I have a fairly restrictive listening space and my setup has always been, and probably still is, effectively near-field—despite using floorstanders.
Recently I rotated the entire room layout by 90 degrees, so the system now fires down the long axis of the room. The results have been interesting—and ultimately better—but not without a rough start.
Initially it sounded awful. The electronics had cooled and everything had been powered down during the move, and it took several days for the system to settle again. First impressions were misleading, and it took time for both the system and my ears to recalibrate.
There are two major positional changes. First, the sofa now has around 1.5 metres of space behind it, whereas previously it was hard up against the rear wall. Second, the speakers now have significantly more space around them.
The extra space behind the listening position seems to have reduced rear-wall pressure and bass thickening more than I expected. With fewer early reflections, the presentation has become noticeably cleaner.
Transients are sharper, low-level detail is easier to follow, and imaging has improved. What surprised me most wasn’t tonal balance, but overall coherence—everything feels better time-aligned. The soundstage has stepped back and is less forward than before, but also feels more honest and less hyped.
Aesthetically, the room doesn’t look as good, but sonically it’s a clear improvement. I’m still sitting relatively close—just under 3 metres from speaker baffle to listening position—so it’s still near-field-ish, but with far fewer room artefacts getting in the way.
Overall, it’s reinforced for me that near-field listening with floorstanders can work extremely well, provided the room and listening position aren’t fighting you. Still experimenting, but very encouraged so far.