@jetson - I think your wife will probably have an issue. The Vandersteens are bigger and will look more physically imposing than the Totems. My wife doesn't care too much because the stereo is down in the basement. Is there no other room you can use? If you've got the land, perhaps you can build a listening shed out back. (I believe Michael Lavorgna of AudioStream has a barn on his property for this purpose.)
In any case, my room is about 22' x 13.6' x 8' and I have the speakers firing down the long wall and about 24.25" from the back wall - measured from 'acoustic center' with the distance calculated using Vandersteen's 'odd dimensions' method. It's what sounds best so far to my ears while also accounting for room layout limitations.
You might get just as good (or better) results with a two-way standmount speaker and subwoofer.
In any case, my room is about 22' x 13.6' x 8' and I have the speakers firing down the long wall and about 24.25" from the back wall - measured from 'acoustic center' with the distance calculated using Vandersteen's 'odd dimensions' method. It's what sounds best so far to my ears while also accounting for room layout limitations.
You might get just as good (or better) results with a two-way standmount speaker and subwoofer.