The ideal system will have balanced input mono amps right behind the speakers keeping the speaker wires as short as possible. Balanced ins and outs let you use long low level signal cables without ill effect. Now you can put the rack anywhere in the room you want unless you have a turntable in which case you want to get it as far away from the speakers as possible in a place where the bass is not amplified.^^ This.
My system is in my living room, which is connected to the dining room. My equipment rack is actually in the dining room, completely out of the direct radiation of the speakers; my amps reside right by my speakers with a balanced connection driving them. I did a frequency sweep of the room and found that it favored a certain bass frequency, then went around the living and dining room with my sound pressure meter and found the area where the bass was at its least. That space is occupied by my equipment stand. Fortunately readily accessible from the living room and out of the way of any activities in the dining room.