my ears are about 7'10" from the coaxesMy ears were just a hair closer than 8' when I was on the lower chair. Previously I tried the couch closer, also with my ears about 8' away from the coaxes, but this was the first time I really experimented with a *lower* position. Next, I will try removing the couch cushion and try various pillows to lower my ears. This would have my ears about 9' away. That might not be the answer tho' as I *did* try a couple of songs with risers under the front spikes to tilt them up (this is how Vandersteen does it for differing listening distances albeit with changing screw settings rather than adding risers).
Interesting to me as I've mostly experimented with speaker position rather than listening position. I know Jim Smith recommends starting with listening position before starting on speaker positioning.