Speakers "To close to the side walls

Perhaps, but by toeing in the speakers (so they point more directly at the listener) and by placing a diffusing pad on the side wall where the primary reflection would occur you can help reduce the effects of the side walls.

Toeing in will increase brightness slightly ... the only possible downside if your system is already bright.

To expand on Seantaylor99's comments, toe your speakers in so that they cross in front of you, several feet if necessary and you won't get as hot a high frequency response as you would if you were on axis. It might also help to enhance your center image and widen the sweet spot some. To answer your other question, electrostats and panel speakers can sound better closer to the side walls than cone speakers as they radiate much less off axis energy, but to have them as close to the walls as you want you would have to seriously treat the side walls in front of and behind the speakers. Probably not worth it - with cone speakers you only have to deaden the 1st reflection point.

Yes, dipole speakers (Audio Artistry, Mirage, etc.) are specifically designed to minimize side wall reflections.
Toe-in will help as will placing damping material (foam rubber, carpeting) on the "first reflection" area of your walls.

I have them slightly toed now. I have EAD PRE-Pro and Amp.
I wonder are the Paradigms the weak link here?
I am considering getting a new TV which can be mounted on
a rack, which will eliminate 2 sidew racks and save 44".

Thanks for the feedback

dipoles like Magnepans, electrostats, etc. they have a figure-8 radiation pattern and are very fogiving of side wall placement unlike conventional loudspeakers

More on my side walls. Will 15" from side walls make a
significant difference?

Assuming you are still talking about your Paradigm's, and assuming that you have them toed only slightly in, and assuming that you have not treated the 1st reflection points, yes it could make a substantial difference. HOWEVER, if you had your speakers set up properly before (but for the side wall closeness) your speakers will now be too close together and your stereo image will narrow substantially and the sound could become congested. If you've set them up correctly the first time then you will have to move your listening position much closer to the speakers (about 20 inches).

I've been reading a lot from this site and others and I'm learning....My wall is 10' wide. I am about 9 feet from the speakers. If I change the speakers they will be
about 7.5 to 8' apart. It would not be a problem to get closer. I probably did not set these "right" I just made
them fit. On my pre-pro I did set the distance of all
speakers from my listening position. I guess now I wonder
which would be best-treated walls for reflections and leave them close to the wall and toed or moving them 15" of the side walls.

Much thanks

One of the nice things about setting up your room - its all free except for the labor. Personally, I would start with a set up with your speakers close to the side walls and toed in extremely so they cross in front of you, well in front of you. I would have the listening position about 9.5 feet back from the plane of the speakers (by the way, I assume you have the speakers out several feet from the back wall?). The axis of the speakers would point about 27 degrees past the listening position. Yeh, I know, the speakers look cross eyed that way, but trust me - it can work! I would also get a test disc with tones (see the Rives site) and a Radio Shack sould level meter which will help you select the best location for bass reproduction for both your speakers and listening position. In fact on the Rives site he has a program and you can just plug in your speakers and the room's dimensions and it will give you a suggested starting location. Have fun, this is IMHOP the most fun and frustrating part of audio. And inches (!!!) make a difference.

Just curious, how far are your speakers from the wall behind them? I'm not familiar with your speakers and their size, so this suggestion might be worthless, but try this: Two feet from the side walls (NO toe-in)and move your listening chair up so you have an equilateral triangle. You can do 7 feet (maybe even 7.50) Listen to what you've got now. If you have your babies far enough away from the rear wall, you may be surprised. And inches, DO, make a difference. I have my monitors set up this way. My wall is 10.5 feet. Sure a larger room would be wonderful. Whattayagonna do? peace, warren

Right now they are 2 feet from the front wall. I have decided to go projection and put all my equipment below the screen. I will use a projector 80" wide (with borders) I will place my speakers about 14" from the side
walls. The people that are doing the projector will also
set my speakers. I'll learn from this and down the road
I'll know how to tweak for myself(hopefully)

Thanks for all the input.