An interesting discussion . I have a modest Yamaha AS 500 amp ,with Tannoy dual concentric speakers , and I have ended up with them on a slanted foam matting on a parquay floor .
They sit about 8ft away from the central point of my listening reclining chair , where my head is (I rarely recline it) and as they slant ,they fire the music striaght at my head height . I point the speakers towards my ears ,maybe just past towards the back of my head , but I am forever tweeking them so they are pointing across my nose as well !!
Cant make my mind up wether to set them further away or what really ! But when the right track is on ,it bears no relation to headphones and is sweet as ever !! Maybe it depends on my mood and the volume ?
I have an old Rel Q50 sub in the corner of the room to my left ,and it does put some body into the whold thing , but there are times I prefer just to hear the treble in all its clarity .
Its all low budget ,but still makes sense in the scheme of things !!