Headphone Jack on AXE I/O - Only the Right side works

[nevermore32974]

I submitted a ticket 2 weeks ago but since it hasn't been answered, I thought I would see if anyone has experienced this issue. Which I plug my headphones (Beyerdynamic DT770) into the jack of my AXE I/O, at the lowest setting and slowly turn up, the loudness is equivalent between the left and right sides to start but as I gradually increase the volume, the right side loudness increases at a rate that is far louder than the left side (for example, with the dial at "10:00" position, the left side is reasonable volume but the right side is unbearably loud).

I have tried this with 2 other sets of headphones and the result is the same on all 3, only the right side really increases in volume as I turn the dial up. I have also tried these headphones in our audio sources and the balance is fine. I can compensate for this imbalance by going into Windows sound settings and manually adjusting the L/R balance (L=100%, R=22% makes both sides equal volume) however, that's rather annoying to have to do every time I use my cans. I'm assuming this is some sort of issue with the wiring of the jack itself but wanted to see if I'm the only one.

[dlgebert]

I'm assuming this is some sort of issue with the wiring of the jack itself but wanted to see if I'm the only one.

This is not a general issue, I've had my AXE I/O for almost a year and I've not had this problem.

By default, if you plug a guitar in instrument #1 and put on headphones, you'll only hear the raw unprocessed sound on the left and if you plug into instrument #2, you'll hear the raw unprocessed sound on the right. There is a setting in the AXE I/O Control Panel to hear the signal equally on both left and right channels.

This is from the AXE I/O user manual:

Code: Select all

Direct Monitoring:
Here you can determine how the two input channels are mixed on the Direct monitoring path.

“Mono” means that both channels are mixed to mono. This is the most useful setting when you want to monitor one channel per time as this way the input channel will be monitored on both channels of your monitors or headphones.

“Stereo” mean that channel 1 will be routed to the left side of your monitors or headphones, and channel 2 on the right side. This is the most useful setting when you need to monitor stereo sources, like stereo microphones, keyboards, sound modules etc.

“Channel 1” makes only input 1 channel to reach the direct monitoring path on both L and R sides.

“Channel 2” makes only input 2 channel to reach the direct monitoring path on both L and R sides.

These are useful when only one input is normally used and you don’t want even the slightest amount of noise
coming from the other channel to be mixed into the monitoring path.


So, if you want to hear equally on both sides of your headphones thru the Amplitube standalone application, or thru your DAW, here are steps to follow from some of my eariler posts:

If you're on a Mac:

Did you update to the latest AXE I/O control panel? There is no driver update since AXE I/O is class compliant and does not require an external driver on MacOS. Don't use "asio4all" or any other external driver.

If you're on a PC:

First, make sure you are NOT using "asio4all" in Windows. The AXE I/O has its own Windows drivers:

Our driver is not MME/DirectX it is an official ASIO driver. You should make sure you install the AXE I/O drivers & control panel from your IK User Area and use those drivers.

Once you have the latest AXE I/O Control Panel installed and if Windows, the official IKM ASIO driver, then go into the AXE I/O menu and check if you are on the latest firmware, which is [v.1.04].

Go into the AXE I/O Control Panel and set "Direct Monitoring" to "Mono" to hear equally on both sides of your headphones, as mentioned above.

The next thing to check is how the physical [ MONITOR] knob is set. The knob is on the right side the AXE I/O next to the [HEADPHONE] knob. Make sure it is turned all the way to the right, pointing to [DAW]. Whether you are using a DAW or the standalone Amplitube application, it needs to be turned all the way to the right to hear just the signal processed thru the Amplitube standalone application or the plugin inside your DAW.

The last thing, in your DAW or Amplitube standalone application, make sure your [Playback Device] and your [Recording Device] are set to [AXE IO].

AXE I/O FAQ:
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/index.php?category=13&topic=axe-io

See if this helps with your issue and reply back if you can.

Dave

[nevermore32974]

Dave,

First off, thank you very much for replying. Your response didn't have a whole lot to do with my actual problem but, I also now realize that I didn't provide enough information in my original post, so that's my bad.

