Every few months I become dissatisfied and reposition my speakers. Separation, toe in, distance to walls, etc. And, lo, the heavens open up and I can hear angels singing. After a few months i do it again with similar epiphanic results. Finally, a year goes by, and I’m back to the same position I started from—and the cycle continues.
Is this just human nature, the internal, never-ending, push to ‘improve’ or ‘change’ things? As in, if we never had this trait would we have advanced as a species?
I’m reminded of how some apes can be taught to use tools or concepts but they just sit on this knowledge, with zero drive to advance or make other use of this knowledge. So without outside influence or pressures they are ‘stuck in the mud’ so to speak.
I’ve found it helpful to acknowledge this drive, or trait, and to ask myself why am I desiring a change in audio system. To accept good and not chase ‘perfection’ as perfection doesn’t exist in practical terms. Perfection is nothing but frustration in the eyes of our trait to always be improving so I leave it alone and accept good.
Our ear to brain interface is anything but fixed & static
This why some days our systems sound more or less amazing to us.
Your response to refreshing speaker placement, is exactly the opposite of the ever controversial subject of “break-in” - where the longer we listen & acclimatize to something, the more amazing it becomes.
Could be your setup has a myriad of room response effects & changing things up simply swaps one compromise for another bennie.
Where do you live? I live in Ohio and my room and speaker response as well as my ability to hear it are most definitely affected by changes in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure.
I have a thing with my home theatre, when listening in stereo my centre image is spot on, even moving one seat to left or right, stand up etc it’s right in the middle of the TV.
But then one day for no reason I can 100% tell the voice is coming out of left and right but nothing had change.
I have tried different content, if my house is running of solar or from the grid, the in room temp is kept the same.
Makes no sense, I put it down to me been tired or stressed, god knows.
Next day back in the middle and I’m poking centre speaker to make 100% sure it isn’t coming out there.
Definitely, I also have a speakers vs headphones cycle where I prefer the one over the other for some time.