Point of measurement

There's typically a bit of confusion when it comes to speaker setup, in particular, around how far out into the room is best for soundstage and depth. Generally, we'd like to be something close to 1/3 the way into the room but rarely is that possible. These are for the most part living rooms (in the truest sense of the word). One question I am often asked is where to measure the distance from the speaker to the front wall (the wall behind the speaker). Most folks get this wrong because they measure from the rear of the speaker to the front wall. The correct measurement point is the speaker's front baffle. If you can manage to get that front baffle 3 to 4 feet into the room and away from the front wall, you're probably doing really well. One of the advantages of measuring from the front baffle is that regardless of speaker enclosure depth, you're always getting it right in the room. As well, another reason why speaker size compared to room size doesn't matter as much as many folks suspect.