Every room is different, to say nothing of our differences in personal taste.
When I owned my Princesses, I went through a careful exercise to achieve the smoothest bass response in my living room. Note that was different than seeking the maximum bass response at a given frequency. Using a Stereophile test CD and a calibrated SPL meter and measuring from the listening position, I inched my speakers out into the room by 2" increments while measuring each position. When I found the best distance I then measured again one inch either way from that position. I ended up with the equivalent front plane of the drivers for each speaker 40" out from the front wall. Any distance closer resulted in an increase in bass frequency (<200 Hz) variation.
My point is not to recommend a 40" placement for anyone else, but to suggest that placement too close to the front wall may produce more apparent bass, particularly if this creates a peak at say 50, 63, or 80 Hz, but this will not be the smoothest overall bass response. Be certain of what you are trying to achieve.
Jonathan I have not checked for some time, are you still doing your jazz program?
When I owned my Princesses, I went through a careful exercise to achieve the smoothest bass response in my living room. Note that was different than seeking the maximum bass response at a given frequency. Using a Stereophile test CD and a calibrated SPL meter and measuring from the listening position, I inched my speakers out into the room by 2" increments while measuring each position. When I found the best distance I then measured again one inch either way from that position. I ended up with the equivalent front plane of the drivers for each speaker 40" out from the front wall. Any distance closer resulted in an increase in bass frequency (<200 Hz) variation.
My point is not to recommend a 40" placement for anyone else, but to suggest that placement too close to the front wall may produce more apparent bass, particularly if this creates a peak at say 50, 63, or 80 Hz, but this will not be the smoothest overall bass response. Be certain of what you are trying to achieve.
Jonathan I have not checked for some time, are you still doing your jazz program?