Great, glad its improved, happy to help. Little things can really matter in reality creation as your system reaches this level of resolution. Much has to do with reflections and their timing. Reflections that arrive too close to the original sound cannot be discriminated by the ear/brain and become one smeared mess. By damping the side walls first reflection points you have minimized the side wall effects and, therefore, moving closer to the sides and further from the TV screen (which had become the next closest reflection villain) seemed like a good test.

In regard to the sound with and without a covering over the TV, reflections are generally good for the sound of a speaker in a room, just not ones that occur too soon. Could also be the TV is enough out of the direct reflection path now that it is not an issue.

Moderator wrote: Could also be the TV is enough out of the direct reflection path now that it is not an issue.

Moderator Dude...I have to ask. If the plane of the TV is close to the plane of the speakers, why is this a reflection problem? Are you talking off the main surface? I see that as a grazing reflection that would head to the opposite side wall. Or are you talking about reflections off the edge? Please explain your reasoning here.

It seems to me that moving the TV behind the speaker plane would change the primary "mirror" reflection off the surface and move the sound to a different point on the opposite side wall. At the same time, it would move the edge farther away from the speaker and reduce the amplitude of that reflection. But, because the area of the edge is small, that reflection amplitude is already very low relative to the direct sound.

When I was experimenting with placement, I found that moving the speakers (and listening position) closer to each other greatly improved imaging, probably as you say, because there was less of a reflection problem. I suppose in the limit, sitting a couple of feet from the speakers would provide the best imaging...

Charlie

The surface of the TV acts like a wall. Moving the speakers forward and a bit further away would certainly minimize the effect at the listening position, which is what I was surmising.

I like the speakers at a good distance from me in a decent sized room for most spectacular effect, not that having a king-size set of headphones/near-field monitors isn't fun.

Moderator wrote: Great, glad its improved, happy to help. Little things can really matter in reality creation as your system reaches this level of resolution. Much has to do with reflections and their timing. Reflections that arrive too close to the original sound cannot be discriminated by the ear/brain and become one smeared mess. By damping the side walls first reflection points you have minimized the side wall effects and, therefore, moving closer to the sides and further from the TV screen (which had become the next closest reflection villain) seemed like a good test.

In regard to the sound with and without a covering over the TV, reflections are generally good for the sound of a speaker in a room, just not ones that occur too soon. Could also be the TV is enough out of the direct reflection path now that it is not an issue.

I've uploaded before and after pics. Presumably the difference can at least be seen. Difference includes speakers closer to wall, increased toe-in angle, further in front of television and additional foam paneling.