Channel balance controls AU

I have some hearing loss in my right ear, so I need to adjust the channel balance. It would be great if I could do that inside Audirvana, since my DAC doesn’t provide any way to do that, and the Mac’s balance control is inaccessible when I use Audirvana.

Just guessing here, but is there not an Audio Unit that could do this for you?

Thanks for that suggestion, which is very sensible. I had the same thought, and I looked through all the AUs that were showing up in the list, but none had this option that I could see.

Could this work?

http://www.airwindows.com/everytrim

I haven’t watched the video as I’m on the train but the description suggests it might.

BTW - I’m in the same boat as you with my right ear but using my amp balance for now … :-/

Thanks, Gareth, for the suggestion. After I read your note about Audio Units, I did some searching, and found this one, which works really well: https://www.flux.audio/project/stereo-tool-v3/

Now I’m a happy camper! Great thinking.

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I use this freeware AU plug-in. Hint: Hold the shift key to adjust in 1/10 dB increments.

[https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_GainSuite/]

Thanks for the suggestion, Wwaldmanfan. I just downloaded the Blue Cat AU, and it works beautifully. I love how simple the interface is, and it gives me the balance adjustment I need without any fuss.

Seeing’s though you are both here, and obviously use balance in your music listening habits.

Since I’ve become aware that either my hearing or my system is lop sided (I have tinnitus in my right ear so it’s a good candidate but haven’t yet sanity checked with different kit) I find that the centre of the sound stage is all over the place track to track. Is this just me?

I realise it’s a bit of a silly Q in a way. The answer being; “it depends” with a pinch of “do realise it’s stereo” but do you guys tweak balance track to track?

Yes, I do find that I have to tweak the balance from track to track. That’s not the case for every recording, but it’s not uncommon. I put it down to the vagaries of mixing when the recording was being made. It seems unlikely that my hearing would fluctuate that much, and since the tweaked balance holds true for the entire cut and then after adjusting the next one, it holds true for that track as well, I feel pretty confident that it’s the recording rather than my ears.

And some of it may be that those of us who have some hearing loss are more aware of balance changes than folks who have full hearing because we’re straining to hear what’s there. (It’s been my observation that people tend to take their hearing for granted, perhaps more so than other senses. I know I did.)

I have tinnitus and a moderate loss of hearing in my right ear. In my big room, I cut the left gain 3 dB to compensate. Interestingly, on my nearfield desktop rig, and with headphones, the discrepancy is only slight. The problem in the big room may also have something to do with the furniture arrangement and/or lack of room treatments. Of course, channel balance and L/R imaging varies greatly amongst different stereo recordings. I tend not to fuss with it. I initially set it up with a mono recording and left it at that.

OT, but another AU plugin I use is Goodhertz Can Opener Studio. Besides L/R balance and bass/treble EQ, it has an infinitely variable crossfeed adjustment that lets you fine-tune the stereo soundstage from wide to full mono. It’s intended for headphones, but works great with speakers, too.

Cheers chaps. I’m having similar experiences.

I think I’ve become fussy about balance due to the imbalance in my main system, and end up tweaking loads. That AU will allow me to do it from the couch … #bonus

Interestingly I too find no such imbalance with headphones or the desktops I use in the kitchen.

May I ask which version of MacOS you’re running?

I tried this plugin (AU) under Catalina. It does install but nothing happens when I click on “Configure” button.

Edit: I just reinstalled Audirvana Plus 3.2.18 and the plugin works just fine under Catalina. It looks like Audirvana 3.5.29 is having an issue; either my setup issue or a bug in Audirvana.

I’ve had Mac computers for 25 years. I avoid OSX and app updates, since most are unneccessary for my purposes. My philosophy is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ve gone up to High Sierra, but reverted to Mavericks. I just like the GUI better. My last Audirvana update was v3.2.14, but I’m running v3.0.5 for the same reason. I realize that v3.5 and its iterations won’t even run on my system, but I’m OK with that.

I’m using Catalina, and I’m finding Bluecat works for me. But I’m now doing a trial of Goodhertz Canopener Studio and Mid Side plugins, and I’m blown away by what they’re doing to my ears. Channel balance is just the beginning–it’s like watching a 3D movie rather than 2D. Amazing stuff.

Thanks! I also have a -3.3 dB imbalance on my left ear, and I’ve being a long time user of Canopener Studio, and I relied on the included balance control. Now I’m using the Bluecat gain suite and I’m loving it; I have more control over the chain, and with a lot more precision thanks to the 1/10th dB steps, now the center image sits exactly where I need it.
Canopener is one of the best crossfeed plugins ever, IMO better than DIRAC, I’m really looking forward to hearing a hardware solution like SPL’s Phonitor, but it’s hard to audition one where I live. I have a very basic Meier Corda amp with crossfeed circuit and it works nice, I assume a more robust hardware solution will be very interesting to hear.

Also. Oeksound smooth 2
And. Oeksound Spiff

Are amazing in reducing or boosting transient punch, while keeping fidelity.

Bumping this thread up. I installed Blue Cat on Windows 10 but the config screen is empty. Anyone had this happen? Any ideas what’s gone wrong?

Hello @redrich2000, which Blue Cat plugin you have installed?

It’s called Gain Suite, the one mentioned earlier in this thread.

You should contact BlueCat as the plugin seems to not initialize properly. Can you ask them if they can try on their side with Audirvana? When we try the config we also had a blank screen. If they want to contact us about it they can at support@audirvana.com.