In traditional configurations, stereo gear (receivers, integrated amps, some separate preamps, etc.) often boast a "balance" control knob on the front panel -- while most of the time, these are always left in the default center detent position (unless someone is running the component in some sort of Pure or Direct mode which bypasses this control), however, I am running into an issue with my setup in which the center position for balance still seems to lean towards the left speaker (in my two-channel setup) heavily, and it doesn't seem to make sense as the speakers are equidistant from each other and are both sitting on stands whose bases are nearly identical in positioning in terms of their toe in and pull-out distance...
It's obvious, sitting in my primary listening position, that the left speaker is definitely dominating the soundstage, with all vocals, no matter the music or source I'm playing, leaning heavily from that speaker. With the balance knob in the middle, I didn't think this would occur, but I'm beginning to think that this has more to do with the way stereo music may be recorded on traditional CD media, in that there's always a bias to one side -- I've noticed this when doing recording as well, as with all meters perfectly equal, one channel always hits hotter than the other. At any rate, I'm starting to wonder if the balance even in two-channel setups must be adjusted to be perfectly spot-on for the sweet spot, as it is with multichannel surround rooms -- just as we must balance the speakers in the surround application based on the primary listening spot, perhaps the balance knob of my stereo receiver needs to be tweaked to bring things back into a center image...
Is this normal that even at the center detent position for balance, that the stereo image would be skewed towards one speaker? Should I play with the balance knob, pushing more bias towards the right channel even though these speakers truly are equal from each other and my listening position?