Vandersteen 3A sig. Placement and Room Sensitive?

They are very sensitive to room placement, especially when it comes to being off the wall. 16" out is really too close. They need about 3-4 feet. When they are that close to the rear wall, imaging suffers and the bass will be bloated and ill-defined. The speakers do go relatively deep but this position will mask the lowest octaves with more mid bass.
The 7' spacing between the speakers is fine. Also, you need to be at 8' or more from the speakers for a proper listening position.
I have owned these speakers with a pair of 2Wq subs for some years now. They are truly a wonderful speaker but will not impress if not set up correctly. IMO, I would look for something that could be placed closer to the wall.
However, they do come with an excellent manual on placement and tilt back. You may luck out and find a position that would work somewhat but I don't think you will ever get them to sound their best.

Vandersteen 3A sigs are great speakers, I owned them for years. Unfortunatly I have to ditto what Bigtree said.

Ok. THanks guys, that helps.

My memory was just jogged by a Vandy dealer in NJ as to a possible solution to the bass bump you would get with the speakers so close to the wall.
Using the Vandy sub 2Wq crossover box, starting at 20k impedance (the input impedance adjusts the bass roll off)find an impedance that rolls the bass off adjusting these impedances until you tame the hump. This will smooth the bass and also serve to allow the mids to open up better. A secondary benefit would be to lessen the load on the amp.
The Vandy crossover box is inserted between the preamp and amp and rolls the bass at 6db/octave (a gentle slope) once you have found the best setting, buy a set of Vandy x-2 crossovers of that same impedance and leave them in the circuit.

I agree with Bigtee about the crossover. Perfect idea.

But I might consider a cheaper alternative to the 3A sigs (like the 2ce Sig) since you won't be able to exploit the full potential of the 3A's in that setup.
Then I would spend the rest of the money on music!

Will