Speakers too wide apart?

I also found that my speakers were too far apart and too close to the side walls. Many thanks to lots of audiogoners!

A good friend suggested that I get a CD with QSound recording technology to test my set up. One of these CDs is Amused to Death by Roger Waters. In the beginning of Track 1, there are dog barking and man-woman conversation. When speakers are set up correctly, the dog barking sound should appear at 90 degrees from the center line to the right, and the conversation should be 90 degrees to the left.

I can adjust the toe-in of the speakers to get these two sounds at different angles too. It was a fun exercise. My room is not fully symmetrical from sound absorbing point of view. So I have set my speakers at different levels of toe-in.

You're right on about the holography.

I experienced just the opposite and improved on central imaging by moving my speakers farther apart. Not surprisingly, since an equal triangle has been established, 9' between speakers (center) and 9' to the listening position from each speaker. Previously, I had the speakers to close together at 7.5' for aesthetic reasons. It all has to do with the room and unless you're lucky enough to have a custom designed or "perfect" size room, you end up compromising. While I have plenty of room on the sides, I lack the proper amount of depth between front and rear walls. I can get great imaging and sound staging, but I can't bring the speakers into the room far enough to eliminate unwanted bass loading. Now, due to WAF I must find a source for invisible room treatments.