Phil, I'm setting up a new room up stairs strictly for straight up stereo.
The room is 11 feet wide and 20 feet long. I have my Dreamcatchers on make-shift stands a quarter of the way into the room. I am sitting a quarter of the way into the room so about 5 feet from the back wall and 10 feet away from the speakers. The speakers are about 10 feet apart. I've placed some room treatments Hell_Commute gave me before he turned into Serenity_Now.
It's not perfect yet but the sound stage is absolutely amazing. It's deep, tall and wide. I can't say it's ideal with all recordings but there have been a few CDs where you'd never know you were in a residence.
I can't have a musical experience like that in my basement with the large Axiom system although there are other benefits with that system related to movie watching. The big problem I have in the basement is that I am sitting too darned close to the M80s (8 feet) and they are a foot away from the wall. It's a damned shame!
I'd love to try a bigger, three way "bookshelf style" speaker in this setup.
I hope you're still enjoying your tube gear.
