I own three pair of vintage Altecs and have them set up in three rooms in the house. I feel I've got them EQ'd and placed where they sound best and work best for the functionality of the rooms as well. I'm finally really happy with how all three setups sound but I'm always wondering if with a little more knowledge I could make things even better. I have two main questions to pose to the experts out there.

Anyways, FIRST QUESTION--SPEAKER ELEVATION: My model 19's are taller than my Valencias and my Heathkit AS-101's which came stock from Heathkit with Valencia drivers, Heathkit crossovers (superior to the Valencia crossovers) in Heathkit cabinets (which are identical in dimension to Altec Flamenco cabinets--slightly different dimensions than the Valencias). The model 19's seem to be the perfect height for me--when I sit on my couch--the horns are right at ear level and these things sound amazing. You can see where this thread is going--the Valencias and AS 101's are considerably shorter/lower and the horns are more chest/abdomen level. I have "propped up" the fronts of both of these pairs of speakers--and now the highs sound great--with the "right" EQ both pair now sound VERY close to as good as the Model 19's. My first question is: would I be better off (for the low frequency response of the Valencias and AS 101's) building some type of risers instead of "propping up" the fronts of them? Here are some photos to give you an idea of what I mean--some of these pics are more relevant to my second question (coming up next).
LIVING ROOM SET UP (AS-101's):

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REC. ROOM SETUP (FINISHED BASEMENT):

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THIS THREAD/POST IS CONTINUED (BELOW) IN MY REPLY TO MY OWN POST DUE TO EXCEEDING THE NUMBER OF IMAGES ALLOWED IN A SINGLE POST......