Do you like your speakers aimed directly at each ear or....

Erik_Squires is right! My old Klipsch RF-3 lls are best just very slightly toed into my chair, they are BRIGHT in the Klipsch tradition! My RP-600M pair sound great facing my chair, but image better just slightly away from that position.

Check out the design of the Vienna Acoustics Liszt and Music.

todd1010

To get the widest soundstage, even on the outside of the speakers, which can vary from speaker to speaker.

Start with the the tweeters directly at each ear. Watch for the center image and the imaging on either side of center. Then keep towing both out in increments till you start to loose the imaging either side of the center. Then you know you’ve gone too far and toe them back in slightly.
This is your best imaging that you’ll get between the speakers, and if you get imaging on the outside that’s a plus.
The more toe out you have, the better chance of having imagining on the outside of the speakers, but you can loose the the imaging on either side of center as I explained above.

And imaging depth comes from having nothing between the speakers as far back as possible.

Cheers George

For me, with my VMPS RM-30's speakers  I toe in so I can see about 1 to 2 inches of the inside.

So here is an interesting question.  Why hasn't anyone made a speaker stand that swivels to the right angle when you need to? At home with friends you don't need to necessarily dial in for optimum sound performance..its a little social background noise, bit pleasant and noticeable. Bit when its time for serious and personal listening time,  you dial them back in to the perfect vector?

@jbmac75  My local dealer friend showed me this a few months back.  An inch or two you could hear the speakers (sound) lock in.  Funny but you could actually hear the sound change with a few inches of movement.  I think Audio Physics has something on speaker placement on their website that shows you how to get the placement correct.  Happy Listening.

The last three speakers I have used sounded best about 6 to 7 feet apart three feet out from their back wall and parallel to the side walls. 14X26 room. 
Chris and the others have great input no two systems will be the same so play around and listen. Costs nothing!

Answers will vary according to hobbyist and system. 

As others have said, dispersion patterns of all speakers are different.  And in addition, speakers can be designed specifically to be pointed straight ahead, slightly canted in, or oriented directly at you. All you can do is experiment.

....and I have Vandersteen 5A's.  Straight ahead doesn't work for my system...it closes up the soundstage.   I opened them gradually, until heard a hole in the middle....closed them to fill the whole, but still opened the walls.  They seem to be pointed to the outer ends of each ear.

Great question Todd!

Erik is right in his post - Toe in/Toe out will vary based on speaker brands/models, the distance you set away from the speakers, and the distance the speakers are apart from one another.

Music is generally mixed as though you are seeing the band or symphony on the stage. Their setup and positioning on that stage has width and depth to it. That’s what you’re ultimately trying to achieve when setting speakers up - is recreating that stage.

Toeing speakers in will narrow the stage and warm the tonality, toeing them out will widen the stage and make the tonality brighter (in most cases regarding the tonality). As you’re aiming the speakers (toeing in/toeing out), where does it sound like it has the instruments in their proper place, giving you proper width and proper depth (being balanced on the stage) and the best tonality overall? Do the instruments sound pinched together with no width, or are they too wide across with no depth?

The amount of Toe in/Toe out will be different based on one’s personal taste (some people may care more about the tone than how the stage actually appears), and again, the distance you are sitting away from the speakers and distance the speakers are from each other can affect it.

Some manufacturers may make recommendations as to visual cues on the speaker - like what Erik mentioned about Focal, because manufacturers know where and how they tend to be positioned best - that’s what we try to teach our Dealers, and the Dealers in-turn, teach clients.

With Paradigm Personas, I’ve set those up in so many different rooms with different widths apart and get consistent results when I’ve toed them in to where I can see approximately 1-3 inches of the inside part of the speaker’s cabinet. When some people sit in the position where I’ve set the speakers up from, they may like it - they may not. I’ve had some people move one row back and like it better and seen people argue as to which seat/row sounds better. That’s ok - again, it’s preference.

Most Magico setups I’ve experienced, primarily from Scott Walker, seem to tend to have virtually no Toe in and are aimed directly straight ahead regardless of the width apart.

When manufacturers and Dealers set their own products up at HiFi Shows and in Dealer’s showrooms, and we manufacturers set up for Dealer’s in their showrooms, we do it so often that the formula for positioning becomes almost automatic. We know how our products react and when they’re right, and we work hard to try and teach our Dealers our techniques, giving them a blueprint if you will, so they replicate what we’ve instructed and they can give their clients the same consistent and predictable results.

Some Dealers take the advice and embrace learning different ways of setting up speakers, adding new tools to their repertoire, and some feel certain they don’t need to learn because they think they already know. It’s why there’s such a mixed bag of good and bad system setups around the country.

Sorry for the longwinded reply.

Cheers,
Chris

System 1.
Quad ESL57 aimed at ears. Straight on with no tilt. Accurate to millimeters. Head in a vice. 7’ on center, 8’ from listening position.

System 2.
Gentle toe in to outside of ears. 8’ on center, 10’ from listening position.

9 feet from couch, 9 feet apart, 
on carpet spikes, great sound.
slightly toed in to my sitting position!

I like my speakers mounted on gimbals that swivel to keep them constantly aimed .... but I can't tell you where then you would copy it and I wouldn't have the best stereo in the world any more.

Depends on room and EARS. I have found the 1 or 2 inches can and does make a difference.

Think of your toe-in angle as a treble level control and an imaging control. Straight ahead to start, then dial in gradually to get the right tonality (clear and detailed but not too sharp) and image specificity (image wide and deep, objects distinct side to side, front to back not too diffuse and confused).

My Vandy 2CE Sig I’s are almost straight ahead with very very little toe-in. Provides the best soundstage and imaging.

Really, all speakers are different. 

Depends very much on the speakers and the room. 

Focal's tend to be designed to be flat to the wall behind them. 

In a narrow room, pointing the speakers so they cross in front of your head may minimize early reflections.