When I get really silly I’ll actually measure. Usually end-up where I started just trying to overlap the first measurement I took. My speakers are 7’ tall and ~100 lbs on IsoAccoustics feet. I only have use of one hand/arm. I skip the gym on those days 
(who am I kidding? I don’t have a gym membership.)
Now I want to go move my speakers around.
Symmetry is a real matter that can drive me crazy. I take several times measurements of my set up. In fact my goal is to mitigate different side walls from left to right sides. The left speaker has a larger distance from the left wall than the right one. Bass traps, acoustic panels, diffusers are playing a big role in my endless battle. Speakers set up, toeing them in and out millimeters, moving them back and forth millimeters I found can change dramatically the different response of high frequencies (electric guitars) from the left side, that is my nightmare.
There is also a psycho effect, some evenings my brain can tolerate better than others the illusion of a non correct image from behind the left speaker. A spot light (in a general dark room) oriented towards a diffuser behind the left speaker can help for instance. A particular mood can also help a lot.
I decided to work on my room at the end of the day. During last two months I’m designing with my carpenter a new structure to create a perfect symmetry along the side walls of the room and a consultant (acoustic engineer) took measurements in my room to define the correct type and position of treatments. I’m scheduling this refurbishment on march 2023, this hard and expensive step in my audiophile journey I’m expecting will play a big role achieving a better sound quality. Time will tell.
If and until someone/somewhat (it’s a mystery) decides to move my speakers while I’m out or I’m sleeping. Couldn’t agree more with you!
Here in the US we call that “divorce”.
Here in Italy we call that “long time marriage” on the contrary.
Having grown up in a Sicilian dominated family, I totally understand that concept.
How do you know that the image is “incorrect”? Is this variation you’re hearing with the same recording?
When I close my eyes I hear on the left side an instrument closer to my sweet spot than the others, coming more from the speaker than behind it. The day before that same track seemed to sound better with all the guitars at the same depth line on a wide soundstage.
Those tracks able to afflict my health are from different albums not always the same. Other albums never, I can say never, have this issue. Probably because of they do not have high frequencies in them.
When I hear an incorrect image, it usually causes me a painful ritual dance: stand up and move the speaker a little bit, then again move a diffuser or a panel, again and again. Until I fix the issue or I have to give up.
A day after suddenly all seems to sound quite perfect and I’m tempted to play again “those” suspicious tracks to find out if I was crazy the day before. Sometimes I feel myself like a winner and the word is a wonderful place, sometimes I have to admit I’m loosing my game and it’s so frustrating.
A long and hard work with set up was able to solve in large part the issue as I reported before but sometimes it comes back again a little bit for a while, like if a spiteful spirit moved something when I’m out of the room.
I have to be patient until my new room will be done with perfect symmetry walls. Fingers crossed! After that if it still sounds wrong one day and not the other… well I’ll sell all my components to invest in 2 things:
If I may offer a suggestion, start and end with a test record. Set up your speakers to the test record only. Thereafter any variations should be the particular recording. Attempts to adjust your setup to suit a particular recording will not work for the overall performance of your system.
Remember that nothing is perfect, especially our hifi systems.
Another suggestion is to take a good mono recording (the Beatles recordings are fantastic), and adjust the speakers. the sound should come from a very definite point, and the instruments should appear to “be in line”, one in front of the other. Should there be any assimetries, the mono recording will be merciless, and you will hear deviations from the center.
And I agree with @RonP: should you get the mono image correct, other variations come from the recording, not from your setup.
Hi Luca!
We have some similar gear. Also, imaging concerns are something that I’ve struggled with. Heck, it’s part of this audio “fun”. Isn’t it also a searching for the limits of gear? Happy to hear about your coming room efforts, as room falls right behind speakers – both literally and figuratively.
If you haven’t, and I think you have, but get a cheap decibel device at your favorite app store, and measure white noise (Qobuz has such tracks) with balance 100% left, and then 100% right from your seat.
