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I find that the balance needs to be adjusted for each recording to obtain a full and centered soundstage. My preference is for dual mono volume controls rather than a single balance control.

Could you give us a reason why they even include them in the first place? It would be nice to know.

The balance control is set at 12 o'clock. If I had right and left pots failing or mismatched then I would use my balance control. I don't use tone controls either. If the room set up is off then the way to correct the sound is through physical adjustment of the speakers. Keep the right and left levels the same and don't screw with the tone which tends to make your imaging go away anyway.

DOES ANY COMMENT I LIST REALLY MATTER

The channel seperation on my Conrad-Johnson preamp is perfect. I never adjust the balance control. I don't need too.

No balance control on my tube amp. It does OK.

I do not have a balance control on my Audio Research LS 15

only if the record is grossly mismastered.

have a Kenwood VR 509 reciever with no balance control

Only when the overall sonic image is consistently off to one side in a way that distracts me from the musical event. When this happens, it takes just a small adjustment to make things fine.

I never used it with my former equipment. My actual preamp has no balance knob, only a knob: left channel, both channels, right channel, to give me the possibility to crosscheck the signal. This is fine for new bought equipment.

Not at all. my Audabile Illa has sererat left and right volume controlls

I have a couch arm very close to the right speaker, which attenuates the sound some, so I lowered the ouput of the left speaker to match.

Why wouldn't I use a balance control- it's there for a reason, and if I need to use it, isn't it really odd not to, especially, if the recording will be skewed otherwise? Oh, and getting back to the tone control issue- why do so many people have such a big issue with a tone control when it's on a pre-amp, but think nothing of adjusting a tweeter level control on the back of any number of quality speakers? Not using or providing for a balance control, or tone controls, is something of a dogma within certain spheres. Music direct? Come on- you 'direct' music goes through miles of cable, control panels, etc., until it reaches the storgae medium. What's an extra ince of signal path going to do-

I am blessed with the ability/approval to set up my speakers as I see/hear fit!!!

My preamp doesn't have one. If it had one, I wouldn't use it. A balance-control will only adjust the amplitudes of one or both channels, not the phase-distortion caused by the diference in path length between you and the speakers. When it's not possible to sit right between the speakers you have to re-position the speakers, not adjust the balance-control!

Both recordings and rooms sometimes need balancing. I wouldn't buy a preamp without a balance control.

What balance control?

I never use the balance control at all. If I felt the need to, I would move my furniture instead. - Pete Montgomery

Now that you come with it, I've never experimented with it, so perhaps I should start, since my listening seat is not on axis.

I have two volume controls. One in each channel.

The only reason I use the balance control (on the downstairs stereo that sounds like a kazoo). Is to confirm that I connected the speakers properly and to ensure that each speaker sounds as good (or bad) as the other. To be honest, I wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there.

I'm glad the control is there. I used to need it, but then I rearranged the furniture so that I don't need it anymore.

Why, Does one of your speakers sit back 11 feet because the room is L shaped!

I have no balance control.

I sit in the listening spot which is dead center but in a very asymetrical room. Use a SPL meter and test tones built into my Lexicon DC1 pre/pro.

Naw, gotta run both equally so the amp gets equal wear & tear on both channels!

No balance control

I love my music dead center. If there is a center issue, I always adjust speaker placement. It makes the phase changes I need to believe the center image.

Though I do use the L + R out from L input switch on my old MX110.