Like Rpfef, I've started to become convinced that my hearing is at fault, as the situation has persisted across multiple listening rooms, full equipment changes, and careful interconnect and speaker cable switches (including just flipping the cables connections at the speaker inputs).
Right now, however, I think it is partially due to my room. As you can see from this little mockup (
Listening Room Diagram), I've got a 1/2 dining room 1/2 living room with a fireplace (that we don't use because of the stereo) in the front left corner of the room. In order to be able to walk into the room, the couch has to sit at a weird angle, and because of the room shape, there's no way to get the speakers similar distances from the side walls. I toyed with placing the stereo on the left short wall, but unfortunately then the TV (50") will block the room's windows. The S.O. will never let that happen...
As it's currently set up, I'm about 11 feet from each speaker (they're not quite symmetrical though, so it doesn't form a perfect equilateral) when I sit at the far right end of the couch. The speakers are 9 feet apart and 18 inches from the rear wall, and 10" or 16" from the media cabinet that houses all the electronics and a TV. The left speaker is further away from the cabinet because there's a Thiel SS1 sub in between the two.
To address the room issues and center the image, I have to give the right speaker about 4 more db of volume. Or alternatively, I started playing with JRiver's room correction, and I can leave my pre-amp balance equalized and just tell JRiver that the left speaker is 10' from me, but the right speaker is 12' away.
