I have noticed that a lot of us tend to place speakers in the room with perhaps too much concern for the aesthetics or perhaps, the expected results from a given placement. On many occasions, I have visited rooms at shows and at other a'philes, wherein the dealer/manufacturer, or a'phile,is locked in to a specific "ideal" and demonstrated a particular hesitancy to either relocate the speaker positioning; or to have really given little thought to this endeavor at all.
How many times have you seen speakers that are either a) in front of a hard glaring surface...like glass or mirror, b) too close to the rear wall, c) not far enough apart...or too far apart, d) located in a room that is either way too small or way too large, e) surrounded by too much gear ( like the room a few years ago at Newport that was demoing the large Cabasses in the same plane as numerous amounts of other gear!) ( worse still, IME, the situation wherein main speakers are next to several other speakers...creating a perfect vertical blind effect!).
IME, a careful set up of the speaker positioning with a laser or accurate tape can and will result in a great result...so why are so many guys still just plunking the speakers down against the back wall...and then are unwilling to forego experimentation in absolute positioning...instead they seek better sound in the next tweek or worse...new piece of gear??
The cheapest and IMHO the easiest way to better sound, is to truly dial in the speaker positioning and the room that they will work best in..
Is speaker positioning a black art???
Davey, most speakers sound their best away from any surface...we all know that.
Only few speakers are designed to be close to the front wall, or even in corners...we know some of them too...from yesteryears...some Klipsch models.
Now, in general @ audio shows speakers are positioned to sound their best...away from the front and side walls.
@ home, in au'files rooms...the same.
From lesser au'files rooms...then it varies according to decor's constraints and wife's final decision. ...Freedom is not a given. :b
Each speaker, each room has some ideals. ...Some positioning that are better. We have no clue unless experience taught us what should be logically the approximate best locations. Then with measurements and listening sessions each au'file serious listener pick his own spots for the sound he/she likes...own accommodation.
Say that in your own room @ home you are fully satisfied with your sound from your own speaker positioning of your own choosing.
Then one day your young daughter with an excellent set of ears and great taste for classical chamber and acoustic jazz music starts to experiment with your speaker positioning and settles for few inches difference (wider) from your own, plus she puts the sweet chair further by five inches. That's the position her ears told her about sound happiness on a higher emotional vibrato (impact), her own. Then your turn to sit down in her chair and listen. @ first you feel disoriented because it breaks your common familiarity with your own sound.
But after a week you get the new hang of it and realized the inferior positioning of your own past. Your daughter you can only thank her and love her even more; she opened a door that you did not see was closed, or even existed.
You think stuff like that is possible?
By the way, she did not use any laser or any tape measuring, only her feminine instinct and accurate geometry by just eyeing it all.
Does it fit with your beliefs and are you willing to accept wisdom beyond your own conventions?
Furthermore; you take new measurements of her speaker's positioning in your room and they happen to measure worst than before (by not that much but still some), and to your ears now (and hers too) it sounds better than what the new measurements imply.
Is the question; are we directed by slaved measurements more than by our own preferable judgement of sound? has some to do with our ultimate decisions regarding speaker positioning in each individual room (treated or untreated...depending), and where we put our chair?
This, strictly stereo hi-fi business (only two speakers), and with, or without room equalization from various methods.
Brief, we have to determine the level of purity by each audiophile's beliefs. Some with an analog emphasis will never dare to add digital or even analog room EQ...it is simply a redundant and extraneous audio signal path that is nefarious to the overall pure audio and short signal.
Others will find the benefits of optimizing the low frequencies by adding a pair of subwoofers in ideal locations, and by using a proven quality digital room EQ for that bass...say anything below 200Hz or so.
Each speaker and room are different; there are basics but there are also and always different variables. Plus different ultimate main listener...you. ...Us.
The art of experimenting with positioning from each listener, family members, friends, rooms, sets of ears. We share what we know and do and that is all we can.
Some think they know it all and they probably do too. We listen to them as our guides. Your daughter is your guide; she simply don't pretend to know it all.
In audio magic happens, in music recordings the same. Black art? No, just magic accidents.
This is only one view to look @ it; there are many more views...even from my own.
The science of acoustics from physics and mathematics is real, so are the differences in all our set of ears and sound preferences for the music genres we like the most.
We follow the audio gurus first, then we fine tune our ears if necessary.
Your question is simple, and the answer is complex. It all depends.
IMHO