Interesting to run into this post. I'm in the same boat. Just moved into a new room and am trying to figure out where to place my speakers. I too tried the Cardas Placement calculation and actually liked the result only after adding diffusion at the first reflection point. Since our rooms are similar in size (14' W x 21' L x 8' H) the Cardas method put my speakers 4' from the side walls like yours.
I could not get the bass that I was looking for and the speakers actually seemed to almost be out of phase. I kept rechecking my cables and would swear that the speakers were out of phase. Talking to another audio buddy of mine he explained that the sound was arriving to my ears a bit too quickly thus canceling out some of the sound and giving me the phase sound. I added a 2 x 4 absorption panel and the bass began to appear. The sound was actually pretty good but I couldn't get over having the speakers so close together plus it seemed like I was sitting right up against the speakers.
Wanted to try the 1/3 placement calculation to see if there might be an improvement. This would put my speakers 27" from the side wall. This sounded a bit better to me but I felt the speakers were a bit too far apart now. I kept inching them closer together and now I'm about 36" from the side wall and I'm getting good imaging and the bass is sounding pretty decent. I can't say that this is the final resting spot but I have the Cardas placement taped off so I can return the speakers to that spot if I choose to.
Go to the Evolution Acoustic Website and see what they suggest.
I'll keep you posted on any improvements or new developments on speaker placement.
I decided to try another
I could not get the bass that I was looking for and the speakers actually seemed to almost be out of phase. I kept rechecking my cables and would swear that the speakers were out of phase. Talking to another audio buddy of mine he explained that the sound was arriving to my ears a bit too quickly thus canceling out some of the sound and giving me the phase sound. I added a 2 x 4 absorption panel and the bass began to appear. The sound was actually pretty good but I couldn't get over having the speakers so close together plus it seemed like I was sitting right up against the speakers.
Wanted to try the 1/3 placement calculation to see if there might be an improvement. This would put my speakers 27" from the side wall. This sounded a bit better to me but I felt the speakers were a bit too far apart now. I kept inching them closer together and now I'm about 36" from the side wall and I'm getting good imaging and the bass is sounding pretty decent. I can't say that this is the final resting spot but I have the Cardas placement taped off so I can return the speakers to that spot if I choose to.
Go to the Evolution Acoustic Website and see what they suggest.
I'll keep you posted on any improvements or new developments on speaker placement.
I decided to try another