Veiwing distance.....

I would try different distances. I have a low tolerance for being too close. People differ in this respect. If you have to move your eyes back and forth a lot to see all the action at once, then you are too close. that is what gives you the headache.

Dr. Chung

Why mix inches with metric? You seem to be suggesting a viewing distance of about 2 to 4 times the width of the screen, which is in line with the usual recommendations.

I have a 36 XBR with a 30" wide screen, and would prefer being closer to the 2 times the width for viewing, but that is too close for listening with external speakers, and I want to be able to enjoy either stereo music or video without moving the chairs, so I let good stereo imaging drive the viewing/listening distance. I do not use the center channel for music. My front LR speakers, center to center, are about 7.5' apart and 3.5' from the wall behind them, in a room 14' X 19', so my viewing distance is about 9', or 3.6 times the width (3 times the diagonal), which I consider a bit too far for an enveloping video experience with progressive scan movies or HDTV.

I suspect 9' may be too much separation for Chad's 30' wide (36 XBR?) screen. My audio system, even with stereo music, generates a soundstage that dwarfs the video from the 36 XBR, so I plan to move to an 80" X 45" front projection screen, where 9' would be 2.4 times screen height (1.35 times screen width).

db

If I cant move my speakers any closer together, what is the best happy medium for sight and sound in your guys' opinion?

A bias light might help with fatigue.

Chad,

It depends on whether you care about stereo music. If not, and assuming you use a center channel, let the video consideration be your guide, say 2 to 3 times the image diagonal, but I'd prefer 6' (2 X) rather than 9' (3 X ) for a 36 XBR.

In my experience, good sound is much easier to achieve for movies than for music. My Sony ES receiver was fine for movies, but lacked transparency and openness for music, so I returned to my high-end separates, and moved the receiver to a secondary system.

db