newbee, you are correct in pointing out that sans treatment you 'll never get the most out of your rig. However, my room is in dire need of treatment, and some areas just ain't gonna get it for money or WAF reasons, but my quality rig still sounds a lot better there than a low or mid budget rig. You gotta take what you can where ya can. As you indicated, getting the speakers away from the side walls, and to a lesser extent the rear wall helped a lot.
price points vs. room treatment
does it make sense for me to spend 4k on speakers?:
is it reasonable to say that the differences between a wonderful pair of $2000-$4000 bookshelf speakers (e.g. ref 3a de capo, opera callas, sonus faber concerto, etc) and a fairly good pair of $700-$1500 speakers (e.g. devore fidility gibbon 7.1, soliloquy 5.0, von schweikert vr-1s, etc) would be rendered irrelevent in an acoustically untreated room? and, is it reasonable to say that no matter how wonderful a pair of speakers might sound in the store there is a very likely possibility that these same speakers will not sound as good in your untreated living room?
is it reasonable to say that the differences between a wonderful pair of $2000-$4000 bookshelf speakers (e.g. ref 3a de capo, opera callas, sonus faber concerto, etc) and a fairly good pair of $700-$1500 speakers (e.g. devore fidility gibbon 7.1, soliloquy 5.0, von schweikert vr-1s, etc) would be rendered irrelevent in an acoustically untreated room? and, is it reasonable to say that no matter how wonderful a pair of speakers might sound in the store there is a very likely possibility that these same speakers will not sound as good in your untreated living room?