3D imaging

My biggest compromise is distance from side walls, not much I can do about that,however I do have treatments at the first reflection points,which helps. I guess my next question will be a little more involved. How do downstream electronics help or hinder 3D imaging?

Distance from side walls is but one room factor, only mentioned because you were asking about speakers. The answer to how electronics help or hinder imaging is short and sweet and controversial as hell: no one knows.

Oh, there are theories galore, just none that hold water. 

But to segue back to the room segue, damping first reflections with what is basically a few bucks worth of OC703 is an old school Stone Age imaging tweak. Next generation room and speaker treatments like Synergistic Research High Frequency Transducers are far more sophisticated and effective.

HFTs work on the principle of dither. Professionally used in video for years now, dither is a very particular sort of noise that when added to a signal actually improves the perception of clarity and resolution. Each HFT is only about 1/4" in diameter, and shaped like a tiny little speaker horn. Exactly how the darn things work is a Ted Denney trade secret, but they do indeed work. The improvement in sound stage width, depth, layering, focus, and palpable presence is remarkable. 

I've got a lot of experience with room treatments. You simply cannot do with conventional absorber/diffusor panels and tubes anything even remotely on the level of HFT. They help, but not like this. Do a set for each speaker, plus a couple more for the walls and ceiling, realize you only thought your speakers disappeared. With HFT they are GONE! Heck, your room is gone! 

Actually crossovers do matter, steep slopes screw up phase and that means poor impulse response all inside the 3-5 ms “ rule “
actually electronics do matter, negative feedback also screws up time and phase and can lead to TIM, wonder what the T stands for ?
time alignment of the drivers matter
pistonic drivers matter, an out of phase cone is destroying the image information as well as screwing up frequency response
low reflection cabinets, treatment inside the cabinet AND a low reflection driver magnet are available in certain products
managing the grill edge can reduce the baffle step effect and so can managing driver directivity- not all drivers radiate off axis at same level, so reflections can be down in amplitude reducing reflections
cabinets matter
:-)
oh and how a driver stores and releases energy can be seen in the impulse and waterfall plots, pay particular attention to those mid ranges wired out of phase, panels with edge clamp issues, speakers that start negative, waterfalls that never end....
vast is a relative thing, I am just a student...

And unless you are listening in the near field, the room matters a lot.... a mix of absorption and diffraction are key ....

I just put the Chartwells back in the system. They are 6'9" apart. My seating position puts me 7' from each speaker.(triangle) I guess that puts me in the near field camp? I'm ok with taking some of the room out of the equation.

millercarbon and tomic601, Thanks for taking the time in answering theses questions and help me get a better grasp on what my ears(brain) hear. Am I far off the track in stating that audio or should I say"better" audio is partly based on manipulating the brain? 

With respect to the Chartwells my guess is that you will get a better soundstage by moving the speakers closer together, making them 5 feet apart, even less perhaps, with no toe-in. Most speakers are set too far apart.