It takes a while is the answer...say 300+ hours at loud volumes. Before this time, it sounds very closed in and rolled off (At least mine did). As far as placement, it is very room and system dependent. Perhaps if you posted a picture of your room, more of us could help you. Hope that helps.
any Von Schweikert VR4 GemIII HSE owner here
I just bought this speaker for a week, anh I power it with Pass X350, preamp I am using EDA Theater Master 8800Pro. I known I have to play around with the set up but your known how long to take this speaker to sound better, anh how to set this up for the best sound of it. Your input is very helpfull for me. Best wishes to all. thanks for looking my post.