Vandersteen 5A Speakers

I believe the minimum listening distance for the 5a is 8 feet from the plane of the speakers (judging by the tilt chart in the 5a manual.) So it might be pretty tight fit in that room.

My preference would be for long wall placement (to put the speakers as far away from the side walls as possible). Because of the bass EQ, the Vandies do not need to be way out in the room, but that would still put your listening position close to the back wall. Some 4" thick panels on the back wall should help.

By the way, the tilt chart in the 3A Sig manual also shows a minimum listening distance of 8 feet. However, the 5As are twice as deep as the 3As (20" vs. 10.5").

Can you explain further how measurements to the front and side walls are used when referring to the tilt chart?

If you're using a laser level, one thing you can do is get the tilt exactly what it should be for your listening distance (rather than just the closest line on the tilt chart.) If you're ear height is 36.5 inches, for example, tilt the speakers until the laser line rises 1.5 inches just behind the listening position.

If you look at the tilt chart in the manual, you'll see that for a 36" ear height at 8 feet it has you tipping the speaker back until the top rear of the speaker is 1/2" behind the bottom rear. Since the speaker is 4' tall, this means the top of the speaker has a slope of

1/2" / 4' = 1/8" / ft => 1" rise in 8 ft

In other words the speaker is tilted so that the listening axis is pointed at your ears if you were sitting 8 feet away. If you put a laser level on top of the speaker the laser line would rise 1" from its height just in front of the speakers to the height at the listening position. (For my Craftsman laser level, it would rise from 50" to 51").

If you're listening height is 36.5", the laser line should rise 1.5".

Usually I'll get one speaker at the right tilt, measured with a tape measure, then set the tape measure on the floor and extend the tape up just behind the listening chair. Then adjust the tilt of the second speaker so that the laser line heights matches up on the tape measure.