Question about speaker angle


I've always been under the impression that your front main speakers should be angled so that the "face" of the speaker is basically perpendicular with the listener's face when viewing the speakers from the sweet spot. I do however see others placing the speakers parallel or inline with the surface of the wall behind the speakers. I'm wondering, how much loss to the sonic sound stage this creates.

waxensens

I start with Harry Pearson's Rule of Thirds when setting up speakers;

Divide room width by 1/3, divide room length by 1/3,

Put speakers where the 1/3 width/length points intersect,

Speakers firing straight ahead.

Works perfectly 9/10 with direct radiators, dipoles, bipoles etc.

Even pesky omnis.

😄

 

I'm happy to report that my Walsh don't present me with where to aim my toes. *S*

My other speakers?  Tweak as desired, but ones' space will rule the day.  It can make for a musical weekend...although getting up 'n down to dial the degrees of in~out can feel like a marathon of up 'n down physically. ;)

Any and all of the suggested means are appropriate, as the room ultimately rules.

Pick some selections that suggests the 'air' that you're hunting for and have at it.
Mild introduction of ones' fav beverage or inhalation therapy to ward off the physical demands required can be helpful. 

Advising ones' significant other' that these events are about to occur helps.
SO may bail, endure, or seek a seat as desired.
Opting for the first may involve 'expenses' as you may have already experienced. ;)

Have fun, J

or to make it real easy you can go on the cardas website and they have a program there where you just put in the width of your room and it'll give you the exact measurement from the front wall and the sidewall to put your speakers and I tried it and it works beautifully.

Whatever you do, do not trust your own ears...this only leads you down the rabbit hole of having your own tastes and opinions which is never a good idea. Opinions of strangers and those claiming expertise on a system they can't actually hear is all you need. Experimenting with speakers to the point where they sound good to you? Really? What makes "you" so special? Another note..."extreme tow-in" means the speakers are facing completely away from you, which is nothing if not extreme. 

Have to experiment.  Even the same speakers are different in every room.

It's true there is a trade off between strong centre image and wide soundstage.