Speaker Width?

n80,

"I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. ;-)"

Now, imagine how I felt. I have not recovered yet.

Don't know if it's been mentioned in the thread but R. Vandersteen has a speaker placement method that works in my room.  Divide the width and length of the room by odd numbers and the intersection points are potential spots for placement.  

Then careful trial and error determines the best placement - and he mentions when you find it you will know and he is correct in my case.

In the first room I had my system in the sweet spot was incredibly small. A difference of inches and I'm typically not a fussy audiophile about this sort of thing but in that room it was as you say, you knew the right spot immediately and all others were noticeably worse. Even turning my head to one side made a difference in the soundstage.

In my current room the sweet spot is not so small and there are several of them. I don't know why. My room has a few hard flat surfaces but it has 10' ceilings, carpeted floor and soft furnishings everywhere else. Maybe that helps?

Sorry to chime in with some basic truths here. What I see is a really bad listening environment especially for those speakers. Way too small a space. Look at listener position, against the wall. Talk about reflective heaven. Jeez. I recommend storing those speakers for the future house, get some decent bookshelves speakers and then make them sing as best as possible in that space for as long as stuck there. Wow, I sound like Geoff. Sorry!

Just looked at your pictures. Nice apartment, nice furniture, gorgeous view! Unfortunately, none of that helps you with how your system should sound. If you really want to get the best from your investment, you will need to:
1. Use a dedicated listening room
2. Use Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound
3. Use room treatment
4. Set up your speakers and listening seat for best sound
I know most others won't/can't do those steps, but the truth is you will never get the best sound with compromises. The room/setup will give you at least 50% of what you will hear.

Tom