I remember listening to Audio Physic Virgos set up just a couple feet away from the couch and wider than the couch (much wider than an equilateral triangle). I felt claustrophobic looking at them, freaked out by their closeness and width. However, closing my eyes and listening resulted in incredible depth, center fill, stable images, and a surround-like ambience that didn't pull people off the stage.
Serendipity: perfect example
I have my monitors positioned 6 feet apart and my favorite listening chair about 6 back, to complete my listening equalateral triangle. So I thought!! While listening to some music I had to fudge around with something by the fireplace, while sitting on an ottoman. Wow, the soundstage got so much deeper I had to stop what I was doing. I was freaking out how intimate everything sounded. Turns out, (I'll save you the ridiculous details) my listening chair was more like eight feet back. Moved my chair up two feet, (man did the speakers look ridiculously close) to complete a dead on equalateral triangle, and I'm flipping. Not only do the speakers remain, just, a visual presence, but the music is so much more intimate with a depth that boggles. I'll look dead on at one of the speakers, and there is plenty of sound coming from behind the speaker and the center, as well, but nothing directly from the speaker. Also, now I have even less reflective wall crap to worry about. Any others sitting on their speakers like this? Quite amazing. And to think I was lookig for cracks in my fireplace. That, is serendipity. peace, warren