I have the balance set to the middle in the windows sound control thingy, and yet i hear the sound a lot more out of the right speaker than the left. Also, if I set the balance completely to the left, the sound is much quieter than if I set it all the way to the right. It's been like this for a while, actually. Never really cared before.
err ... the plug that goes into the sound card's port in the back of the computer? That's plugged in perfectly fine. The power plug is also fine and not bent. Is there anything else you had in mind that could be bent? The two speakers are connected together by a wire but you can't disconnect it. That wire does not seem to be damaged as far as I can tell. They seem in good condition overall; I'm not a messy/careless person and always take good care of all my stuff, so I don't think I ever damaged anything...