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Is rack between speakers always less than ideal?

I am planning a dedicated stereo system around a pair of standmounts but not sure what to do about gear placement. I can either have a tall rack off to the side or a low wide rack in the center. I am leaning toward center rack to avoid long interconnects.

The center rack would be 6 inches behind the plane of the rear of the speaker and would be about 75% of the speaker stand height. Width is approximately from the inside of one speaker to the inside of the other.

I understand that TV's and large objects directly in between the speakers can affect soundstage but what about something not technically between the speakers but slightly behind and below? Would something like this be sonically invisible, or would having "nothing" there be even better?
solman989
rhljazz
1,252 posts
 
I notice you don't have a rack between your speakers.

(The main system has the rack to the side and my secondary system is in between)

BTW, it appears, from your photos, you are sitting too far from your ESP's. They are designed to cross approximately at your knees.

( I don't like speakers set up nearfield. They were demoed at RMAF 2007 without a nearfield configuration. The speakers are set 8 feet apart center to center and my ears are approx 10-11 feet away.)

I would agree that in this setup no rack between the speakers is preferable.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Rhljazz, No problem, all you have to do is spread the speakers farther apart and everything will improve. I personally used ESP Concert Grands as I was one of ESP's few dealers.
somec59
245 posts
 
A always like a rack between my speakers
hooper
396 posts
 
I agree with Schipo: If the rack is an open-air design, I really don’t see a major problem. After it was installed, I experimented with several different locations for my SRA Craz-4 rack. I finally decided on between the speakers and behind them by about three and a half feet. I found that running longer cables was a sonic compromise I wasn’t willing to live with. Of course there are tradeoffs with the rack placement, but they’re comparatively minor, IMO. I heard a lot more (negative) difference running longer cables. Of course I’m in the minority here, but, hey, what the hell?
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