The space between the speakers


I would like to invest in a high end stereo system. Something like the Wilson Audio Sophias driven by Audio Research electronics. I need to share the space though with our home theater which means that there will be a cabinet that holds the 52 inch tv with a pop up lift in back and electronics in front between the speakers. The cabinet is 5.5 ft wide by 3 ft deep by 45 inchs tall. I can position the front of the speakers a little in front of the cabinet (6 to 12 inches). My question is: Is it likely that I will be able to get good enough sound out of the speakers in this situation to warrant the investment or is the cabinet a deal breaker?
mmaslow
All great comments above. Compromises are a fact of life.

If you can get the speakers at least 12 inches forward and a couple of feet between the edge of the TV and the side of the speaker then it will be negligible and if you throw a thick blanket over the TV likely close to inaudible.

Alternatively you can build speakers into a custom wall so everything is as flush as practically possible - like this. Worth it IMHO if you are serious about "high-end" and want the most out of it. (However this will give you more bass response - extremely useful because reasonable bass SPL is ultra-expensive to generate with less than 1% audiophile distortion levels - but will give you stronger room modal issues and may require EQ on the speaker and some rear wall behind listener treatments)

If you are unwilling to position the speakers a small distance away from the TV (at least two feet) or build a custom in-wall setup (talk to Rives or others) then I think your proposed investment in "high-end" will be disproportionate to your needs. However, this is no different to most audiophiles ...many people enjoy owning a SOTA sports car with no place to drive it at 180 MPH, likewise many have amazing systems with speakers stuffed into a cluttered corner in an inappropriate room. The pride of ownership rather than than ride is a often the biggest part of a hobby.
A friend with this set up uses a echobusters panel hung horizontally from the corner of the TV when listening to two channel. Reflections are greatly attentuated.
Here is a good example of what to do: Eric's System In this case the speakers are slightly in front of the edges of the screen - this means there is no edge diffraction from a sharp edge, as the TV vertical edges are in the acoustic shadow of the speaker.
Essentially, all the comments above are accurate. Ideally you want nothing between the speakers but real life means most of us don't have room for a dedicated audio shrine. As suggested above, if at all possible, ensure that the speakers are at least several inches in front of the TV; this should minimize most issues if you use a blanket over the TV. Essentially, with a setup like that the only thing that you will be compromising on is depth of the center of the soundstage (it will still be deep but it won't be as deep as it will be to the sides).

I think your setup overall will be fine although you may have to treat the room but that is often the case for any setup.
I have the exact same setup as you have and I have achieved a great sound. Go for it and work with it...too often we expect to plop great gear in a room (any room) and get great results. With care and system matching you should be able to achieve more than satisfying sound.