I agree with the others that if all recordings are favoring one side then you should correct your speaker placement or room. I do think that balance control is valuable when it comes to listening to recordings that aren't balanced to begin with or for example a jazz trio stereo miked where the 2nd and 3rd player seem to be originating on the right and the first is on the left. Sometimes adjusting the balance a few db to the left can make the diffrence between sitting back and ejoying the recording and thinking about the recording wondering why to much is coming out of the right speaker. It may not be a purist audiophile thing but distraction certainly isn't musical.
Use of Balance Control feature
I have noticed that some pre-amps and integrateds omit the balance control. Do many people out there use their balance control under normal circumstances? Does biasing sound towards one side degrade 3D soundstage, or have any other negative effect?......Sam