Maybe remove toe-in for a bit, as it might increase the size of your sweet spot (depending on what the SF likes). Have you thought about bringing the speakers closer together? I know you said you moved the speakers 3 inches and thought you solved the matter.
Also, many recordings do not produce a solid center image, as Ron pointed out. I sometimes use the BHK balance if it’s just a little left or right…by ear, while listening sometimes.
Finally, audio mastering engineer Steve Hoffman says to put on a stereo version on The Kinks song Waterloo Sunset, and when the background vocals get “behind” you as much as possible (just like surround sound), your speakers are in the right place. I’ve done this, and it is at very least a fun thing to do.
Glad you have shared. Keep us posted. Imagine I’ve learned quite a bit from your experience, and especially with some of the other killer suggestions above. Good luck, as always.
I had a guy come over one time, who was a certified speaker placement guy from a good store that sold very high end stuff.
This gent “closed the door” on the center image using the right speaker toe-in after the left one, with Jennifer Warnes song Ballad of the Runaway Horse. Guess it’s supposed to be perfectly centered.
Great advice.
Which one do you use? The more I read this comment, the more sound it becomes. Heh.
Post #2 has a video discussing using that exact track. It’s quite effective.
For vinyl I use the Analogue Productions or Hi-Fi News. For vinyl, it’s ideal to have a scope but a lot of valuable set up can be achieved by ear with these records.
For CD I use the Stereophile disc.
I’ve noticed that AP set-up recently! Thank you.
Thank you all, I’m just starting a 4 days vacation so the right time (finally) to experiment your suggestions I really appreciate as usual.
I’ll keep you informed.
Luca
I don’t know if you like jazz, but this is a great sounding mono album that you can use to clamp your center image in place.
Got it thanks, I’m playing it right now!
I watched that video. Thank you.
Amongst the other things I’m very impressed about the ability of keeping clamped the center image even if you move yourself from the listening position. Watching the video the “guru” says that after a proper set up, he can walk around his room without hearing any difference from the center image, he can hear the singer voice coming always from the same position even if he is moving from the sweet spot, going right or left, literally (he said) walking far from his listening position.
IME it seems to be really impossible. Every set up I’m trying to manage with my speakers I’m really unable to get this thing. Each time I move myself on the couch a few inches on the right I hear the singer voice accordingly coming more from the right and vice versa.
Keep it simple Luca, I’m repeating to myself!
Measuring left/right frequencies with an App I found no differences (using a modest iPad microphone).
Playing mono recordings (thank you for your advice) I have a perfect centered image with instruments on different layers in line (depth speaking).
I’m still working on a single album I’m very familiar with, Dire Straits.
The only effective results are coming from moving the left speaker and after a few hours I found, as an infinite loop, that I like more the sound I can hear when the speaker is very very close to the initial position where it was when I started. This new (pretty identical) set up is bringing a wider soundstage though, extending towards he left side of the left speaker.
To be more clear, I’m pretty sure my center image is ok and this is not my problem after all. The annoying phenomenon is related only to higher frequencies and in particular the sound of higher notes of electric guitars. Sometimes they causes to my brain the bad feeling to “see” the left speaker re-appear during a music reproduction. If it happens (all at once) I start to concentrate myself on the speaker, looking at it and hearing the sound (not all the instruments, only the higher notes from a guitar) coming from it and not behind it. It might ruin the mood in a very unpleasant way. Meanwhile the center image is perfect, the instruments on the right side are wonderfully behind the right speaker and curiously the other instruments (drums, acoustic guitar or chorus) on the left side are coming from behind the left speaker. It’s all ok but the electric guitar and not always, just when it plays the higher notes.
This may happen listening to the same albums (where there is an electric guitar on the left side of the soundstage). After I have managed a lot with different set up of the left speaker I can temporarily solve the problem finding the right position. Until the next listening session, as if someone was mocking me by secretly moving the speaker from its original position.
This is the reason why I would be happy finding a definitive position. I was familiar with the “phantom image” concept in this hobby, not with the “phantom persecutor”.
Is my wife’s last way to convince me to abandon this expensive hobby? Mmm never underestimate the tenacity of women!