Everyone has different preferences and the speaker positioning really changes with different rooms.
I consider my setup pretty near-field right now, and I couldn't be happier. I have a smaller room (11.2' x 18.8' x 7.6') and getting the speakers away from the front and side walls is really important to remove the room from the sound. As I moved the speakers further away from the front wall, things improved quite dramatically (better isolation, speakers disappeared more, cleaner and more defined bass, improved soundstage) - and moving the speakers away from the side walls (aka closer together), improved imaging and reflections big time, also seems like the soundstage has more width. Also moving the listening position closer to the speakers, semi-following the golden triangle helped bring everything together and improved that 3D effect / sound coming all around you effect.
Speakers are Salk SoundScape 10s and are currently 5.5ft from the front wall, 3ft from the side walls and have 5.5.ft between the speakers (all measured from center of the woofers). Listening position is about 7ft from tweeter. Speakers have no toe-in. This is so far the best setup I have found for my speakers and room. If I had a larger room, I could have them further apart most likely, but having them close to the sidewalls doesn't help anything, even though I have tons of room treatments. Sitting closer to the speakers also helps eliminate some room interaction with your hearing. It's all room, speaker and preference related, but that's what helped me dial in my sound.