Can I swap Left and Right channels ?

[mr k barnett]

I only listen through headphones, and suffer from over-sensitivity to harsh treble, and have tried various things to help, - but suddenly I've realised I've never tried swapping the left and right (RCA) output cables from my CD player to my headphone amplifier - on the basis that one ear might be more sensitive than the other, and I think I notice the "pain" more towards the left side from many of my CDs -- -- --
Sounds like a stupid question but, -- can I assume that all that will do is swap the sounds left and right with no loss, nor distortion of the hifi sound ?

From a stereo recording done with the musical instruments on a stage in front, and with a singer central at the front of the stage, -- my IDEAL sound through headphones would reproduce those positions faithfully, -- loudspeakers in the living room may be able to do that, but I've never experienced that through headphones !

-- I have always heard the sounds from front-centre of the stage, at in an "IN-HEAD" position, - which I find to be an acceptable compromise that is nicely cohesive with the sounds in my left and right ears.

Therefore, if I swap the left and right cables, I might well move / alter some of the "in-head" sounds, but if I am happy with the overall effect, -- there's no problem -- -- IS THERE ???

(Thanks).

 

[fpitas]

Sure. You'll just flip right and left.

 

[djtetei]

Use a custom equalisation curve to tailor the sound to your liking.
Second option is to try custom headphone earpads, that may be able to tame the upper part of the frequency response.

 

[mr k barnett]

Thank you fpitas and djtetei.

 

[jae]

Get an audiometric test from a professional

 

[mr k barnett]

Get an audiometric test from a professional

Thanks Jae, - I've had audiometry tests throughout my life which have always shown a dip in my hearing in one ear for the middle frequencies but ok for the higher ones.

I first noticed my over-sensitivity in the 1970s when listening (at reduced volume) to the climax of Nights in white satin -- Moody Blues (LP version) !!

I had a joyful moment a couple of years ago listening to classical music, when a loud climax of orchestral strings actually sounded beautiful rather than a jagged cacophony !
-- The instruments seemed to be spread-out front to back, and side to side, (more than usual) and their timing seemed spread over a second or two, not "instant en-masse" !

- but unfortunately, I have not heard this since !

 

[jae]

Thanks Jae, - I've had audiometry tests throughout my life which have always shown a dip in my hearing in one ear for the middle frequencies but ok for the higher ones.

I first noticed my over-sensitivity in the 1970s when listening (at reduced volume) to the climax of Nights in white satin -- Moody Blues (LP version) !!

Any idea if the sensitivity in the dip/notch of the bad ear? If it is only toubling you with certain sounds/at certain frequencies, perhaps it is worth using a tone generator (https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/) with a pair of earphones to identify if there is a limited band where that occurs specifically. Then you can simply notch it out with EQ and avoid the problem altogether

 

[mr k barnett]

Any idea if the sensitivity in the dip/notch of the bad ear? If it is only toubling you with certain sounds/at certain frequencies, perhaps it is worth using a tone generator (https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/) with a pair of earphones to identify if there is a limited band where that occurs specifically. Then you can simply notch it out with EQ and avoid the problem altogether

Thanks very much Jae for that useful info. I shall first try swApping the leads from my cd player to see if that identifies if my problem mainly seems to be towards one side.

Strangely, I have never needed to memorise which ear has the dip, but I might need to go for an audiometry test soon, -- I believe improved tests are now available.

 

[antcollinet]

I'm not sure why you think swapping channels will help? It's not like particular frequencies will only ever be on one side.

Or am I missing something?

 

[Philbo King]

Even easier: turn your headphones 180 deg.

 

[mr k barnett]

I'm not sure why you think swapping channels will help? It's not like particular frequencies will only ever be on one side.

Or am I missing something?

Thanks tonycollinet, you are probably right, and I haven't noticed the over-sensitivity to be to sounds coming more from one side than the other.

I am very familiar with the sound(s) of my cd collection, and likewise I have not noticed the loud high-pitched orchestral strings coming more from one side.

I have - just now - started listening with the leads swapped, and because my ears are unequal, and the sounds coming from the left are now on the right, I can already hear differences, but not to the harshness of the treble.
I shall continue to try this for a while, but it does not look like it's going to help.

 

[mr k barnett]

Even easier: turn your headphones 180 deg.

Thanks Philbo King, and the other gentleman who suggested that. - I tried that with previous headphones but the design (ergonomics ?) didn't allow for it.

