Electrostatic positioning 1A

The one thing I found out on very early on was make sure
the distance from the rear wall is different from the side
walls. For my Acoustats in a room 20 X 30, the distance from the back wall is 4 feet(sometimes 6 feet or greater, depending on whether my wife is out of town, but definitely not on a long term basis for sure!!) and the side walls 5 feet(10 feet separation between speakers seems about right, 8 feet sounds reasonably good, less not so good, greater than 10 feet, the imaging seems to be more imprecise). I try for live end/ dead end room acoustics with tube traps, rugs,curtains, book shelves, brick wall,etc. Toe in varies with the music, but usually very, very small(<15 degrees, if at all). Hope this helps.

I have Quad ESL 63's, and have placed 2' x 2' RPG Omniffusor clones (my DIY design, using Styrofoam, ask for details if you want my instructions for them) raised on stands to be right behind the panels. They worked beautifully, but for tall electrostatics, maybe Argent Digital Lenses would work better. One way or another, I believe you're suffering from reflections of thatvery strong back wave, and could indeed "have it all" with enough effort. Good luck, and do get in touch if you want any DIY literature: I have it for Argent Room Lenses too.

I second the notions of experimenting with toe (and even distance between the speakers) to try and correct the situation you've described. This proved to do the trick with my CLS's.

Tom's point regarding diffusers directly behind the panels is also a viable possibility as this is something that is commonly done over the years with CLS/SW800 systems. I haven't gotten around to it yet, though.

Aren't esl's a hoot when it comes to placement,(not to mention associated equipment)? A labor of love, indeed.

Perhaps this will help #1=Distance from the front wall: measure the hieght of your ceiling(inches)and multiply that fiqure by 0.618 that should be your distance from
the front wall... as for the side walls:measure the width of your room in inches and divide by 18 Next,multiply that by 5. That will give a good distance from the side walls.Electrostatic speakers do like to be on a tilt upward in the front of the speaker Toe in is very ,very important with these speakers
Hope this helps .If you find somthing better and it works, please feel free to share the info

I don't know if it's coincidence, but my Electrostatics are pretty close to Mp10019s recommendations. They aren't quite that far off the out side walls, but that's because of the projector screen, they actually do sound better a little closer in. How did you come up with that formula? Also, I measured from the top of my panel to the ceiling--is that valid or should it have been from the center of the panel?