Speaker Positioning

Get a book like Jim Smith "Get Better Sound". Read it and start there. There's no experience like your own experience.

Start with laser distance measuring device and you can tweak it from there.

Another endorsement for Jim Smith's Get Better Sound. I've heard Jim's work both at his home studio and at shows. About the best sound I've heard in each case, regardless of the components used. I may be wrong, but I recall Jim saying that the Wilson system is flawed.

http://www.getbettersound.com/

With my Maggie 1.7s, I use a tape measure, measuring from the wall behind to the front baffle on ea. side of the speaker. Each speaker is set at 415/8"  inside edge of front baffle to wall and 421/2" from outside edge of front baffle to wall (making a very slight toe in) with the tweeter ribbons to the outside and 5' (from inside edge to inside edge) apart. Set up like this presents an incredibly large, well placed and detailed stage, with the vocals and instruments staying where they belong, regardless of where you sit or stand - no head in a vice sweet spot. If I move or shift either of the speakers, even 1/4", some of the magic disappears. For me a tape measure works fine and since the seating position is not critical, no need for a laser measurer to determine the best spot for that.

With Maggies, as with many other speakers, set up is critical; what is the best depends on what you're measuring and from where, but usually the combination of a tape and laser measurer works great....Jim

Also, I might add, it is crucial to keep track of and document your measurements and changes, so when you do find a set up that seems to work best, you can go back to that exact set up if you do more experimenting and moving things around.
Now that I have an optimal set up, if for any reason I have to move my speakers, I'll put tape on the floor to mark where they are. This at least gets re-setting the speakers very close and easy to tweak back into exact position with a tape or laser measurer, without starting from scratch....Jim

Even if we acknowledge the theoretical point that most of the room walls may not be “perfectly” equal, room distances to loudspeakers and symmetry of the speakers in the room down to the millimeter, is an incontrovertible fact in getting the finest stereo image a particular loudspeaker will allow; given their design capabilities. 

Even while acknowledging that most room walls may not be “ perfectly “ even, loudspeaker and its measured room boundaries must be perfectly symmetrical in order to achieve the utmost in stereo image localization- down to the millimeter from back and side wall- as well as toe-in. This is an incontrovertible fact!

Thanks everyone. Again, a lot of great tips and education. I now understand why the speaker closer to the side wall is louder!  Glad it isn’t the equipment.  
Purchased the Bosch laser . Am just waiting for new speaker stands because tweeter position currently too low. Decent subs (vintage Kinergetics stereo 2-10” sealed boxes per side) make the back wall disappearance not much of an issue as those jawns pulse! Planning to get further away from back wall and relooking at R-L distance. 
Will check back at completion anticipated before the bird lands Thursday. 

My new listening room is 100% symmetrical.  I found a space closer together and further from the rear wall with the help of two friends as the Focuses weigh 185 lbs.  I use Hallographs to fine tune the focus of the speakers (funny, Focuses need to be focused using something else).  My new speakers will weigh 600 lbs. each.  I don't know how the installer is going to move them around so that I can fine tune them.  I intend to place them where the Focuses are.  Maggies are relatively lightweight to move to find their optimal position.  The good thing about the new speakers is that they have multiple adjustments for ambiance and bass (with rear tweeter and sub bass units).   600 lb. Evolution Acoustics MM2s and 3s are similarly adjustable.  I guess they suppose that perfect placement is too difficult to find.

The people at Soundings in Denver feel strongly about MASTER SETTING speakers.  I went with the triangle method and as soon as I moved my towers forward from the front wall, I notice a lot of improvement.  This group is extremely knowledgeable about this and I found this discussion interesting.  Guess this is what this hobby is all about.  What still amazes me is I have a realtor send me listings of homes on the market every day and I have yet to see a pair of stereo speakers standing in one of their rooms.  They invest in $5,000 entertainment cabinets and listen to their TV speakers.  I have always heard sound when watching movies is about 70% of the experience.  Also, they spend all of this money on a home and don't even listen to music.  We invite our neighbors over and it is enjoyable to sit down over a few glasses of wine and play music.  They just love it.  I think retail stores and dealers need to send out direct mail pieces to a certain demographic and increase their sales.  It is difficult to sell anything without marketing.

So the new setup is in place, and I decided to add ceramic cable risers for shats and gigs making a direct comparison all but impossible.  That said, preliminary results are promising. Just have to sample a broader spectrum of material. One thing is certain, the source material is further “exposed” as any weaknesses are more profound. Same on the quality side. :)

Some good advice given by some knowledgeable members. 
Some useless ramblings by a few blokes that love the sound of their own voice.   Sounds like you found the intelligent posts and making headway on your quest.  Congrats and enjoy the journey!

Good luck having your head consistently in the same spot, to the mm every time you listen.

@audio2design, more critical is ear placement on ones head.  I had mine adjusted to be perfectly equidistant from a center line I had tattooed down the center of my face.

Once I got my ears properly placed, the imaging really snapped into focus.  Highly recommended but as always, ymmv.

Hey Larry, Merry Christmas!
Wheres Oldhvymec??  He’d be proud...  I’m up 2 positive remarks today.  I think Im a changed Man 😝

As for speaker placement, I just switched my rig from the short wall to the long wall.  Pulled the speakers a ridiculous distance away from the front wall in order to smooth out the bass as much as possible.  Its a nearfield setup now which allows me to hear more detail.  I still have a great soundstage.  Nice and wide and deep too.  
Speaker placement can have huge effects on a speakers performance and its free so why not try a few different locations for fun!