@gkelly Thanks. I definitely noticed it with my phono pre-amp. I live in the UAE and order directly from the company (although they are Dutch, the head office is in Romania). I will check with them on return policy.
@tablejockey Thanks for your input. I used ARC to get the set-up done and ended up with almost exactly the 4 feet from the back wall for best sound. Cables are decently priced Benchmark speaker cables and interconnects, nothing extravagant.