. When you're right in the middle at the sweet spot, something is wrong. You move your head a bit left and right an it seems to get better. Adjust balance and the problem moves around. I can't help but think there is some possibilty that the biwiring has something out of polarity. It is a guess from a long way from hearing your system. Just be sure about this. Gil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulaco Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 Thanks for the heads up. I check and double-check all of my connections fairly regularly, especially when I am messing around with the stuff. I even unhooked everything but the source, receiver and speakers (single set of speaker wires going to each speaker, and only the fronts hooked up) and tried it that way. I also tried bypassing my surge protector and plugging the source and receiver directly into the wall. None of this made any difference. I hooked up my two surrounds and they did the same thing. I am almost 100% certain it is the receiver. As for the CD's I am using, I have tried over 35 different CD's and they all do the same thing. I think the chances of that many CD's being "off" is pretty slim. I am going to move everything into another room tonight and see if that makes any difference. If not, the receiver starts it's journey back to HK Friday. Thanks again for all of the help guys. Now I just have to wait a few weeks for my replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I would trying changing or swapping around the source cables as well. Never know where a bum cable will show up. Or the source output. Marvel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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