hello thanks in advance..
got my second hand RME yesterday, and found that left output is about 1.2db louder than right.
is it normal? or should it be perfect equal? I’m so afraid. and can I make it match each other?
any help will be appreciated. thanks.
The Filter Spacing control will move the balance around. They should not be ‘equal’ as there are differnt signals from the filter output left and right to make a stereo signal out of a mono signal. (at least that is my understanding)
If the spacing control is at 0 and the filters are set to dual lowpass, the levels should pretty much be equal, but it is analog after all.
I have a brand new RME and am getting the same thing. right channel is around 1.5db louder on all patches. that’s pretty significant. this doesn’t seem right. can anyone confirm that theirs doesn’t do this? even on an init patch with filter spacing at 0 it happens.
I was under the impression that the right channel was “different” in regards to being more like the original mini. I didn’t know what specifically made it different but I have read all the time about people reccomending using the right output for a change.
Can someone verify this?
Eric
This is what I get as well. There could be a sonic reason e.g. different phasing which occurs when the levels are unbalanced.
In your DAW: just normalize after recording.
Otherwise just use mono.
I wouldn’t be testing the gain difference with presets. I think you could get a better idea by going to the preset default setting and then make sure all settings (especially the spacing) are at default as well. No pedals, no inputs. Being that the Voyager is analogue, I would suspect there should be some difference but nothing major.
as I said above.. “even on an init patch with filter spacing at 0 it happens.”
1.5 db is a pretty significant difference for me.
anyways.. can anyone else confirm that their voyager either does this or doesn’t do it?
Sorry, wasn’t careful in my reading.
1.5 db is pretty negligible. You have to have some IID (Interaural intensity difference) to have a stereo image. Our ears are able to hear a difference at a minimum of 1 db, so 1.5db is not much. But that’s what the spacing control is for. Even without it, there is the pan input, just hook up a potentiometer and move it toward the quiter side a little. Or record both separately. I like to experiment with the stereo image/pan/spacing with a mixer, delay through left and right clean, and using LFO into pan can do crazy stuff. This is one very cool feature of the voyager, real time tweaking of stereo. Those who aren’t familiar with stereo theory should delve into it, it’s pretty powerful.
edit: actually 2db is the minimum detetcable difference, so 1.5 db is not recognizable.
The Voyager is a right handed instrument, that’s why one output is louder than the other.
There is a left handed model with the outputs reversed, the wheels are on the right side of the case, the keyboard flipped so that low notes trigger high pitches, and the built-in metronome goes TOCK-TICK
Yeah, I’m a lot of help 
for thick leads and basses I wouldn’t say 1.5db L/R difference on a loud constant sound that carries your track is negligable. it causes clipping on one side by a good margin. what do you mean by pan input and hooking up a potentiometer? this is done internally?
I’m still unsure on whether or not it’s designed this way or if mine needs servicing. can anyone else confirm? I have a hard time believing that every patch right down to the bare init is meant to be panned left.
I have owned a left-handed sleeping bag since I was 18.
If clipping is the problem, then it’s not the voyager’s fault.
What he said.
And what he said.
My Voyager OS favors the left channel. I have to adjust spacing for a balanced signal as it’s not balanced at zero. My Performer and RME (when I still had them) were the same way from what I remember. It’s analog. It can be close to perfect but will never be perfect. Perhaps there’s a trimmer on the PCB that can be adjusted…
there are plenty of analog instruments that have equal L/R outputs. 1.5db isn’t a small difference. It’s loud enough that it throws my tracks off balance and has to be panned. I don’t see why there would be any reason for having a 1.5db difference on a single osc init patch with the filters wide open. makes me think the unit was not calibrated properly.
How did you get the dB reading? If it’s analog dBV or dBu or dBspl or dBm, then its analog, dBfs (full scale) is digital. 1.5 db is less than or around the threshold of the difference that can be heard by the normal human ears. If it is noticeable, that is what the pan control is for. If you wanted to match dB on one instrument to another analog instrument, I doubt you will even get it less than 2 dB difference. And again the spacing control will affect the stereo image, so your complaint is quite pointless. None of your knobs are going to be perfectly calibrated so 0 setting is actually 0, there will always be a little play. Also, it could be the inputs you are using to record, or speakers even with that little difference. If it were 3 dB or more, then I would worry. So I would advise to move on, spend your time creating crazy patches instead of getting hung up by a small detail, I know from experience this can delay your objectives.