Unbalanced Sound on Speakers, Headphones No Issue

M

mhenley

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 21, 2001
Messages
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Bit of an older system. Sound Blaster Z sound card, 3.5mm splitter, one to Klipsch Promedia 2.0 speakers, the other to some earbuds. Earbuds have zero issues. When speakers are turned up, right is about 20% louder than the left. I can correct this with balance slider, but then the left in the earbuds is 20% louder. I don't want to have to continue doing balance correction when I switch devices.

Multiple troubleshooting steps taken. Speakers replaced, splitter replaced, swapped which side feeds which device on splitter, removed splitter and switched devices manually, etc... So far I cannot isolate the issue.

Ideally I'd have outputs to both and run them simultaneously, but from what I've read the SB-Z cannot do this. So my question is really two-fold. I either need to figure out what I'm missing and why this is happening, or I need a hardware device that can do both simultaneously. Any thoughts?
 
Speakers replaced, you say. Do you mean just the satellites or did you replace the subwoofer/amp as well?
 
You might want to double check... But from a quick Googling it seems there is a dedicated headphone output for the Sound Blaster Z. So you shouldn't need to split a single output to share between them.

That said if your speakers are doing that, and all the cables are ok, then they are likely wearing out.
 
Void: They are integrated, so, both were replaced.

Trunks: There is a dedicated headphone output, but it's not simultaneous. You have to use the control panel software and toggle between the two, and then use Windows to adjust balance level. Functionally annoying.

I think I might have figured it out though. We moved recently and things are in a different position, including where the full tower case is. I'm probably facing some reflection/wave focusing where I wasn't before. My next step is to try and move the desktop elsewhere and reroute cables to mitigate this.
 
mhenley said:
Void: They are integrated, so, both were replaced.

Trunks: There is a dedicated headphone output, but it's not simultaneous. You have to use the control panel software and toggle between the two, and then use Windows to adjust balance level. Functionally annoying.

I think I might have figured it out though. We moved recently and things are in a different position, including where the full tower case is. I'm probably facing some reflection/wave focusing where I wasn't before. My next step is to try and move the desktop elsewhere and reroute cables to mitigate this.
Click to expand...
Derp, I totally read 2.0 as 2.1. Are these the old Ultras or the newer, current set with bluetooth, etc?
With it being an older system, it might be worthwhile to make sure all the connectors are clean, even the sockets on the soundcard. But you may well be on to something with your positioning being the cause. One quick way to verify that might be to just swap the actual speaker positions and see if the imbalance stays on the same side.
 
mhenley said:
Void: They are integrated, so, both were replaced.

Trunks: There is a dedicated headphone output, but it's not simultaneous. You have to use the control panel software and toggle between the two, and then use Windows to adjust balance level. Functionally annoying.

I think I might have figured it out though. We moved recently and things are in a different position, including where the full tower case is. I'm probably facing some reflection/wave focusing where I wasn't before. My next step is to try and move the desktop elsewhere and reroute cables to mitigate this.
Click to expand...

Ah you gotta love it when it's simple. Let us know how it goes!
 
Haven't tried swapping L and R yet physically. Will be nice to confirm the suspicion. On vacation for now, but will report soon. Also, these are the newer ones... Sadly. Quality just isn't there like back in the day.

On a side note, I'm looking into replacements. "Gaming" soundbar, or USB DAC/amp and small desktop/bookshelf speakers (has to be smaller than these) so that if this doesn't work I can actually dial things in for real. Any suggestions?
 
mhenley said:
Haven't tried swapping L and R yet physically. Will be nice to confirm the suspicion. On vacation for now, but will report soon. Also, these are the newer ones... Sadly. Quality just isn't there like back in the day.

On a side note, I'm looking into replacements. "Gaming" soundbar, or USB DAC/amp and small desktop/bookshelf speakers (has to be smaller than these) so that if this doesn't work I can actually dial things in for real. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Some idea's....

Speakers 2.0/2.1
Kanto YU2MB
Edifier M601DB (ok this might be a little large upon actually looking :D)

Soundbar
Kanto SYD
 
Those Kanto YU2MBs look pretty good. Thank you for the recommendations.

Physically swapped L and R, didn't change the issue, so that narrowed things down a lot. I feel foolish for not thinking about sound reflections in the beginning. Bought a small table to sit next to my desk, moved the desktop about 6 inches further away from the speaker and the issue disappeared. Downside, I realized during some of my tests that I hear certain frequencies better out of my right ear, mostly in the 120hz range. Few more years and it looks like I'll be investing in some mixing equipment to combat this issue.

Thank you for your help. Again, I feel foolish, but sometimes it helps to talk through issues.
 
I have the sound blaster z on my other rig and had the speakers connect to the Three 3.5mm jacks in the rear of the card, then the headphones connected to the cases HD audio extension routed from the internal sound blasters connection (the HD audio output which would be inside the case facing forward)to the cases built in front panel audio single 3.5mm headphone and single 3.5mm mic jacks. Works perfectly.
I specifically set it up like this to avoid splitters. Splitters don't always work properly. That's why I avoid them.
 
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