To address your directions, yes, I have had the AXE I/O installed since last Fall and use it every day. Obviously, it controls my standard audio output to my monitors (of which the audio is always perfectly balanced). I also have the "monitor" knob fully to the right on "DAW". But, what I neglected to mention is what I'm listening to on my headphones. I'm not referring to using Amplitube at all. What I was describing is that no matter what audio I'm listening to when plugged into the headphone jack (my DAW, windows media, any website, etc), the sound is much louder on the right side of all of my headphones. This does not happen when I listen through my monitors that are connected out the back of the AXE I/O so I don't believe it's an improper driver setup and I can manually rebalance the headphone out levels using Windows settings, I just have to scale down the right channel to about 25% or so. That's why I'm thinking it's a bad wire just in the headphone jack; I think that I've troubleshot everything else there is to try.

Anyway, I very much appreciate the time you took to respond to my question. Hopefully, I'm making sense.

[dlgebert]

Anyway, I very much appreciate the time you took to respond to my question. Hopefully, I'm making sense.

You're making perfect sense, thanks for your response. I try to cover all of the bases without knowing someones experience or what equipment they have, etc. That saves the back and forth, "Still doesn't work...", "ok, now try this"...etc.

I also wanted to let you know that the issue you have isn't a common issue that I've seen on this board and my headphones work without a problem using the AXE I/O headphone jack. I have been using Sony MDR-7506 headphones for many years, they are considered high impedance rated at 63 Ohms.

Code: Select all

Headphones Out

Output impedance: Virtually ideal source (zero Ohms) until clipping

Maximum Output level: +12 dBu into 50 Ohms load (approx 180 mW)

Frequency response: From 3 Hz to 32 kHz within 0.5 dB (96 kHz sample rate)

Dynamic Range: 112 dB(A)

THD+N: -100 dB(A)

If headphones aren't the problem, then maybe the AXE I/O headphone jack or even a component on the circuit board may be bad and they should be able to fix or replace.

Dave

[shreds900]

Has anyone with this problem found a known fix for it?

I received my unit today and am having the exact same issue. Only hearing sound in my left headphone speaker. Latest drivers, firmware, and software from IK Product Manager. Changing Direct Monitoring from Mono to Stereo has no effect on my headphones. I'm trying to listen to the sound from Windows in general(Youtube, Itunes, etc.) as well as Amplitube and m only hearing in one ear.

I see one of the suggestions is to change Direct Monitoring to Mono. I would guess that'd fix monitoring a mono input signal but I would prefer to hear a stereo image coming from my OS for all my other Windows Applications.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Running Windows 10

[shreds900]

I had no luck with fixing the mono headphone issue after multiple uninstalls/reboots/instaills/reboots, unplugging and replugging my headphones in and out of the port to test the connection(even half connections on the way in were mono), ...UNTIL

I tried plugging my headphones into the 1 and 2 main outs in the rear of the unit(which I heard sound in both left and right sides of my headphones) and then back to the headphone port in the front and it's working now! No idea if that's an actual fix for anyone else but that's how I ended up getting a stereo signal out. I'll also note that I made no changes to my computer when I I tried this. I was getting audio in my Left headphone only, unplugged and tried both 1/2 main out rear ports, and then back to the headphone port.

[Mobilization]

I'm also only getting audio in the left headphone. The headphones work fine plugged directly into the computer. I get sound with input plugged into the Left or Right channel and it's set to Mono. The AXE I/O Controller shows output going to both L/R channels. I get only Left output both for the Input instrument and also the computer audio if I play something in a web browser.

I tried plugging the headphone into the four Line Level output jacks and that didn't change anything.

[mrpotocnik]

Has anyone had luck with this?
Just started happening to me, completely out of the blue.
I have had the AXE I/O solo for a few weeks, worked fine and then.. no sound in left headphone.
Tested the headphones elsewhere and they work fine.
Everything is up to date, the control panel shows output going to both l/r channels and I have gone through the standard restart/reinstall/etc steps.

Gonna contact support but I am curious if anyone has found a solution.