The most important factor in soundstage imaging

@n80- I think part of it is the context of the board, which is gear centric. No disrespect intended, since many of the contributors here are well established,knowledgeable, etc.
I was stuck in "audiophile land" for decades, listening to what I now consider to be pablum- sonic wonders with the musical substance of cotton candy. Jumping into record collector world, it’s the opposite- pressings treasured for their rarity, not necessarily their sonics (or even the music).
To me, it’s fun to straddle both worlds and between them, find music i enjoy that sounds good. I geeked enough to build a good system or two over the years, and hung out with the record collectors enough to learn about the deadwax, pressing plants, mastering engineers and labels. But ultimately, it comes down to how it sounds. And that’s where I think the audiophiles and record people sometimes overlap. (The music itself- the performances, the compositions, the playing, is yet another whole layer of stuff- perhaps the most important).  
I’m in a mood, so please don’t read this as snark. It’s meant more as self-criticism, if anything. I can always learn something about both worlds--that’s why I hang out here, on the gear side (and occasionally, somebody mentions an interesting band or album). But, this is a gear centric place, record collecting is about the rarity or obscurity and there’s a whole other world that is about the music itself. It’s a happy thing when all those different strands combine to make magic.

Whart is wise!

If you've ever taken the time to actually tune in your speakers' placement, you will have gotten to know them very well by then and discovered that symmetric but very precise alignment is necessary to even approach their capability. You have about a 1mm window of tolerance between the two.

However, the single most important factor in audio stereo imaging, is increasing direct radiation and decreasing reflected radiation,

Mostly. Diffraction in between and on the sides can sometimes enhance the experience with more ambiance and more volume in the mid to high frequencies, enhancing the realism.

by moving the speakers away from the back wall, and away from the side walls.

That's an important first step, but it is by no means the only one. Room treatment in all 3 dimensions matter.


It is also true that different speakers work differently in their interaction and reflections, so there's no one ideal treated room. Line sources and horns for instance may work better in bare rooms.

Why do so many people fail to distinguish between imaging and soundstaging?  There are clearly systems and setups that do one well and the other not.