Left channel sounds louder

I am not an expert, but some volume controls will be stepped from left to right. Have you tried manually adjusting the volume in small increments rather than using a remote?

I have had that due to three things. 1) one channel was recorded or mixed louder, happened once on a poorly mixed re-issue LP. 2) The rectifier tube on my phono stage was going out and it resulted in a marked decrease in right channel volume, this occured only on LP's, normal sound on CD's. 3) most common problem, poor speaker placement, all the measurement were equal but my room and it's contents were not. I played a few mono recordings until the sound was centered and the soundstage was proper.

Now, that being said I am sure there are problems with upstream components that could cause this as well. My suggestion if the top doesn't help eliminate electronics upstream to down until you find the culprit.

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.