Changed amps - center image moved

Check your speaker cables for polarity Jeff. Sounds like a polarity issue. The XLR pins also....may be the issue.

Okay, I often see people advising folks to check polarity when something is wrong with imaging and bass and I have to ask; is it that hard for some people to recognize that their speakers are out of phase?  I swap equipment in and out of my system frequently and occasionally I do hook my speakers up wrong, but I can immediately tell that the system is out of phase before I even get back to my listening chair.  It's a very distinct and immediately recognizable sound.  Do others really have a hard time hearing this?

Thanks everyone!  The XLR cables are from Grover Huffman (very good cables).  I am using a ThetaGen VIII DAC (latest) using its internal preamp.  Speakers are GR Research Alpha LS (highly modded), speaker cables are Amadi's.   Again, the only two things that changed are the amp and going to balanced IC's.  All good suggestions!  Will try the polarity on speaker cables, speaker placement (including toe-in).  I cannot go back to the RCA IC's yet as the Maker amp is XLR input (only) -- however, I have an adapter shipping to me so I can try going back to the previous RCA cables.  Again, the Maker amp does everything great, just wanting a more specific center image. 

I have an adapter shipping to me so I can try going back to the previous RCA cables.

I don’t know whether or not this may be applicable to your Maker Audio amplifier, but I’ll mention that there are some amps having only XLR input connectors which will not work properly when provided with single-ended signals via adapters. Certain Audio Research models for example, which have balanced internal signal paths and provide only XLR inputs, are designed such that if they are provided with single-ended inputs half of their balanced signal path will not receive a signal. Resulting in **greatly** reduced power capability as well as some sonic degradation.

You might want to ask Mr. Maker or one of his associates if that concern applies in this case.

A single-ended signal can be converted to a true balanced pair of signals with a device such as a Jensen Transformer (~ $300) or an SMc Audio Flex-Connect ($1895).

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

P.S: I took a look at the descriptions and the manual for your Theta DAC/Preamp. The one point I’d highlight after looking at them is that in addition to changing the amp and the cables, by changing from RCA to XLR cables between the Theta and the amp you are now utilizing within the Theta (for each channel) two DAC chips, two volume control mechanisms, and two analog signal paths rather than just one of each of those things that were used previously.

In other words, while the signal applied to the RCA output connector for each channel is produced by the same DAC chip and subsequent analog signal path that provides the signal to one of the two signal pins on the XLR connector (probably pin 2), the other signal pin on the XLR connector (probably pin 3) is provided with a signal produced by a completely different (although supposedly identical) DAC chip and subsequent analog signal path. And that different DAC chip and different analog signal path within the Theta were not in use when you were connecting via RCAs.

You can see that in the block diagram on page 11 of the manual, as well as in the description at the Theta website:

http://www.thetadigital.com/downloads/Generation%20VIII%20Series%203.pdf

http://www.thetadigital.com/generation_viii_series_3_dac_preamplifier_info.shtml

So in addition to the possible causes of the issue that have been referred to previously, the Theta itself cannot be ruled out as a suspect at this point. And if changing the XLR cables to RCA cables + adapters resolves the problem, it would NOT necessarily mean that the XLR cables are to blame. In fact if that turns out to be the case I would expect it to be much more likely that the Theta is the root cause of the problem, rather than the cables, assuming there isn’t an outright miswire in one of the cables (which seems very unlikely given the good sonics you have reported).

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al