Speaker set up and IRREGULAR rooms.


For some odd reason a closet was built in my living room. It juts out from the right side wall ahead of my listening spot. It actually limits where my listening position can be. Future plans do include removing it but in the mean time I have a question about positioning of my floor standers. Because of the closet it effectively makes it so that if I were to draw an imaginary line from the face of my closet to the back wall I'm at 11.5 ft. room width. Past the closet and to the right of the speaker it opens into the dining room. What does anyone think about placing the right speaker outside the imaginary line effectively in the area leading to the dining room? it is still clearly fully visible though I'm sure I'm getting some of the output bouncing off the side wall of the closet. I ask because it allows me to get a lot more distance between mains. I have Dali Opticon 8s and placed as so they sound pretty fantastic. 
dadork
@mijostyn Thanks for the info about the farther away the less I have to worry. Dali recommends not toeing these in as they do well off axis. I don't know about anyone else but 11.5 feet doesn't seem that wide and when you take away distance from side walls (wall) it really narrows the distance between speakers. The only way to overcome this is placing the right speaker past where the wall would be.
@bjesien Thanks so much for the comment about distances from the wall. In my current arrangement I am unable to sit squarely between the speakers. I've been taught you want the speakers the same distance from the back wall but this effectively makes one speaker 2 feet farther away which of course makes one louder than the other. My concern if I don't have them placed asymetrically is whether bass response will be effected.
@arcticdeath so in your opinion you still don't have then set up optimally or are you saying they're as good as it's going to get?
WAF is Important.

WHEELS will solve things. 3 wheels, (no leveling needed, no wobble anywhere, and importantly: more weight per wheel than 4). Rear corner blocks, or a skirt (a bit above the floor) to prevent tipping.

Tight axels, I use furniture grade dual wheel casters.

Easy placement and toe-in alternates. I use one toe-in for single listener; alternate toe-in to get wide center when two listeners (aim right to left chair; aim left to right chair). 3 specks on the floor for easy re-positioning.

Dining table for 4 or 5, no movement. for 6, push em back a bit, big holiday party, 3 leaves in the table, push em way back.

9th photo here shows bottom of speaker.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9511

I put a block above the front wheels to raise the front, tilt them back, so the tweeters project to seated ear height, and, the angle of reflections off the floor and ceiling are altered.
I came from a near perfect room setup and turned everything 90 degree so now one speaker is near a corner and the other is more in the open. At some point I stopped offering higher advice on cables and the like because I believed in the synergy of the room.

You need to play with distances from the wall you do have. My left speaker is now a little farther out than the right. Treatment attempts will take some experimentation with eyes closed too. 95% of times our eyes are awesome but they can get in the way if you believe the symmetry is important.

In the end there is greatness in audio and you will find the magic in the setup. Take your time and experiment as you can. Sometimes it's a little windy when you go fishing. Sometimes you want to put the gas pedal down but there are kids in the car. You need a long game approach (unless you get out the hammer and nails).

Maybe put a large potted plant (not a pot plant, or maybe) behind the speaker to help it aesthetically. Can you put a lamps and chair there to help it look better? Work on toe in too. Greatness will prevail if you put in the time and go through the process. I'm not one to put more in the way of the signal, as mentioned above, but we all have different ways of getting there. In the end you are the only one that is listening so if you can find the groove (and aesthetics for family), great. 

I'm still a proponent of proper symmetry but I surprised myself with the magic I got with good gear in an asymmetrical setup. I don't have the time or interest to read about but I am curious if our minds begin to fill in some of this stuff too. One last thought on this is- I don't know how well your current speakers meet your priorities in relation the your room, but that's a whole different conversation.       
Right speaker in a corner,...
left is just inside a large hallway, going to 2 rooms and stairs to basement.

right always seems louder and better.

  Had to move speakers for a long time to try to get it right,...

now I just deal with it, 
dadork, the most important concept is to make your speaker's environments symmetrical.  That does not mean the room has to be symmetrical. If one speaker is in a corner the other should be also. The farther away you maintain symmetry the better but you can loosen up after 5 feet. if at 7 feet there is a window on the right there does not have to be one at 7 feet on the left. After 10 feet the more irregular the room the better. You are trying to keep both speakers as efficient with as close to identical frequency response and radiation pattern as you can. In a really bad situation digital room control can be a help but it is always better to give the speakers the best environments you can. Some speakers are more tolerant of aberrant situations, planar dipoles in particular. You can throw them anywhere and they will image pretty well which is what I think draws a lot of people to them. In my book it is all about the image. I use DSP and I can change the tonal balance of the system any old which way but I can not make a system that is set up poorly image. I can improve it a little maybe but it will never be as good as the best.






Asymmetrical rooms can make great listening areas. My space is highly asymmetrical and is the best space I have heard. I would continue what you are doing and enjoy. 
@elliotnewcombjr Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly. There is no corner for my right speaker as there is no wall. There is an opening into the diningroom. It is 9 feet from the back wall to the side of the offending closet farthest from me. Right now if a wall were to appear it would dissect my woofers right down the middle. Since my post I have been working on distance from back wall to get a good balance between bass response, soundstage depth and width and imaging. The spot I found puts them 54" from front of speaker to back wall. WAF is poor as it really narrows the walk space between said closet and speaker. The good thing is I won't cave if this proves to be the best position. My right side sub is a good foot and a half into the other area angled towards me.
It sounds like you’re going to have to start moving the speakers around a bit to find out where they sound best. Or take a sledgehammer and eliminate the problem now. ;) 
@OP,
If the speakers sound good, then I wouldn't sweat it.- Especially if you are going to remove the closet.
If you want to play, then try some acoustic treatments. For a cheap fix, try hanging some small area rugs at different areas behind the speakers. that way you can get a sense of what you might need.
B
I would first try both speakers matched relative to rear corners (not too close), and then tweak the balance control for best imaging of familiar music, from your listening position (which may be best a bit off center itself).

Good enough until you remove the closet?

I love this remote controller 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234116696552?hash=item36827149e8:g:FOsAAOSwhNlgmIqc

you MUST get the remote, no controls on the unit.