Mains different distances from seating -- what to do?

[RobertCharlotte]

Because of the lop-sided arrangement of my main listening & viewing area (henceforth known as my "living room"

), my front speakers are at significantly different distances from my main seating area (h.k.a. my "sofa"). Front left is 8 ft. away, front right is 13 feet away.
Problem (maybe very common, I don't know): my receiver's setup menu only allows one setting for both fronts. Right now I've got them both set to 13 ft.
What's the best solution?
(Rearranging the living room is an unacceptable solution due to WAF.)

 

[ChrisMatson]

Adjust the balance to compensate. Make sure you calibrate with an SPL meter.

This is not uncommon (even if the speakers are equidistant) due to room effects and the receiver itself.

Good luck!

 

[peter_anderson]

making sure that YOU have a seat (if only one seat) in a perfect triangle with the two front speakers is EXTREMELY important to a good HT/Music system. I would argue that the second you have two speakers and an amplifier, you need at least one PERFECT seat in order to get the most out of your equipment, no matter how cheap it is. if you experiment with this, you will know what I mean.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

The distance setting is for the time delay, and it's a fairly minor change. Split the difference and tell the recevier the distance is 10 feet.

But it is MORE important to adjust the volume levels with the balance knob so that the apparent volume at your main seat is the same. The Analog SPL meter from Radio Shack and a setup DVD or internal test tones is a must-have. The AVIA DVD is currently one of the best setup disks out.

Good Luck.

 

[RobertCharlotte]

Thanks, Bob. It was the time-delay thing I meant to specifically address.
Chris and Bob, I have adjusted the volume levels for all speakers by ear and will SPL them as soon as Radio Shack runs another sale on the meters.

I haven't bothered calibrating yet because I have only just gotten the mains up off the floor and onto speaker stands. Sadly, the surrounds are still sitting on top of the fronts

, but at least I'm now two-thirds of the way to having all the speakers where they will be for a while.
Thanks for your responses.