Distance from the speakers to the seating position

It depends on the room as well. I have a small room, so like most of the people above I sit very slightly farther than an equilateral triangle. But I know people that swear by sitting 1.5 x the distance between the speakers.

YMMV

Rob

yep, all good info above.
Basically, it's all situational/system/room/gear dependent!
Some speakers need more distance from the listener. Some speakers can be placed further apart ingeneral, all things equal. While others need closer spacing, regardless.
I've come across it all. Alot has to do with, yes, crossover desging(gernerally 1st order neeeds more distance from drivers to listener, 4th is the opposite). Also, driver spacing and layout(many small 2 way monitors can let you liten closer often, while multi way, even large Diappolito's need more room to build sound coherently together). And yet, there are more varriables.
I often find, with two speakers only, yes, the triangle gets you in the ball park, at the very least, and you can tinker from there. Some speakers let you sit even closer however. So you must try if you like.
Another often MOSTLY OVERLOOKED ISSUE is room acoustics and set up!...as hinted at above earlier by others.
With a low ceililng situation, or where you're sitting back further, and or you are hearing more reflected sound mixed with direct sound from your speakers, you will be dealing with acoustic issues that will blur and smear your imaging, detail, dynamics, soundstage, and coherency! While in the opposite scenario, if you sit proportionately closer to your speakers, in relation to your room reflection points(walls/floor/ceiling), and thus hear more direct sound than reflective sound mixed with the original signal from the speakers, you will get tremendously better results in the afore mentioned areas!(imaging,focus, detail, dynamics, soundstage, coherency, etc). In fact, many people, especially those who use traditional "tweeter over mid/bass driver" design stereo speakers, are much much much better off if they can either strongly deal with their acoustical reflections in their rooms(thus allowing the original signal from the seakers to be heard with more purity), or SIT CLOSER TO THE SPEAKERS!...all things equal. Other more closed "focused designed" speakers offer more flexibility often.
Still, how far that can go depends on speaker design paramaters, and what the manufacture deems is appropriate distancing. It's a balancing act bsically.
So, if I'm using speakers that are designed(most 1st order designs need you to sit further back, depnding on driver spacing...my old Electa Amators had drivers sitting right on top of each other, so it didn't matter) to make you sit further back, you must definitely consider acoustical treatments/reflection points much more critically if you can't sit closer! With 4th order crossover designs, this often doesn't matter as much, and you can sit closer to your speakers, as with other designs.
Basically, you gotta tinker. Good luck

depends on speakers...my alon were a equal distance. my audio physics are closer.

check with the mfg.

mike

I use ProAc Response 2.5s, but don't have them set up exactly to ProAc spec. I like being able to slightly see the insides of the cabinets when they're facing me, rather than pointed straight at me. And I sit in a chair with castors so I can roll back and forth depending on if I want a closer, more intimate listen or further back to simulate being further into the audience. By in large, my set up is an equilateral triangle and is varied by my seating choice.

In general, I would start with the manufacturer's recommended set up, then adjust from there according to your taste.

All good advice, Eandylee, every word.
I like Newbee's 10:11 ratio- I'll have to try that!

When we go into trade shows into an unfamiliar room, we first pace off the room in the following way:

With the speakers a few feet off the back wall, and a few more feet from the sidewalls, examine the distance left between the speakers' centers. Let's assume that to be 9.5 feet for example.
Place the chair (your ears) then 9.5 feet back from the midpoint of that line between the two speakers.
We call this an "equal-legged Tee" layout, and it works for our and many other direct-radiator speakers.

The speakers are likely toed-in of course, not quite looking you in the eye.

With the speakers' 3-foot distance off their wall behind, that 9.5-foot distance from that line then places you 12.5 feet back in the room. Hopefully this does not put you at the mid-point of a 25-foot room, which is where standing wave peaks and dips are most prominent. Or at the 3/4ths point, for the same whole-number-ratio reasons.
60% of the way down the room is cool, and so is just 40%.

If you are indeed at that midpoint of the room's length, consider picking up the entire listening triangle and moving it farther out into the room, perhaps just a foot, so that you are then 10% (or noticably) off-center from front to rear- no longer at the midpoint.

You could instead narrow the speakers' 9.5-foot separation by a foot, and then sit a foot closer.
Or you could widen the speakers' separation by a foot and sit back a foot farther. You would re-adjust toe-in of course.

This is not gospel, but provides an excellent starting point, whereupon you might choose to sit slightly farther back, or move the speakers up to 10% closer together. Certainly you would find that the speakers would not be farther apart than this ratio, or you'd lose the strength of the center image. Also, you would likely find that your opinion of this layout would not be altered much by the music you play or the gear you use.

We also always place 8" diameter, six foot tall ASC Tube Traps at the left and right first-reflection points, and one at the front center a foot or so behind the plane of the speakers' fronts (this "curves" the soundfield into an arc, or flattens it into a plane, without altering the perceived depth).

A large TV set or a rack of reflective stereo gear in the middle would alter any suggested ratios, and so would a coffee table between you and the speakers, or a footstool, a high-backed chair, or the wearing of eyeglasses.

Check for smooth response in the bass, using a string bass recording. We recommend Christian McBride's "Getting' To It" CD. It is also of reference quality on the drums and horns. The distance from the speakers to the wall behind them, and your "off-center position" in the room, are what you'd look at to tune the bass response, of course.

Best regards,
Roy Johnson
President/Product Designer
Green Mountain Audio