Question about speaker angle


I've always been under the impression that your front main speakers should be angled so that the "face" of the speaker is basically perpendicular with the listener's face when viewing the speakers from the sweet spot. I do however see others placing the speakers parallel or inline with the surface of the wall behind the speakers. I'm wondering, how much loss to the sonic sound stage this creates.

waxensens

Different speakers = different speaker designs and components = different sonic signatures = different results  = There is no silver bullet answer.

There are three rules to follow.

(1) Hands-on Experimentation 

(2) Read the speaker manual 

(3) Repeat Rule #1.

Is this a theoretical question or a fact?

Mostly depends on speaker design, their size, how far they are apart, your listening distance and placing in room.

If you want a hot presentation (more high frequency energy) choose good toe in and if you want coherency on a wider area decrease it. 

Keep in mind that toe in alters high frequency response, the level of side walls reflection, and the relationship of direct and early reflected sounds.

Only experimentation can give you the best coherency considering also what kind of tonality your speaker has and how wide you want your sweet spot.