Any way to swap audio channels?

[MoparShaha]

I'm trying to figure out how to swap the left and right audio channels on my PowerBook. I occasionally use a pair of headphones which fit more comfortably backward, meaning the right speaker is on my left ear, and vice versa. I've been to System Preferences and Audio Midi Setup in the Utilities folder, but can't find an option. Does anyone know of any Terminal tricks of freeware software that'd do this?

Thanks.

 

[Applexilef]

Hey Man, sorry I can't answer your question, but I wanted to be the first one to reply.


I'm useless I know

 

[zimv20]

i had a look in Utilities / Audio Midi Setup, but i couldn't find anything that would do it (but a lot of stuff was greyed out, maybe you should check on your system).

short of that, you could certainly go to radio shack and find some combination of connectors that would allow you to 'cross the streams', as it were.

a couple days ago, i repatched my (home) studio, including incorporating two new pieces of gear in my listening chain. i loaded up the song i'd started mixing the day before, and to my horror found the L/R channels swapped. i checked all (or so i thought) the connections 3 times, all the routing, crawling behind furniture following cables. total PITA. finally found that the mac sound out port, which i break out to a y-cable, was plugged into the L/R of my mix board backwards. doh.

 

[MoparShaha]

short of that, you could certainly go to radio shack and find some combination of connectors that would allow you to 'cross the streams', as it were.

Yeah, I figure this is probably my best bet, but still, I prefer the "coolness" factor of doing it through software. No biggie though, since I only use these particular headphones once in a blue moon.

 

[Le Big Mac]

Yeah, I figure this is probably my best bet, but still, I prefer the "coolness" factor of doing it through software. No biggie though, since I only use these particular headphones once in a blue moon.

Dare I ask why? Other than movies, does sound really matter if it's left/right reversed? Unless you're very picky and insist on hearing the first violin more in the left channel.

 

[zimv20]

Dare I ask why? Other than movies, does sound really matter if it's left/right reversed? Unless you're very picky and insist on hearing the first violin more in the left channel.

if i'm familiar w/ the material, having everything reversed drives me nuts. even if i don't know the tune, most engineers, if making a stereo image of the drums, pan it from the drummer's perspective (i.e. snare towards the left, for right-handed drummers). that's the way i prefer to have it, as well.

maybe it just makes me picky. but i prefer to think of it as OCD, thankyouverymuch.

 

[question fear]

short of that, you could certainly go to radio shack and find some combination of connectors that would allow you to 'cross the streams', as it were.

"Listen, I forgot to mention this before, but whatever you do, DO NOT THE STREAMS...it could end life as we know it."

 

[MoparShaha]

Dare I ask why? Other than movies, does sound really matter if it's left/right reversed? Unless you're very picky and insist on hearing the first violin more in the left channel.

You're absolutely right. I'm just listening to music, so it shouldn't be an issue, but like zimv20, it would drive me mad. In the end, I might just get new, more comfortable headphones .

 

[superbovine]

games...i generally like to know which direction someone is shooting me from.

 

[JFreak]

you can always ask for someone who knows anything about electronics to make such a headphone cable that reverses left and right signals for you.

 

[benixau]

headphones - ok, cant you just put them on the other way round?

 

[Krizoitz]

headphones - ok, cant you just put them on the other way round?

The point is they fit better backwards...hmmm I'll have to think about this one...the only thing off the top of my head is using something like SoundEdit to flip the channels but that would be a pain if it doesn't allow for batch processing PLUS it wouldn't be something you could turn on and off...I wonder how hard it would be to program something that swaps audio channels...you might want to check out a Mac programming board see if anyone there has any thoughts.