A lot of preamps with a balance defeat switch or as in some Conrad Johnson equipment the balance is out of the circuit in the center position. I find that some Vinyl LPs are not in balance do to the pressing or even the recording itself. So it is worth having for these and other similar situations.
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