O.C.D. Speaker placement

Your correct,soundstage suffers, width wise,but I perhaps should have said that radical toe in gives a very precise image, or clarity, at least with my speakers/room.

Wide spaced with little toe in and the image is wide, but the information is not as clearly presented, perhaps using box speakers would have a different result.

As I've stated you have a choice and who knows which way is correct,I'm thinking both could be, depending on what you value in music reproduction.

I'm more detail oriented than image oriented,so anything that detracts from image specificity is a no-no for me.

By sitting further away from the speakers(the Acoustats have 3 panels per speaker only the centre panel is not angled)all the panels come together much as multi driver speakers need some spave before the drivers align themselves properly at one's ears,that is most of the one's I am accustomed to.

Most two ways seem more seemless than multi driver systems and you can do some serious near field listening with them.

As far as getting used to a particular speaker arrangement,I seem to be able to do that without a lot of time involved.

It either comes together or it doesn't with my set up, so there's no need to ponder or nit pick.

I think we all need to "listen and enjoy the music more and worry less about the equipment

Enjoying the music is what the gear is for.

Great gear, set up poorly never gave me musical enjoyment.

Poor gear,set up poorly is even worse.

I've been listening and enjoying the music(and playing it)for over 40 years.

What I found out very early on, was that the level of musical enjoyment was determined by the effort I put in.

As such,the more I paricipated in the hobby, the more enjoyment, the closer I got to what it sounds like when I play live.

I disagreed with HP years ago, no system I've owned or listened to every came close to the absolute sound.
But some gear was better than others at the illusion of a live performance.

Also, those same components could get you even closer to the ideal when you tweaked them with better cables, fuses, power, racks and room tuning.

The "we all need to listen and enjoy the music more and worry less about the equipment"types I feel, don't listen or enjoy the music as much as those of us who do sweat the details.Not to say they aren't content, just saying I wouldn't be with a compromised set up of stock gear, with no power conditioning or room treatment.

All the access to all the music in the world is only as good as the gear it's played thru and how that gear is set up.

I can be pleased listening to music in my car,but I know that's not as good as it gets.

I've been spoiled.I've had friends who've enjoyed great systems and the sound of the music thru their systems was much better than mine was in those early years.

So my journey started about 40 years ago,and TAS influenced me. Had it not been for that and other mags I would be richer in the bank account but would never have had the enjoyment of listening to the music thru system that let all the music thru not just some of it.

Owning thousands of cd's, lp's,and downloaded music mean nothing if you are only hearing a fraction of what's been recorded because of compromised gear and set up.

As much as I admire the car collection of Jay Leno, he can only drive one at a time.
So best to make that drive the best one that you can.

Best to listen and enjoy that one selection of music as best it can be reproduced.

I think the trend today towards mediocrity and not perfection,is a major reason why things have gone downhill in more ways than just music.

For me,it's more about the pusuit than the end of the hunt that gives me pleasure, not pain in this hobby.No worries here,just anticipation and excitement about what's over the next audio hill and into the promised land.
If I have any worry, it's that I may not live long enough to enjoy the treasures yet to be discovered.

Everytime I've ended at where I felt it was as good as it can get, I'm over and done, and it's time to just listen to the music, I got bored shortly thereafter.

It's why the merrygoround never goes out of fashion, and dogs have so much fun chasing after their own tails.

If there was no fun in it, then both would have vanished long ago.

When the fun of this hobby is over for me,then it will be time to join the "for listeners only" club.

Earlier in this thread someone suggested twice that you purchase "Get Better Sound", by Jim Smith. He is very well thought of in the industry.
Not only does he give good guidelines, he describes how to evaluate the results as well as any meticulous listener would want.
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