Can you explain?

[JimShaw]

Can this be explained?

I just installed a new receiver and player.

I manually messured the speaker distance and calibrated with a meter gauge. The front left and right speakers measured 14 feet away, the center speaker 12 feet and the sub only 9 feet---Sounded great.

Today I tried the auto set up on the receiver which calibrated from 6 different positions around the listening area.

The auto set the front left and right speakers at 7 feet vs 14 feet, the center at 12 feet and the sub 20 feet vs 9 feet.

I do think the auto set up sounded better but it is close.

Why is the distance of the speaker and sub setting different between what I did manually with a meter gauge and the receiver doing it automatically?