… components and what I did to help soundstage. Pics below to help.
Components
Amp: Peachtree Audio Carina150
Speakers: Kef r3 meta (4ohms)
Sub: Kef KC62
Streamer: Rasbery Pi running bit perfect Volumio where I am mostly hi res Qobuz.
Now the fun part.
What I did for soundstage:
- This is my office/mancave and I remodeled going from carpet heavy horizontal to vertical. So the room is like 15 by 40.
- The challenge is that awful step so I cannot position it in the middle which means i have a side wall problem.
- It was a remodel, so we ripped out the carpet,
- Vinyl flooring but with Floor Muffler Ultra Seal 300 SF underneath.
- Bass Traps behind the Sub
- Put carpet down in front of stereo.
- Cellular Shades on the widows which I researched are good for absorption
- Acoustic Panels for side back wall on right side. Lots of fun/beers getting those in inline
- Some DSP on left speaker to lower it relation to right speaker and have a good center image.
- 15 band EQ which I set up with three bass modes. The KC62 centered is working well.
- Tried to add as much sound deadening furniture wall art etc as i could.
Thoughts?
Questions: On the component side is Kef good with wide sound stage? what about Peachtree?
And then of course could I be doing better with the room? should speakers be pulled out further ?. Paul would say three feet?
I will say it is better than before in terms of depth and width. I hear a lot of saxophones high and to the right like the saxophonist is on a step behind the band and to right? Just one example.
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BTW huge fan and buyer of PS Audio with the Sprout100 and multiple other accessory buys. Lots of their Octave Music (Gasoline Lollipops is the best) music so I am legit on this site. Even toured their Boulder headquarters. But, I have no one to talk to about this stuff and appreciate the sophistication of the clientele on this site.
You’re opening up a huge can of worms, LOL.
On the serious side, your system looks clean and organized. Congrats!
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Go for a no cost approach initially. Start with changing speaker placement. Pull the speakers out from the wall 2-3 feet. Have the speaker bottoms 24-28 inches off the floor, and seperated by 84" apart on center. With the side wall on the left you may need to adjust speaker placement more, or consider a non symmetrical approach. The KEF Meta 3 is up to the task IME. I briefly owned the KEF LS 50 Meta in combination with a pair of REL 5i subwoofers. I got great sound stage from them by doing as suggested above. Even with an equipment stand and 48 inch Panasonic plasma TV between the speakers soundstage was pretty good. The KEFs were powered by a Hegel H120. The primary source an INNuous ZEN Mk3. All cables were Discovery Essential series. My listening position is 7-8 feet from the front plane of the speakers, near field. My listening preference is predominately acoustic jazz.
Good chance you will receive a lot of “advice” from the forum members. My advice, just keep your wallet closed initially.
Enjoy the ride.
WDW 
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Appreciate the response, but its hard with my room, with that dam step. But thanks for your reply. Love this.
The left speaker in the corner and both speakers against the rear wall are workinfg against you. You can always just get a new stereo then. 
Bring it on, that is what I am hoping for, a discussion where I can learn from all of the experts on this forum. Most people just think I am an idiot. “Sonos is so good” etc but this is why I love this forum. I mean even What Hifi is not that sophisticated.
I guess what I am asking, is help me with that. pulling the speakers out is a helpfull tip.
Thank you.
Try it temporarily to see if it gets you closer to your ideal. It is a low effort no cost approach. Those KEFs are keepers.
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My speakers are quite a bit out into the room (bringing speakers out helps with imaging and minimizing sound reflections from other surfaces, but also limits bass response. I have subwoofer(s), which then allow more varied locations for the main speakers).
In your case I would not change much, except to see if minor changes to speaker location/toe-in have a positive or negative effect.
A quick view of page 10 on the KEF R Series manual indicates you should be able to put the speakers a minimum of 9 in from the front wall and 20 in from the side wall with a plug in the rear port. So you should be able to get closer to the front wall than 3 ft.
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Perhaps put the system on the long wall to the right, up on the step. You can still position the speakers to be ear height at the listening position, even if the chairs are down one step. It’ll look awkward but sound better, and you’ll get a more comfortable seating arrangement with perhaps even three seats (or more) facing the speakers.
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Wow! What an immaculately finished room. The way you decorated around the step issue is really clean. You obviously labored over the details. You are my kind of renovator.
Here is my suggestion, which will require a re-think. Remove the wood stand near the door. Move the floor vase over a few feet. Put the right speaker on a new low speaker stand on the step about where the floor vase currently sits (but pulled forward). Its bottom should be at the same height as the left speaker. Shift the left speaker 12-18" to the right. Make sure the spkr front is not recessed from the front edge of the table. Re-center the screen. Move the left chair closer to the step, so it is centered btwn the speakers. Put a sound absorbing panel on the left wall at the first reflection point.
I guess what I am suggesting, is a re-centering of the front wall arrangement. It will mean fixing some current wall attachment points. The result might be more acoustically balanced, for little $ cost.
Sorry you asked?
If rearranging the speaker and listening position is not in the cards at this time, I would at least consider toeing in the speakers a bit to lessen the left channel speaker’s bounce off of the left wall.
Then find the point of first reflection on the left wall and consider adding some absorption at that point.
That said, I agree with the suggestion that you try setting up your system along the long wall (looks like the raised floor would be a good spot to try the speakers).
Most rooms requires a compromise of some sort…you just need to try and minimize the compromises.
I also recommend you go on line and buy “Get Better Sound” by Jim Smith. Its fairly priced and many (including me) have worn out their copies, as it is a great reference to turn to again and again.
Have fun.
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As already suggested above, I’d try the system on the other wall. Adjusting the the height of the speakers with proper stands, keeping them at the right distance from the wall and one from each other:
That kind of set up could also enable you to further implement your system along the way for further integrations in future (that is a typical audiophile disease).
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I like your sketch @luca.pelliccioli
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Plus one for this - may be awkward in terms of doors etc. but speakers on long wall works much better for me in a similarly asymmetrical room (though without the step, which I would trip over every single time 
).
Also - I think PSA should consider vinyl wraps for their speakers to look exactly as Luca has drawn here 
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Appreciate all the responses and insights into my room. Here are my comments after reviewing all the feedback.
Horizontal vs Vertical
Several of you suggested going horizontal. This is how I originally had it, and then I read it’s better to go vertically. I liked that idea because I thought it would fill the room better and I could position the speakers up further from the wall. So, when doing the remodel, I wanted to try going vertical.
The Step
We were so hopeful and were counting on removing the step altogether and then of course I would have had the fully balanced room with speakers positioned perfecting left and right and in front of all the walls. Alas, the entire HV system is what was under the step so a bit disappointing.
Positioning from the wall
So I did read the KEF manual and am about 11 inches from the wall, but only 12 inches from side wall. So I knew the biggest challenge would be that side wall. But for aesthetic reasons, I am not willing to pull the speakers off the table and position on the sides etc., but I did ask for a solution and appreciate all that was given.
Absorption
While I was able to get some absorption panels and even absorption shades, I do realize they are not at the initial point of inflection.
EQ/Toe In
I was able to toe in the front speakers and also EQ them by turning down the left speaker ever so slightly.
Overall, I am pretty happy, I may take the advice and pull the entire table forward so I can get a wider soundstage but overall, I certainly think it is as good if not better than the way I had it before.’
Thanks again for all comments!
Just as an experiment, move the speakers forward and to the right from their present position to determine if repositioning provides any relief. Then return them to their original position.
Good luck.
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