Need help from Guru's

Hmm...I demoed the N803s, and found that they indeed need a good dozen feet to cohere. So you've got that part right.
However, I found the tweeter to splash easily, so I imagine you've got to treat your room's reflection points carefully and aggressively.
Good Luck.

Walther, Please tell us a little more about when it sounds sterile and lifeless and when it sounds gorgeous and what exactly do you mean by those words. Any patterns with regard to HT vs. music use, type of music played, time of day, ect. Certainly tons of reflections from hard wood and walls is trouble. Room is big part of any system (30-50%??) and it's the first place I would start given the little info given.

Frankly, I have never been satisfied with any HT system for music (no, I haven't hearda all of the Agoner's surround systems), and if the room is poor, it can be truly awful. On the lighter side, IMHO, the 803s are very nice and can do a lot by themselves.

Sincerely, I remain