Re-arranged Room Sounds Awful...How to Improve?

Place the speakers closer together (either side of the TV) and move your chair back a couple of feet. Don't toe in your speakers - this will create a confusion of left and right reflections and interference patterns (left channel reflects off rear right wall and confusing the stereo image). As a general rule it is never good to sit exactly in the middle of a room and especially a square room.

I don't think there is a 'general rule' regarding sitting in the middle of a room. Nor is it necessarily bad to toe speakers in. If I had to guess, I would have thought your "new" set up would sound much better than your "old". So much for that. No real suggestions except to move the speakers around as much as possible, searching for the better sound. Re your girlfriend--she's 'compromising' quite a bit (from my experience) in being ok with all that equipment in the room period. Good luck!

Cover the TV and anything else in the center between your speakers with any one of a number of specialty absorbers, or go cheap (like I did) and just get a nice comforter or something your girl will approve. Won't be perfect, but it'll help. Side wall reflections will also kill your imaging, so maybe some decorator absorbers, as many others have mentioned. Equidistance from all walls can certainly be a problem, but check for exact locations of modes and nodes by walking around and clapping or 'voweling' (as Mr. Wilson does when he sets up his mammoth speakers), or play test tones for low frequency and do the same. You'd be surprised about your room's response at various points; you can literally walk through the bass modes and feel them. Of course, a spectrum analyzer is always nice (but very pricey!), however, Radio Shack sells a decent dB meter, and armed with a 1/3 octave test tones CD (Stereophile and HiFi News and Record Review used to sell them) you'll know fairly well where your problem are. Watch out for ceiling reflections, too. They can smear the image as well.

Hope this helps. Happy listening!

I would move the speakers out more and further apart. Then I would toe them in so they cross right in front of the listening position. Keep moving them further apart til you lose the center fill.

first pull the speakers away from the back wall at least 12 inches. then play with moving them closer together. i put a grid on the floor with tape 1 inch apart. once you are satisfied with that then play with the toe in. most people toe in to much. the more you toe in the less sound stage you will have. the leather chairs will make no difference. good luck. once you get your speakers set corrcetly i think you girlfriend will like it better