I am designing a home theater in a small room. The front row will be 8 feet from a 106" AT screen, back row will be 12 feet. I know the front is a little too close, but no choice. I am planning to match L, C, R speakers (either B&W or Paradigm). If I put the L and R speakers behind the AT screen, I end up with about 19 degrees of separation (ideal looks like 22-30) from the 12' row. Plus, it will be close to 3 feet from each wall. If I put the L&R only just outside the screen, I end up with 24 degrees of separation, but then I am about 1.75 feet from each wall.

So what would you do? Behind the screen and have less separation or beyond the screen but close to wall and less visually appealing? Thanks for the advice!!

I ultimately decided to put the speakers outside of the screen, to maintain the separation.

But I am also putting them behind an acoustically transparent screen wall on the sides of the screen, thus also maintaining the visual appeal.

Any further thoughts on this?

One source said that "In blind listening tests the preferred angle of separation, with listener at the apex, turns out to be 72°." From http://www.immediasound.com/Speaker_set-up.htm

72 degrees! I think this means, if I remember my geometry correctly, that if you are sitting 10' away from the plane of the LR speakers, the LR speakers should be 14 feet apart. ! !

My room is not quite 15 feet wide, so 14 feet apart is not going to happen. I had originally planned for the speakers being behind an AT screen and being about 90"/7.5 feet apart, or a 42 degree angle.

But due to a complicated issue the L and R may only be about 6 feet apart; or an angle of only 32 degrees.

Is 32 degrees ok separation?

Is the difference really noticeable? Should I move the L R to the sides of the screen instead of behind it? That would put it pretty close to the side walls, (which will be treated). Thanks for any help.