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I bought a few music CDs today. (I usually play them on my old Hitachi DVD player, and use my fairly old LiteOn burner only for burning.) The Hitachi did not recognise one of the CDs, so I put it in the LiteOn, and it seemed to work just fine. However, there was a diminished volume level coming from the left speaker. I tried the CD once again in the Hitachi, and it was recognised this time (don't know why...), and the music was well balanced, left and right, and also seemed to have a greater subwoofer response also.

I used a CD with a soft brush to clean the lens of the LiteOn -- no difference. Before I break down the computer and check for loose (from vibration?) connections of the cable to the sound card, can anyone suggest a different or more likely cause of the imbalanced playback from the LiteOn? (Both drives use the same software.) Any help appreciated.

...my problem was due to a stupid oversight.... Thanks anyway.

what was the oversight ?

(Remember that I never use the Lite On for anything other than burning.... I installed this myself as my computer's second optical drive.)

When I open the software programs that allow volume and balance adjustments, the primary volume control (as well as several other control features) affect both players' outputs in turn, as it should. I think, "That's that...!" In spite of this I study all the slider buttons (there are several pair) to see if any are unequal (out of balance), and wouldn't you know it, there is an AUXILIARY pair of volume buttons, and they are NOT set equally in balance. After the brief hot flash of embarrassment passes, I reset them, and my problem is gone.