Do you adjust your balance control at all?

Last week we picked on tone controls, so this week, we'll put the spotlight on the balance knob. Do you use it in your system? Is it at any setting other than dead center?

Do you adjust your balance control at all?
Not at all
70% (272 votes)
Once in a while
19% (74 votes)
Quite a bit
5% (21 votes)
It is always set off to one side
6% (24 votes)
Total votes: 391

COMMENTS
Davet's picture

It isn't something I have done since the days of 8 tracks.

Anonymous's picture

Haven't got one, and that's the way I like it

Rich's picture

I find myself tweaking evey disc, sometimes every track. Adjustments of 0.5dB (the finest adjustment I have available) make noticable changes.

joseph's picture

because it's set for my listening place. It is not, however, nulled.

William K .  Wilson's picture

I do my best not to, but sometimes I just can't help but mess with stuff like that. I am a constant tweaker

EveAnna Manley's picture

Only for troubleshooting.

Mikael's picture

from Sweden

Thijs's picture

I'd have to change it everytime I move my head..

sascatchuan3, Ojai, California's picture

Never touch it. My sweet spot was predetermined by my choice of components, not by extraneous circuitry. It should be noted that I do not sit in a "head-in-a-vice" position while listening to music, either—because I don't have to. It's really amazing what magic a well-chosen system (analog, two-speaker) is capable of performing. The sound in my listening room comes to me from behind the speakers, on either side of the speakers, and from behind the listening area. I've even had friends look for hidden speakers in the room. Am I bragging? You bet!

KevinB's picture

To compensate for sub-optimal speaker placement due to spousal regulations about room set up.

Fred Anderson's picture

I use one as compensation for limited speaker positioning options and their resultant imaging anomolies.

Pearson's picture

Creek 5250SER ain't got one

Chuck E.'s picture

If something sounds a little off, I just move my listening position slightly.

Phil Postings's picture

No need to. A mono recording through my Radford STA15 II amp, Cambridge P500 pre-amp and Tannoy Lancaster speakers comes from dead center. I believe a blindfolded listener would be fooled into thinking I had a center speaker.

Rickylito's picture

Yes, I do use the balance control. That way I can balance the output between the speakers. I use Stereophiles Test CD 2 to balance, or balance by ear. Somehow in my listening room, I always balance toward the right, I use to think that there was something wrong with my amplifier, about 3 amplifiers ago, then my hearing, but that's alright,and it was confirmed by my wife. Now I think it is the room. I want a balance control. It's good that I have one.

eric's picture

Balance control corrects for imbalance in my hearing.

Don Bilger's picture

I have a few recordings that sound better with the balance control shifted off dead center, and I'm not afraid to use the control to improve the sound quality.

Dick Carney's picture

I have a Musical Fidelity A3 integrated amp.No balance control.

Alan Dana's picture

A caveat to my answer ... I use a passive preamp that employes two mono pots. So I don't have a balance control, however if I wish to shift the balance a bit, I do so by adjusting the volume differently on the two channels.

Tom Roberts's picture

I rotate it fully left, then right, to keep the contacts clean.

Joe Evans's picture

Since I play a lot of vinyl a balance control is an absolute necessity. What with buying old and used vinyl even after washing and vacuum cleaning I still notice when the balance is not just right. My sensitivty to this has increased as the quality of my rig has. Most CD's seem to have good balance but there are still some that need a tweak left or right.

MarkA's picture

My amp doesn't have one. ;-)

Carmine D.'s picture

Tone controls I don't believe should exist! They exist for "Low & Mid Fi" at best and used to "colour" poor recordings! The Balance knob on the other hand is vital to correct for uneven room accoustics, L-R system imbalances and not to bias the total reproduction of the music.

Craig Ewing's picture

I'm glad I don't hear the need, our Rotel doesn't offer balance (has bass and treble though)

OGV's picture

Sometimes helps when dealing with difficult rooms.

Ivan Johnson's picture

I would not buy a preamp without dual volume/balance controls.

Bill Stevenson's picture

my system doesn't have one to begin with.

R.  Masson's picture

Always on center. I've always wondered what the hell it was for?

Vinny's picture

I use it to check the speakers but only once.

soulis's picture

i use them

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