The Power of Positioning

Well said. We(ok,perhaps I should speak for myself)have heard high end speakers poorly placed and mid-fi speakers well placed,with the later speakers sounding much,much better.As true as what you said is for box speakers,it's more so for panel speakers. Speaking from experience with my Maggie 1.6s,with placement at least 5 feet from the wall behindthem,you get at least the auditory illusion of depth imaging from colorless reverberation. People who know physics can tell you the whys of colorless reverberation;I can't.

" I can't believe what people spend their money on, yet ignore simple room acoustics! "

You are exactly right. A few hundred bucks worth of acoustic foam and a bass trap or two can work wonders. It amazes me too how much people spend changing amps, cables, etc. Heck even moving a piece of furniture can make a significant difference. I do understand though that to some people a wall with acoustic foam may not go over to well. The improvement is remarkable though. Room acoustics are very good bang for the buck too. I've been trying to figure out a nice decorative way how to cover the acoustic foam on my rear wall for a year now so I guess it doesn't bother me too much. Any great ideas out there?

Yep, trade out the acoustic foam for some book cases and lots of various sized books - it becomes dispursive in nature which is usually better than absorbtive, and it will impress the hell out of people who will think you are literate - Make sure you get the Gibbon's Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire series - but if you do crumple pages to make it look read. :-)

Yep. Putting bookcases behind the speakers avoids foam.Another trick is to place tapestries at the first side refection points(especially with box speakers) and on the wall behind the listeners;let your wife pick them. My RaFOTRE is the one volume abridgment,in paper. Make sure you tape the speaker wire where you won't trip over it crumbling pages.(smile)

I have the Piega c-10ltd 11 feet from the back wall and am getting the deepest bass and best soundstage. Where your speakers may look the best most likely they won't sound the best. You don't listen with your eyes. Its fun when you get the biggest upgrade you will ever find without spending a dime