Yep, that's the difference I found in sound using my new 26" stands, well into my listening room area.  Soundstage horizontal extension, transparency, air between instruments, imaging and deeper bass, all tangible improvements.  

Only drawback (maybe not), is my bass went from very live and not too deep, to deeper but more subtle.  That is, being farther away from reflecting walls made the bass less evident and less intrusive, while at the same time developing a deeper tone.  I love the depth but could use some more presence.  I guess I need to put some spikes under those stands?

Anyway, I'm so happy and relieved!  I was getting concerned not to be able to listen to my new gear's real potential until now.  It is still breaking-in, so I expect further improvement, but now I can really enjoy my sessions without those worries.

I found the speakers' toe-out did not make evident difference now, as compared to straightforward placement.  I guess since now there's plenty of free space for the sound waves to expand (my speakers are now about 30% farther away from each other, horizontally), toe-out is inmaterial.  In any event, the speakers are also some 3.5 ft away from the back wall and you can feel an important portion of the sound going around the speakers as opposed to getting a direct reflection from that back wall like before.

I just wanted to give credit where credit's due: Great suggestions from both Will and Lon, thanks guys    

That is my next step.  I just want to make sure I have covered the basics on my side first, as far as placement, etc.  With these current results, I'll be ready to fine-tune the gear once it is broken-in (which may still require a few more weeks).  Right after it's settled, I can really dial-in the benefits of what Herbie can offer.

Thanks again.  Have a nice evening, Lon ...

Hey Will,

I think I agree with your suggestions.  Everything seems to be interrelated, indeed.  Although I'm still far from achieving real fine-tunning status (maybe within a few weeks I'll have a better chance at it), I'm at the point where everything I play on, sounds great.  Not perfect, mind you, but just really enjoyable.

I was even able to pull up that bass presence I was missing, by simply increasing the sub-woofer volume a couple of times.  Bass liveliness came back, and is still deeper and unobtrusive.  Today, for example, was a totally glorious listening experience!

I have not tried too many speaker placement options since arranging the stands, as I wanted to just enjoy the music, but I need to work on it.  I'll try some of the possible combinations you described.  

I think I'll concentrate in speaker placement and vibration isolation for now, and some sub crossover settings (currently at 65Hz).  I may get into some tube rolling eventually, of course, just out of curiosity, but primarily, I just want to hear my gear at its full potential, with the original tube compliment from Steve.  This may happen only after break-in, though.  In the meantime, I'll have some fun by testing some of the many possible placement combinations as per your suggestion.

BTW, I'm noticing my average volume setting coming down.  Having better frequency separation and transparency seems to convey the same music effect at lower sound pressure levels.  I'm interpreting this as a good sign, sort of going in the right direction.

Thanks for your support.

Yes sounding good alright. "Really enjoyable" is certainly exciting!