I've just tried that with my current headphones and they are ALMOST comfortable reversed -- might come-in useful for short periods !

 

[jae]

I'm not sure why you think swapping channels will help? It's not like particular frequencies will only ever be on one side.

Or am I missing something?

Different genres of music can have different typical mixing conventions in the studio- typically the "sound" of a certain genre/style/era may have instruments, sound effects, backing vocals etc that are specifically panned/biased to one channel for instance. So if a particular element in the track producing harmonic content asymmetrically in the mix, and that happens to coincide with some defect in OP's hearing on one side, it's very possible that simply swapping channels could inadvertently "bypass" this irritation since now that harmonic content causing the problem with the bad ear is now reaching the "good" ear instead by virtue of the swap.

As an example, I personally have a hearing notch from 500-1000hz in my right ear which happens to coincide with the first harmonics of a cowbell, which is quite typically panned right along with similar percussive elements in most styles that choose to incorporate it. I can barely hear it over other sounds at all, and if I turn the music loud enough it it extremely distorted and jarring in that region, however if I swap channels in my music player I can hear it perfectly fine in my other ear. Funnily enough I also have a notch in the "good" ear at a completely different band, so a particular instrument playing in certain octaves might sound better in one ear and vice versa and it is largely dependent on the composition of the tune.

From experience this is not really an elegant solution, because if whatever is bothering him happens to come up in the other channel then the problem is no longer solved, and other harmonic content is still being affected by the deficit. It would be a concession or tradeoff he would be making between tracks, bands, genres etc. even if one side was consistently better. So it makes more sense to me to simply identify the issue with a tone gen (and could use a previous audiogram as a guide) and then handling it appropriately with EQ + trial and error, which could involve either completely notching out the problem bandwidth with an appropriately steep filter if it's narrow enough not to affect large swathes of the sound, or with varying degrees of negative (or even positive) amplification in the problem band or adjacent bands.

What many people identify as "sensitivities" with hearing are rarely that in the strictest sense of the word- it is usually either some sort of hearing deficit or damage in a particular range that causes a loss of perceived dynamic range and added noise/distortion, i.e. physiological damage through age (chronic exposure), acute exposure, medications, autoimmune conditions, vascular issues and so on.

 

[DVDdoug]

There is no "mixing" standard... The left & right are usually pretty-much balanced (both loudness and "tone") and it's up to the mixing engineer where to pan the instruments. (Except with a classical, there is a standard arrangement for an orchestra.) Usually the bass is centered (identical in both channels) and of course the lead vocals are usually centered.

Have you experimented with mono? ...Note that you should never "short" the left & right signals together, so that's best done with a software setting or with a piece of equipment that has a 'mono" switch. (Audacity can make a mono mix, but it's an audio editor so it's just an easy way to experiment with a few recordings.)

With a small stereo mixer you could pan the inputs left, right, or center, etc., depending on the recording.

-- I have always heard the sounds from front-centre of the stage, at in an "IN-HEAD" position

Very common!



P.S.
The English word is swap.

 

[jae]

Also, if your headphone design uses angled drivers, by flipping the headphone itself you will also be changing the frequency response of the device, particularly in the ear gain region and higher frequencies- usually the result is either a broadband gain/attenuation of highs.

 

[jae]

P.S.
The English word is swap.

OP is clearly employing his British vernacular !

 

[antcollinet]

OP is clearly employing his British vernacular !

As a right pondian, I find this a good time to point out that English - by definition - is what we speak on this side of the pond. Whatever you left pondians want to do with it is your own affair - but please don't try to claim ownership.

 

[Philbo King]

Heh heh...
"If y'all wanna talk in English, go back to England!"

 

[AdamG]

Title and 1st post edited to replace “Swop” with “Swap”. Minor spelling mistake.

Many thanks to @Kal Rubinson for suggesting the edits for clarity sake!

 

[mr k barnett]

As regards my bad spelling and punctuation -- I didn't do well at school, and that's why they kept sending me for audiometry tests, - to try and find out why I was so thick ! -- Many years later I returned to the class-room and discovered that it was the frequency of the fluorescent light strips that was causing me to close my eyes and fall asleep.

I often refer to my 1966 English school dictionary (but failed to this time) - because the spell-check set-up that I use is the American version despite my attempts to change it.

- I went to a grammer school in England.