Speaker placement compromises in a less than perfect room

Hello,

I have the opportunity to place speakers in a room almost anywhere I choose but the room in question is not what I would consider ideal by audiophile standards. The room itself is a total of 24' long and for roughly half of that length it measures 15' wide but the other half is only 12' wide (Damn staircase). At the moment the speakers are located on the short wall which is 12' wide and they fire down the length of the 24' L space.

I sit about 8' away from the speakers and like the presence and intimacy it offers at this distance. The problem with the current speaker location is that it doesn't allow for much distance or prevention from side wall reflections. The speakers only have about 18" of space from the side wall and about the same from the rear wall if measured from the front face of the cabinet. Most of the side wall distance was achieved thru a fairly aggressive toe in angle so I'm not sure it counts for much. Despite the rooms short comings I feel somewhat fortunate in that my speakers have front firing ports which, I think, help make the speaker more tolerable to being placed in close proximity to the rear wall.

Based on some research I think I have found a better location for my speakers but would like to hear others opinions. I believe if I were to move the speakers to the long wall (24') it would all but eliminate any side wall reflections I currently have but I still wont gain much in terms of rear wall distance. Maybe an additional foot if I push it.

So, I guess my question is if I should be better off then I am today in a reconfigured room with almost no sidewall reflections, the same close rear wall placement and a seated position of roughly the same distance of 8'? I guess the other question is if having a shorter room is more detrimental to the sound than having less side wall reflections?

O'Yeah almost forgot, speakers in question are B&W 803 Diamonds

Thanks for any help you can provide

Sorry Mods, This may not be the best place for this question so please feel free to move it to a more appropriate area if required.. Thanks

Hello interesting suggestion. I pondered that one for a moment as well but wasn't sure how things would turn out for the right channel with the staircase being almost dead center of the room. The first step and associated incline of the staircase begins in a rather inconvenient location about 3ft away from a potential speaker location. Sitting furthur back in this configuration is certainly possible though. I wonder if there would be a potential for introducing odd room modes if one channel has an obstruction within a few feet of its path and the other channel being fairly free air in nature?

I can see this configuration offering the most flexibility for sure if it's determined that the staircase is not as big of an issue as I originally thought.

Thanks

True..

I guess I could pickup some elcheapo speaker cables that cover the distance of the room and see how it works out.