Not happy yet

I also forgot one more thing. You have your speakers 6 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the sidewall. As such, you will have MAJOR cancellation / reinforcement at specific frequencies. Since 3' and 6' are direct "harmonics" of each other in terms of acoustic wavelengths, that is a BAD way to have them set up. You need to find distances from the back and side walls that are NOT direct multiples or evenly divided into each other. This in itself might work wonders in terms of leveling out the in-room response. Sean
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with your budget,Musical Fidelity A3CD

OK.. The coast is clear. I'm comming in for another pass. This time I'm flying a little lower in an attempt to hit my target.

How about adding a small sub-woofer to your system. Not for more bass actually for less more controlled bass. By adding a sub it allows you a means to cross over some of the bass signal that is being sent to your primary speakers. Thus allowing you more control over the lower frequencys. This is an honest attempt to help solve your problem. (See guys I'm a team player)

Another thing I would like to emphasize is to take your time. Spend the next few months thinking about what you are really trying to accomplish. What exactly are you trying to build? Is it a tube based system? or solid state? Or do you even know yet? Warm and bright? or dark with a sharp edge?Slow down and think. Don't play the pot luck game. Build it and tweak it in your head first. Talk to lots of people. Ask lots of questions. But most important listen to lots and lots of gear.(YOUR OWN CD'S) Let every purchase bring you one step closer to your ultimate system. And for god sake be patient.

Listen to the music and to what your ear is telling you. Look at the way things are cabled. Most of us here realize the importance of good cabling even if we don't like to admit to ourselves or others what we pay for it.

The virtual system I listed in my first post is in fact my bedroom system almost to the tee. Does it sound great? Yea, but it also took a few years of wheeling and dealing and a lot of tweaks,blood,sweat and that other thing oh yea TEARS to get there. Rest a sure when you start to get close to your dream system you will be happy. VERY VERY HAPPY:~)

PS- And don't forget to have fun doing it. That is what it's really all about in the first place.

Sean and Glen (and others), thanks so much for your thoughtful responses.

I will review some past threads on speaker placement. I don't think I've tried everything; in fact, I've noticed that moving the speakers closer to the sidewall does sound a bit better (bad for soundstage though).

We do have a basement, and the floor does resonate. I have spikes (unused right now), but that would make things worse, right? So I'm thinking to try setting the speakers on milk crates to start, or on partially inflated bike inner tubes somehow. I will try the various other suggested tweaks (CD player isolation, speaker ports, etc.) also.

I wonder if source material is part of it. Has my system become "revealing" of bad material? I listened to John Hiatt's latest yesterday and Lucinda William's first album today. Both sounded good. The Allman's "Eat a Peach" on the other hand sounded all mushy and boomy, drowned out the good guitar work. I bet it would sound better in my car.

Great advice to "take your time." I don't know for sure what sound I'm looking for. I will try to be patient!