Room correction altering soundstage

I use a laser level on a good tripod to make sure my speakers are equidistant from the sweet spot. You should start the tact once the distances are precise.

I would try dialing out the delay if possible. That does seem like a lot.

An 18ms delay indicates something is very wrong. I consistently get 0.00-0.04ms delays between main speakers when measured with my TacT equipment. The variation is due to slight changes in the placement of the microphone including being slightly off axis (not pointing 100% straight ahead).

Whenever I set up to do new measurements I always do a quick measurement first (3-4 pulses) and calculate a correction just to check the time delay between the left and right channels. If it is too far off I adjust the microphone by rotating it slightly in the proper direction.

If your speaker placement is symmetrical and the microphone is placed properly you should get zero or minor delay. Check all wires to make sure you have not reversed any connection. If that does not help manually change the delay to zero on the unit using the programming features on the remote.

One further thought--occasionally a strong reflection near the microphone can confuse the TacT. Is the microphone set up near a large glass or mirror area or stone/brick fireplace?

Thank you all for your comments.

The setup is the classic nearly equilateral triangle with less than an inch difference in path length from each speaker to my seat.

I checked polarity, covered up first reflections (there is a brick chimney on one side), and reran the Tact setup program. This time it yielded less than 1 ms delay and the black hole between the speakers vanished. I will chalk it up to a glitch of technology...or perhaps the user thereof:)

Thanks again,

Dave