Armoire between speakers

I used to think you had to have that middle "free space" but I found it all depends on what type of speakers you use...I have the "fireplace in the middle" issue and having moved my current speakers (Silverline Preludes) all over the room I finally realized they're fine about 8 inches from the sides of the fireplace and protruding straight 4 or 5 inches out in front of it...nearly 2 feet from the front wall. Any reflections are completely a non issue, imaging is excellent, etc...I have a little REL sub behind one of the speakers taking full use of the bass reinforcement of the small corner. Plus, I can look at the propane fake fire while I listen. The listening sweet spot is on a couch 3 feet or so from the back wall and about 9 feet from the speaker baffles.

Keep in mind that a reflective surface well behind the plane of the baffle will reflect some bass rolloff to the sides where you aren't. Unless you are, in which case you should move back to the sweet spot and stop looking out the window at the inappropriately young neighbor chick or stashing jewels and sacred setup documents from Mapleshade in your wall safe. The imagined soundstage has an effect on the actual one created by the system, so there's that, but otherwise trust your ears and only your ears (never "comprise" the sound), or merely glue 4 inch thick foam rubber to the armoire and paint a tromp l'oeil vista of the Vienna Opera House on it.

I think some of these posters are part of a wider anti-furniture movement that will stop at nothing to strip us bare of armoirs and possibly hutches and cupboards!

A true dedicated room has only one meaningful seat...that is the sad truth about our hobby...*sigh*...that said, I don't care as long as I'm in the seat.

I suppose the listeners can be bunched together as long as they're close friends who bathe frequently.