Jkphoto, actually the polk RT800i's I'm currently using sound the same were they are and when I was able to move them farther away from the wall. Of course I couldn't keep them there because they interffered with watching Tv, but for music they sounded the same, and of course my wife almost blew a gasket with them out there. The biggest improvement I've had with these speakers is when I move them 3' from the rear wall and toeing them in a bite as apposed to them being up against the rear wall. My assumptions about the space needed for the vandersteens comes from the many post here and other sites.
If you couldn't get Vandersteen speaker's
After many months of searching, I finally decided on Vandersteen 2ce signatures as my entry into the hi end. These speaker where to last me over the next several years while the rest of my system caught up to the speakers. Now after reading several post here on A-gon, I find that I won't have enough space for the left speaker. The left speaker would be in a space that was only 28" wide from side window to side of the entertainment center, and about 3' from the back wall which would put them about 1' in front of the entertainment center. Since I can't get these, what are some other speaker recommendations in the $1500 or less, new or used price range that would equel the Vandersteens? The speakers would be running through a dbx BX-3 power amp and a CX-3 pre-amp, so powers not a problem. I'm using the pre outs on a yamaha receiver to the pre-amp, so the speakers would be doing double duty for HT and 2CH music.