In article <4oncp0$hfr@agate.berkeley.edu>, Chris.Powell@gpsemi.com says...

>I have an Arcam Alpha 6+ amplifier used with Mission 751 speakers. I
>am annoyed that at low volume levels the left and right channels are
>not matched - the left is louder than the right when the balance/tone
>controls are switched out. I have to mess around with balance to get
>things right.
>
>Does this annoy anyone else? Is this the case on all amplifiers? Am I
>being too picky? The shop I bought it from said it was normal and
>'within tolerance', and proved it with a demo 6+ which did exactly the
>same thing. We also tried an Audiolab 8000 (about 40% more expensive)
>and that was *worse* !

This may be "normal", but it is not acceptable if good stereo image
is a concern. It may cost about $30-50 for a precision dual audio-taper
volume control potentiometer (choose one with about the same ohm-rating
as the one you are replacing), which is why the manufacturer did not
use one to begin with.
Hope This Helps