[SOLVED] Channel imbalance at low volumes

Flores Valdez

Commendable
Feb 27, 2019
9
0
1,510
Hello guys, I just got my iFi Zen Dac today and I'm using it with a pair of beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm. I discovered today that when I lower the volume, the right side is louder than the left side but when I turn it up it evens out. Is that normal?
I'm new to the DAC/AMP / Headphone world
 
Solution
Really common. It's difficult to get the two sections of a logarithmic (audio taper) potentiometer to track well, especially towards the bottom end of the range. The problem is worst in cheap pots, and good pots are very expensive.

The best mixing consoles usually used either Clarostat 388 series or one of the Bourns pots (I forget the part number). There are a few other brands of pots as well, but these are the most common. These are often $15 or $20 pots, even when bought in large quantity. These pots track really pretty well. The $0.50 pot used in most cheap headphone amps does not.

chetmaster12

Honorable
Jan 19, 2015
163
1
10,695
Really common. It's difficult to get the two sections of a logarithmic (audio taper) potentiometer to track well, especially towards the bottom end of the range. The problem is worst in cheap pots, and good pots are very expensive.

The best mixing consoles usually used either Clarostat 388 series or one of the Bourns pots (I forget the part number). There are a few other brands of pots as well, but these are the most common. These are often $15 or $20 pots, even when bought in large quantity. These pots track really pretty well. The $0.50 pot used in most cheap headphone amps does not.
 
Solution