Wilson Alexia V seating distance

Cardas says 1x distance.  

What happens if I'm closer than 1x.  If speakers are 10 feet width and I'm seating 8 feet away?  I assume I'm in the near field.  What do I lose in this near field.  

Read another manual and it says I should be between the 1.1 and 1.25x.  

So just wondering what happens in the near field.  I read a stronger phantom center. 

As an owner of 4 pairs of Wilsons including Alexia 2s about to be Alexia Vs, the distances are recommended minimum and maximum. I have never sat outside of that zone but I have seen set ups that do (usually closer than the minimum) and can still work well.

@gpgr4blu 

Thank you!

Sitting closer you reduce some of the reflections.
It’s important to consider how far the speakers are positioned from the front and side walls, how far are they apart and the distance between listening chair to the back wall.
Size of the room, any openings to either or both sides, room acoustics treatments, etc.

What Wilson states in the manual is good as a guideline.
If closer or further works better for you, then that’s your optimal set up. 

If you go wider (closer to the speakers and wider apart) you will need to toe them in more and the sweet spot gets smaller. For a single seat it is honestly fine to have them wide. No real harm but the sweet spot will be tiny if you get too wide. If you don’t toe them in more as you get closer you will lose the phantom center. I find wilson’s need about 9’ for the drivers to integrate. 

I had them toed in pretty extreme but they were far apart....maybe 10 feet wide and i was sitting 8 feet from the tweeter.   Room is NOT traditionally shaped.  The randomness of the room makes for some good acoustics I would say.  I don't think the boundaries play as big of roll as most rooms.  20 foot ceiling for the most of my living room....speakers are about 24" off the wall and it's the corner of the room.  back of the room is the kitchen/bar so lots of pieces to cause dispersion. 

I would say that at 8 feet away from 10 wide speakers the center vocal sound was crazy good.  Johnny Cash on American IV and many other vocals were right there....I didn't have time to evaluate the other elements before I rolled (yes my Wilson Alexia V are still on casters) closer together and lost this pronounced center vocal sound.  Trying to stay without the 1.1 to 1.25x...

No recognition of vertical seating height?  Really?  

Vertical height of people's ears and drivers of course are quite variable.  I was asked to measure the seated ear height of my wife before ordering Sound Anchors for her ATC 20s.  I realize the Wilsons to be floorstanders, but still, on and off casters they will sound differently. 

You bought Alexias and your dealer didn't offer to set them up properly? For shame!

I would just do what you like. I don’t follow my JBL manual. They want them pointed straight ahead close together (8’-9’) and back farther (10-12’) but I have them at 10’ wide and 10’ back, toed in. Following the manual’s setup I felt like I lost some presents but the center image was probably wider and more correct. 

I have found this setup pretty true for all box speakers. If you want vocals to pop out get them wide and toed in. This type of setup is more likely to cause comb filtering depending on how much to room fills back in that comb filter… I find setups close and farther back a touch boring with a more defused sound. 

Speaker placement and seating distance ar really room dependant and manufacturer recommendations are starting guidelines but not the last word. Listen, tweak, repeat.

@chauncey if moving speakers, make small changes. Go in increments of 1/4” to 1/2” at a time. Not more than that. Take your time to evaluate. Use several reference tracks. Wilson speakers are super sensitive to placement. Take your time with it. It’ll all come together when you find that optimal placement. I recommend using laser distance measure, set to meters as UOM. Gives you very fine measurements in mm. This is especially useful for speaker to walls distance. Don’t do it by eye or using regular tape measure. Not accurate enough.