Actually if you were to EQ your main speakers with it, you would have to move them physically 1 foot closer. On a digital preamp, increasing the distance setting actually tells it to send the sound to that channel sooner, since the sound will take slightly more time to travel to your sitting position. If it's an analog pre-amp it won't do delay for you, meaning you have to physically move them closer so that the sound arrives at the same time as your other speakers.
If you are just going to be running in stereo mode, then you don't have to worry about moving them at all. Delay is relative, and unless you have other non-EQ'ed speakers active you won't notice any difference.