Wall Hugging w/Imaging & Depth?

Great stuff guys, and Thanks for sharing. I purpose built a room for HT many years ago, using many design principals we know as good including:
Perfect symmetry across the front
*L & R Speakers are equal distance from the side walls
*Almost Equilateral Triangle between speakers and listener
Raised acoustical ceiling for 8’ front of room
Lowered Drywall ceiling 8-17’ from the front of the room
Heavy carpet to reduce floor reflections
Speakers are NHT 2.9 (Wall Huggers)
Amplifier is Parasound 2200 series
PreAmp is B&K Reference 20
Sources vary – Sony 7000 DVD, Sony PS3, Parasound 1500 CD

I am considering a significant change to my system, and have listened to many very nice 2-channel systems with incredible imaging and deep soundstages.

Jeff in Detroit

Is going vintage an option?

Boston Acoustics A200 and A400 speakers are very shallow (6 inches or so depth) and do well placed close to the front wall due to their very wide baffle. You can get them for very little money ($100-200 or so), but the woofers will probably need to be refoamed.

Not really.... But thanks for the thought! I think I am going to have to get used to moving my speakers around (Against the wall for HT, out from the wall for Stereo), so I can really hear what they can do.

ROOM COMPENSATION
While conventional speakers must be perfectly positioned in the room to maximize their low-frequency performance, the Vandersteen Model Fives As and either Wood or Standard Quatro's can be positioned in a convenient location and then tuned to the requirements of that particular placement. The subwoofer amplifier incorporates multiple unique adjustments that allow the speaker's low frequencies to be matched to its environment and the preferences of its owner. Model Five,and Quatro design owners can adjust the sensitivity of the subwoofer section and contour the subwoofer's response. The sensitivity adjustment increases or decreases the overall level of the bass without changing its character. The low frequency contour control adjusts the Q of the subwoofer to accommodate different rooms, listening tastes, or system modes. In subwoofer engineering terms, system Q is the product of a complex mathematical equation derived from driver, electrical, and enclosure parameters. In practical terms, it relates to the character of the bass response. A low Q subwoofer sounds very tight and controlled. A high Q subwoofer produces a full, warm bass with more energy in the most audible bass range.

Each speaker also has eleven, adjustable compensation controls that modify the subwoofer's response to precisely counter room and placement induced non linearities. When the speakers are initially set up by dealer in the owner's home, the Vandersteen Warble Test test CD is inserted and compensation controls then adjusted for the most linear bass response at the listening position. Once set these controls will not need to be readjusted unless the speaker placement or listening position changes significantly.
Having installed hundreds of pairs of Vandersteen Five and Quatro series we are consistently reminded after each tuning of how versatile,adaptable this design is even when speakers were only inches from the wall.
Best John Rutan
Audioconnection (Answers)

WOW, now that is a great answer. I have a very good Vandy dealer near by, and I have liked Vandys in the past. I will go talk to my dealer, and maybe get a pair to audition.