Left channel sounds louder

I had an experience like that with a CJ 16LS. I bought it used and at first the volume was fine...until I cranked it up past 42 on the stepped volume control. After a series of cable/component switching experiments, I confirmed it was indeed the pre and not something else. I called the guys at Conrad Johnson and then sent it in. $300 and some dollars later they replaced some volume attenuation parts and it's been happy trails ever since.

I had a similar experience with my Krell HTS 7.1. In the end the problem was created by me! When programming the processor I had inadvertantly set the "speaker distance" on the right channel to about 35' and the other one to about 3'. Naturally the right channel was much louder. Once the programming was adjusted, all was well.

Reverse the channels and see if the imbalance shifts to the other side. If it is a source or something caused by something in the electronics it will change. If it does change then you should be able to find the problen or source of the imbalance. If it doesn't change then you know is is either set up or actually in the recording. BTW, I find a shift to the left quite common when playing solo piano music - I'm sure it just reflects microphone(s) location accurately.

Another test is to find a mono source like an FM radio station or a test set up disc and see if you have a dead center image as you should.

But, all that said, I'd bet it is a set up issue you've yet to deal with. And inches count!

Hope that helps a bit.

I'm going to look for a couple of test CDs I know I have laying around to perform a tone test. I don't know why but something tells me is the preamp. I'll get back with some results tomorrow since tonight I have my daughter. Thanks for the advise.

Well, Just like I thought, the preamp seems to be the culprit. I switched the cables at the amp end and the sound also switched to the right channel ( louder ). I need to contact the distributor now to set have them look at it. I'll post the results at a later time.