Last night, without mentioning the change to my wife, I moved the VSMs together from 8' to 6.5' apart (maintaining a constant 9.5' to the listening position). As we sat on the couch reading and listening to music, she mentioned she felt "cramped and compressed." I moved the speakers apart to 7.5' and she said it felt much better. If only all such problems could be solved with an audio tweak...
In my system, moving the VSMs together to 6.5' produced a slight improvement in perceived depth (that is, of depth unchanged but perceptually increased relative to diminished width and height). There was also an increased concentration of sonic energy and excitement(like a nuclear fusion reaction floated inside a magnetic containment field). Moving the speakers to 7.5' liberated the entire front wall and produced a much more relaxed, lifelife presention. The larger presentation also revealed more inner detail and precise imaging.
All things being equal, I think a larger presentation with the speakers farther apart is always more impressive. Perhaps some factor in my electronics enables this: the silver Audio Consulting speaker wire in natural cotton sleeves, my modified BBAM running on 55AH SLA batteries with no voltage regulation stage and 5000uf capacitance, the BAT VK75SE. In any case, the improvement of moving the VSMs wider apart is greater than can be accounted for as a subjective opinion.
Dave
