sweet spot hell

Here's a list of things that KILL a wide "sweet spot", "imaging" and "soundstage":

(1) Improper speaker placement

(2) Improper listening position

(3) Improper selection of speakers in terms of type or size for that specific listening area

(4) Poor room acoustics / lack of proper room treatment

(5) Poor speaker design

(6) Electronics / cabling that is not well matched

Being able to optimize any / all of these takes a lot of time, patience and room. Trying to work all of the above into a non-dedicated listening room can be quite tough. Nonetheless, getting good results can be obtained if your willing to experiment and learn from others.

As to your comments about the "man in the stereo store", forget about ever hearing "optimum" results at a dealership or audio show. There is just TOO much other gear in the room to allow optimum set-up. Sean
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You can try a large toe-in so that the speakers aim at a point about a foot in front of the listening position.

This usually widens the sweet spot but of course will have other effects also.

But, it's free and worth a try.

I have my speakers toe'd in as Aragain suggests. Works for me.

Not that one is better than the other here ( personal preference ), but the more "toe in" that is used in setting up the speakers, the narrower the soundstage. Whether running the speakers "flat faced" or "toe'd in", this also affects the frequency response / tonal balance at the listening position. LOTS to think about and play with on this one. Sean
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Actually, as Aragain says, toe-ing in to a point IN FRONT of the listening position has the effect of widening the sweet spot. If you'd like a wider sweet spot, this is the best way to achieve it. Of course it will be suboptimal for the listening position but will be pretty good for your friends too.

The tonal balance is preserved due to the dispersion characeristics of most speakers. For a person sitting to the side, the decrease in dB due to one speaker being further away will be offset by the fact that it is pointed more directly at your guest. Likewise with the closer speaker; the increase in dB is set off by it facing further away. As for the prime position, the tonal balance will be as good as if they were slightly toed in, but the imaging will take a performance hit.