Audio vocals slightly panned to the left

Hi, ive gotten into this crazy thing where im sure that the vocals coming from the record is slighly panned to the left. There is still vocal audio in the right channel, but it seems weaker. Just vocals tho, guitars, drums and other instruments + multiple vocals are balanced depending on the tune.

I did not notice it really until i listened to the 2015 remaster of Queen II - Father to Son. And from there i could swear almost all records had the same issue.

This is on a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with an ortofon 2M Blue. - Factory set-up.
I changed the stylus to a 2M Red, same result.
Reversed the cables, same result.
My girlfriend listened, and to her the vocals were more centered.

BUT: If i reverse my headphones, i get clear vocals from the right-side headphone.
I can check the azimuth with a magnifying-glass, whilst the needle is on a record to see if it skewers.

BUT, i did test Queen I on a TT in a store, and the same damn thing was occuring there.


I will connect the TT to the line-in on my pc and do a recording in Audacity to see wheter actually there is a difference..
Other then that, i can only imagine its my right ear having issues, as i swear the same issue occurs on my phone..

Has anyone else encountered this?

 

Edit: I reversed the cables, and i swore it got better. Maybe i imagined it, but yeah, sounded better.

 

There is exactly the same thread from another member here from last week...

 

Do you have the link?

 

Check the phase of your cartridge. I had one out of phase for a while before I discovered it and it sounded exactly as you describe. On one channed the + and - were reversed at the cartridge end.
The ONLY accurate way is to use an ohm meter to check from the cartridge pins to the RCA end.

 

Well, if i reverse the phones the vocals are stronger in my left ear ( with the right side over the left ear) So it might be my hearing as i never noticed it until that Queen album..

 

I've never used one of thoose in my life.. will simply swapping left / right RCA cables solve it? I dont care if its reversed, as long as it sounds good.

 

Loudspeakers position changed? Furniture in the room moved? Could also be a earing difference from right and left ear.
Try also to change speakers left to right.

 

Using headphones thru a Schiit Magni amp.

 

To my hearing, i swore it got better by swapping left and right leads from the TT to my Schiit Mani RIAA - but when my girlfriend states that she hears the vocals in center, im starting to belive its my right ear, as if i press the right headphone close to my ear, the stereo-image gets clearer.

 

I first noticed the difference when i swapped the + and - RCA cables back to normal as i had reversed them. The phase sounds ok as compared vinyl records to their digital counterparts and parts of music were reversed when the cables were reversed. Putting the cables back to their respective holes corrected the music - differences..

 

1st check - is it just an issue with vinyl or do you get this with all sources - is it happening when you listen through speakers rather than headphones - have you tried another set of headphones

2nd check (if you know the girlfriends hearing is good) - chemists for a good wax removal lotion - for your ears - they are precious things (do not stick a cotton bud stick in them)

 

Don’t listen to Lindsay Buckingham sing. I SWEAR he is always mixed left of center!

In fact yesterday, I had to beg my fiancée to tell me not to care or obsess or try to fix vocals that seem 6” left of center in my stereo imaging. She then told me what I wanted to hear, and I am trying to listen to “her.”

It could be a number of things...including your ear, like you said.

Enjoy your Queen!

 

It might well be your ears, but you could try experiementing with your anti skating setting. This could bring things into focus

 

One goes crazy.. I used a magnifying glass, and i my eyes are ok, and the stylus looked OK in the record groove.
Funny thing, im listening to it now and it sounds centered.. i dunno.. i give up

 

I did nothing, just went over cables etc.. now it seems normal again. Dont ask me..

 

Well, if the issue is gone then the problem is gone! You’re probably best off telling yourself you had some ear wax blocking a specific frequency!

 

Ha yeh.. psycological effects are bad.

 

Play a MONO LP and/or CD and that will tell you if you REALLY have an imbalance. I do this all the time if something changes.

What I have noticed is that many vocals aren't centered. Playing the Bee Gees Greatest Hits 1 had my head going back and forth as the center null point changed constantly during the first few songs.

BTW anitiskate doesn't change the soundstage unless there is something seriously wrong.

If you had a phasing problem you would know it immediately and music would sound extremely weird - just try swapping the wires on one of your speakers.

 

its very common to have worse hearing in one ear or the other. I think left being worse is more common, though I have only heard that anecdotally.

 

I did an A/B test on a Police LP with the CD to see mastering preferences last week and the LP had shifted vocals to the right. I freaked out and thought my alignment was all wonky. I then A/B’ed Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage and found that the vocals on “Gypsy” were centered the same on both formats, so I considered all as being well. I haven’t revisited the Police LP because I don’t want to obsess over it. It is t the best mastering anyway, so I am not going to dedicate time for a weaker mastered copy.

 

if it got better maybe you were congested or something

 

Nope. There are 2 cartridge leads per RCA. The negative shoud have continuity (preferably .5 ohms or less) to the outer metal shells and the same ohms from the positive lead off cartridge to the center pins of the RCA. Just as speaker leads will produce ("work") if reversed so will the cartridge leads. The sound will certainly be off though.

 

double ??