Thanks for all the good suggestions.
Yes, I have covered the speakers to determine if they are working but have not measured with an SPL meter. Will investigate the latter possibility.
I don't think speaker placement is the culprit as the problem moves with the speaker position, i.e. the loud speaker is louder in either position.
I will try the out of phase speaker wire reversal, but f I haven't experienced this with other speakers, then I assume the out of phase miswiring would be internal to the speaker itself.
Unfortunately I don't have any balance controls on my integrated amp so I can't try this test comparing a mono signal.
I can measure speaker coil resistance and look at the crossover connections. I can also solder but delving into the crossover network and measuring/replacing individual components would be a last resort.
Will report back!