I'm going to be getting a plasma screen soon, and would like to build a shelf to hold my VP150 and M22s right below the screen will . How far from the wall do the 22s need to be?

2 feet is preferable. i have then 1.5 feet, huge difference from .5 feet.

but, 2 feet is preferable. you can get away with 1.5

I need a bigger room!

My living room is just over 12'x12'. I sit about 8 feet away from my M22s, but they are only 5 feet apart. I've got them a little under 1.5' from the wall. I wonder how much better I can get them to sound given the contraints. I can move them closer to the front edge of the furniture they're on now. Hmmm.....

Can you move them apart a little? A small move can make a big difference. I moved my couch back about 1' and to the left about 1' and it made a huge difference in sound. It's really amazing how much difference you can make with just little bitty placement tweaks. Play around a bit.

I know what you mean about small changes. I can move my listening spot forward, backward, and side-to-side, but the M22s are the widest apart I can get them without buying separate stands, which would be a grave violation of my wife's Speaker Bylaws.

Here's a pic of the current arrangement:

Hmm...I can see how the placement is a problem. Even I wouldn't want to put my speakers on stands in front of a couple of windows.

I suppose you could move the sitting position a bit closer, but 5' away is awfully darn close.

How do they sound where you are now? If it's not bad, it seems you may have to live with it, or come up with a completely radical room change. i.e, move the system in another room all together, or rearrange the entire room they're in now.

I do understand your wife's concerns though. Your setup does look like it "fits" perfectly right where it is. Unfortunately that "fit" is cosmentic, not accoustic.

Good Luck!

Despite the non-ideal nature of my setup, it's still head and shoulders above the previous arrangement which was based around Paradigm Monitor 9s. I'm not complaining at all. As long as each change is an improvement, I'm happy.

Looking at your picture again, I notice that you could bring the M22's all the way to the front edge of the entertainment center they are sitting on. That would bring them a bit further away from the back wall, closer to you (getting you closer to that equalateral triangle position) and it's also recommended that your center channel be a little bit further back than your mains anyway. It's a slight change, but it could help a little bit.

I was thinking the same thing. If they aren't in a position where they can be banged into, I think that you will have a noticeable sonic improvement bringing them forward.