How far apart do you position your speakers ?

If you move speakers away from walls, dampen surfaces, use tube traps or something in corners for standing wave issues, and have silent heating and/or cooling and no furniture, you can't live in my house. Period. I think the sound of a room can add life and character to systems, and other than things rattling from a sub (I hate that), I think people get too crazy about this stuff. All speakers image differently and the 83% thing seems just silly, unless you're utterly clueless about listening or you review speakers for a living. Good gear can be enjoyed AND fit in a living space without sacrificing esthetics or removing the fireplace with a jackhammer. Put the speakers in front of you and toe 'em or not until they seem to sound good on most stuff, get a beer, relax, and enjoy. This method works 100% of the time.

Thanks, Hornguys, for the explanation. I guess my speakers are harmonically convergent at my current 95% position.

Wolf - Speakers will play music and can be enjoyed no matter how you set them up. If you pay attention to the details, they play much better.

Sebrof...I agree, but feel you may have missed my point. As long as the imageing and response of speakers meet my personal (and somewhat critical) tastes, I'm fine with some room sound. Many "audiogoners" might tweek the bejesus out of a room to obtain optimum response, but after many (over 40) years as a musician and sound tech I've come to prefer less padding and more ambience, and a specific personal living space esthetic. If the speakers sound less than ideal in some area, and it bothers my critical ear, I move 'em around. I had a neighbor who was a well regarded gear reviewer (Lars...he died a few years ago) who had a severely tweeked listening room...and he LOVED the sound of my non-tweeked room...go figure.

I find this en interesting thread. I will try out this 83% "rule" and see how it works for me. Also I have taken a look at the Cardas way of speaker placement. I do think it is a good way to place you speakers however in a normal living room it is hard to implement. I have also found out if I move my speakers to far from the back wall the sound will deteriorate. Maybe that has something to do that my speakers can and need a little bass boost I think. Also my speakers are bass reflex speakers with the port in the front.

Using the 83% "rule" my speakers would be about 249cm apart form tweeter to tweeter. That would me they are about 80cm from the side wall. The Cardas setup would place my speakers about 113cm from the side wall.

Anyway I'll play around with speaker placement.