Axiomoholic,
I wrote that in part because if you separate the main speakers by the same amount as your viewing distance, you sometimes get a "hole-in-the-middle" effect and not a continuous soundstage if you are listening in stereo. Playback in a domestic home is NOT a recording studio control room. After all, you are trying to achieve a plausible illusion of a musical event in a rather confined space. So adjust your speaker locations and listening habits to help you achieve that.
These "rules" are not cast in stone. It is so dependent on the room and the arrangement of furniture, etc. With a video display you also don't want the main left and right speakers to be too far outboard of the screen, or there is mismatch of audio scale to the video presentation.
I usually advise customers to start out with a separation of 6 to 8 feet between the main fronts, unless they are in an unusually large room with a very large screen and viewing distance.
Regards,
Alan
