Do any speakers image/sound-stage close to walls?


I'm about to spend a huge amount of $$ on full-range speakers, but realise from all the published acoustical data and conventional wisdom, that the laws of physics are absolute. So, in a 17 X 23 X 15ft ceilinged room, when I have to place the speakers no more than 12" from the front (short) wall, 2 ft from the side walls (for WAF and furniture and structural reasons - dont ask,) am I blowing my money? The source, preamp, amps are all superb - but what do I do about finding speakers to match? Sure, I could buy a superb $19K SP Tech Revelation or Zu Definition or Coincident Total Reference, but what about the sound-staging and imaging? Surely I'm not the only person with this dilemma, yet there are so few posts on A'gon regarding this issue, that I wonder whether the problem is exaggerated in my mind or is it just that most A'goners are smarter than I and designed their wives' furniture choices better?:) Room treatments dont help much, or do they? Is there any solution, other than moving the whole sytem to a wifeless room? Please dont ask why these space restrictions apply - believe me, they do, and the interior decorating details are not relevant here.
System: EMM CDSD, DCC2, Sota Cosmos IV, Ear 324 Phono Preamp, Atma-Sphere MP-1, Atma-Sphere MA 2.2, PAD Dominus S/C, etc.
springbok10
the total victorys shouldn't find these restrictions cumbersome. and you'll get lots of bass with no sub. you may find a classic klipsch kornerhorn won't take up that much space either, and you can pocket some money. tannoy has some nice full range models that work well in corners as well.
Toed in sufficiently, the controlled radiation pattern of the SP Techs will avoid significant interference from the sidewalls, so I think they'll give you good soundstage width.

In my experience, good soundstage depth requires the speakers to have at least two or three feet between them and the wall behind them. Absorption and/or diffusion of the first reflection zones on that front wall would probably help. Imagine placing a mirror on the front wall such that, from the listening position, you could see the reflection of the inner edge of the front baffle, at tweeter height. I'd treat the area where that mirror would be. There would be one such area for each speaker.

My compliments on your fine taste in amplification! ;o)

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
Duke, you truly are a gentleman! I say that because you are always so generous and unstinting in your advice, counseling and helpfulness, even when you talk about competitors' products. Would that be 2-3 ft from the front or rear of the Revelations, as they are 21" deep at the base?