Equipment Rack Between Speakers...Good or Bad

@roxy54   If the picture on your page is your setup, it must sound horrible. youve got a pair of big speakers in what looks like a room with bare walls and bare floors and pushed against the corners. The rack is the least of your problems

I think an empty space, or a very low rack is best, especially if the rack is even with the speakers.  As people have pointed out, however, that is going to be room dependent.  I've got 8 feet between my speakers and definitely noticed improvements in imaging when I removed my TV for a day.  Unfortunately it simply has to be in the non-optimal position back between the speakers (along with all the equipment).  If that weren't the case I'd definitely shift to a side position if at all possible.  Thankfully I am able to place the speakers 4 feet or so in front of the TV/rack though.  Agreed that some pulling forward is critical...

Given your room, I agree that I don't think it would make a difference.  I doubt there's enough space there for the change to matter... 

Floorstanding GIK panels can also be useful in these circumstances.

is that a pioneer pd-s95? awesome transport... i had one for a time.

@helomech, I suspect you’re right in that the speaker baffles should be in front of the rack or at least level. 

On the other hand I have also read that one noted speaker designer who believes that neither close wall placement or having the ubiquitous Hi-Fi / TV rack in between does anything harmful to the sound. In fact he promotes the idea on the grounds he can control the room / speaker dispersion patterns better and that the rack in between helps break up standing waves etc.

He may well be right, at least in regard to his deigns, and he probably (definitely in my case) knows more than the both of us combined regarding the science behind the matter. 

I did occasionally wish I had the room to find out for myself, but space considerations always forced me to use designs which allow close wall proximity (and the rack / wall mounted TV in between). And nowadays worrying about such audio finesses is the least of my concerns. But who knows the future, maybe one day I’ll get the itch back.

*Turntable placement on the other hand is another headache altogether - and that definitely matters.