I have noticed that OpenAL's 3D sound spatialization sounds awful. If the sound is to the side, it is really loud, coming out one speaker. If the sound is in front of me, it is completely silent. The direction seems correct, except it seems like backwards and forwards are flipped (but left and right speakers sound correct). Has anyone experienced a problem like this?

If you could possibly provide a test case, and provide your speaker setup, etc., then I am pretty sure people would be able to give more insight.

Maybe you are only using 2 speakers but openal, your soundcard or your pc are setup for something that includes a center speaker. that could be why central sounds are quiet. just guessing. good luck!