Strange headphone behaviour from Yamaha DSP-A1

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Hello everyone.

Just bought one of these astonishing machines locally, 'cos it would have been rude not to. And it has Phono inputs for a recently bought turntable.

As I don't yet have speakers, I plugged in my headphones and the result was weird. With the balance control set midway, the sound was tinny, empty and pretty hellish, with no audible vocals from the track I was listening to. Turning the balance control either L or R did not pan the sound towards L and R as I would have expected, but instead brought a superb quality sound to both cans evenly, tho' I can't say it was 'stereo', tho' it didn't sound dead and central like mono either. (The detail from the record was truly astonishing through this amp).

What's going on, tho'?! Why doesn't the balance work as I'd expect - literally balancing the L and R channel volumes? Instead, rotating the balance control either L or R brings up a balanced level of superb sound from both earpieces. With the balance control fully at either end, both cans are getting great sound (tho' probably mono?)

(It was probably a silly purchase for use as just a HiFi amp with 2 speakers, but my curiosity got the better of me. What a beast!)

Thanks.
 
Hello everyone.

Just bought one of these astonishing machines locally, 'cos it would have been rude not to. And it has Phono inputs for a recently bought turntable.

As I don't yet have speakers, I plugged in my headphones and the result was weird. With the balance control set midway, the sound was tinny, empty and pretty hellish, with no audible vocals from the track I was listening to. Turning the balance control either L or R did not pan the sound towards L and R as I would have expected, but instead brought a superb quality sound to both cans evenly, tho' I can't say it was 'stereo', tho' it didn't sound dead and central like mono either. (The detail from the record was truly astonishing through this amp).

What's going on, tho'?! Why doesn't the balance work as I'd expect - literally balancing the L and R channel volumes? Instead, rotating the balance control either L or R brings up a balanced level of superb sound from both earpieces. With the balance control fully at either end, both cans are getting great sound (tho' probably mono?)

(It was probably a silly purchase for use as just a HiFi amp with 2 speakers, but my curiosity got the better of me. What a beast!)

Thanks.

I think you have to disable the surround sound encoding to get a proper stereo sound through headphones with this model...
 
Sounds like the headphones were not inserted correctly. What headphones and adapter were you using? If they are the type with a built in mic, the different jack type (TRRS) can give some off results with a an incorrect adapter.
 
Thank you, both.

I guess I'll have to give the thick manual a good read, Steve, but that sounds a good place to start :) Fingers crossed - thank you.

Noiseboy, OneOdios with the standard 1/4" stereo jack end option - I get what you mean with the symptoms, but confident it wasn't to do with that. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Have you checked the headphones in another amplifier using that cable?

The symptoms you describe precisely fit what happens when a plug is only partially inserted.

Check both ends of the cable and try withdrawing the plug slightly to see if that changes things.

The DSP-A1 did have some strange quirks, but I don't remember this being one!
 
Hello everyone.

Just bought one of these astonishing machines locally, 'cos it would have been rude not to. And it has Phono inputs for a recently bought turntable.

As I don't yet have speakers, I plugged in my headphones and the result was weird. With the balance control set midway, the sound was tinny, empty and pretty hellish, with no audible vocals from the track I was listening to. Turning the balance control either L or R did not pan the sound towards L and R as I would have expected, but instead brought a superb quality sound to both cans evenly, tho' I can't say it was 'stereo', tho' it didn't sound dead and central like mono either. (The detail from the record was truly astonishing through this amp).

What's going on, tho'?! Why doesn't the balance work as I'd expect - literally balancing the L and R channel volumes? Instead, rotating the balance control either L or R brings up a balanced level of superb sound from both earpieces. With the balance control fully at either end, both cans are getting great sound (tho' probably mono?)

(It was probably a silly purchase for use as just a HiFi amp with 2 speakers, but my curiosity got the better of me. What a beast!)

Thanks.
This is the effect you get if the audio earth connection is not good on you headphones. You are listening to L R audio without the ground. Effectively the difference channel.
Anyway that could be a bad headphone Jack or socket.
Have you tried another pair of headphones?
 

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