Speakers versus Balance vs Amplifier

I also thought what about your hearing.

For years I sat on a couch on a crack to be centered when listening The crack is a poor place to sit so I got a recliner

@hickamore Phillips. Sold and fitted through Costco.

Actually I think a lot of hearing aid manufacturers are realizing younger people with only minorly degraded hearing are starting to wear hearing aids (like glasses) and are starting to off these features and others.  

Simple. Either move your loveseat 15" to the left or move your speakers 15" to the right. Or if you think your wife will notice, move the loveseat AND the speakers 7 1/2" to the left AND right respectively. As you have already deduced, the balance control knob will not solve your sweet spot issue. Or you can just listen in the dark. You will automatically move to the sweet spot.

I’d first rule out you don’t have an equipment problem if you haven’t already done so. If you switch the speakers and the problem switches sides then there’s likely a speaker problem. Not sure if it works the same with electronics (maybe someone else can chime in here), but I’d think if you swap the R/L inputs on your amp or pre and the issue doesn’t switch sides that might indicate an imbalance there. I tend to doubt that’s the issue, but it’s good to rule it out before trying other things. You should also get your hearing checked to rule that out as well.

As others mentioned this could well be a room issue, and if both equipment and hearing issues are ruled out I’d try both absorptive and diffusive sound treatments as sometimes one works better than the other depending on your room and personal preferences. I’m thinking a half-round absorptive column against the wall between the speakers might be one of the first things I’d try along with some form of treatment at first reflection points, but that’s just a rough guess and unfortunately every room is different and thus usually requires some experimentation to ultimately find the right solution — well worth it in the long run though. I’d start by talking to at least a couple established room treatment companies (GIK, etc.) and describe your issue and your room and see what they say and recommend. Hope this helps, and best of luck in solving this!

@hickamore - most hearing aids have multiple programs, or different EQ settings, for different circumstances. This will be given names, sometimes like 'music' or 'hi-fi' or some such. How accurate the names are remains to be seen or heard. Whichever you use will still need to be tailored to your specific needs by an audiologist or hearing program.