I am probably at most 9 feet away from my M60s and it's still great. It's not an ideal setup, they're further from each other than they are to me, but they still make a nice soundstage. Hardly ideal, but like you I wanted floorstanders.

The speakers don't disappear into the room but that's not the point for me. The point is to rock!

I don't think you'd regret the "wrong" choice. My 2 cents.