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Uneven soundstage help, please.

I've got a pair of ATC SCM40 v2's driven by a Musical Fidelity A308 (plenty of power) and overall I'm happy with this combination, given my budget, wife, and listening habits. My system is in an incredibly complex large room, with all sorts of variables in terms of reflection, absorption, etc. And these aren't exactly the same from one speaker to another. I have no choice about speaker placement, given the room configuration.
There's a phenomenon that concerns me, though, that I haven't been able to resolve. In order to get the center centered, I need to position the speakers and listening chair in such a way that the soundstage extends all the way to one speaker, but only three-quarters of the way to the other. It doesn't sound out of whack. It's just a narrower field than I had with my older KEF References, and I wonder if it would sound even better if this was resolved.
Has anyone else faced and solved this? What factors are driving it? I've been living with it comfortably, but I wonder.
Thanks ahead of time for any replies.
m
128x128m669326
m669326's avatar
m669326 OP
330 posts
 
Thanks, Russ. I think my best bet to start with--one that costs $0 and entails the least inconvenience as an experiment-- is to keep playing with speaker and seating position.
I wish I could employ room treatment or switch to another room or buy expensive equipment to fix things, but right now, none of that is practical. For that matter, how about a miracle cure for minor hearing loss? Or a lottery win?

yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,703 posts
 
I don’t think there is any way you can hookup an EQ or an external balance control to that integrated amp!
m669326's avatar
m669326 OP
330 posts
 
Yogiboy (an intriguing name): I didn't realize there were limitations with an integrated vs separates. Or is it just my amp in particular?
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,703 posts
 
You need preamp out and amp in to hook up an external device. I took a look at that amp and it does not have that feature!
erik_squires
16,144 posts
 
Erik, are you suggesting that I try narrowing the distance between my speakers or changing the toe in?

Normally we try to point the tweeters so they fire right at our heads and cross right between our eyes. I’m suggesting that you move this crossing point in front of your head, so the speakers are severely toed in, as if they started to point to each other instead of you.

This will minimize early side reflections, and perhaps improve the tonal balance.


Best,

E
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