I can't speak for ALL speakers but for every pair I've had over the past 30+ years, which coincides with when i started paying attention to such matters, placement counts very much in contributing to the disappearing act. With my current speakers a 1/16 difference in the toe in makes a big difference. Totally agree with Milpai. Cabinet enertness also counts so i agree with kosst as well.
Speakers "Disappearing"
I have read a lot about speakers "disappearing" so that one can't tell from where the sound is emanating. But, what about all the stereo tunes where the recordiing engineer intentionally pans the music to come from one side or the other? Can the speakers be made to "disappear" in that situation? Or, is it just the nature of the particular recording?