Equipment Rack Between Speakers...Good or Bad

Hi Roxy, I would recommend seismically isolating both your speakers and each individual piece of equipment and rack. There are a wide range of isolators on the market that definitely do NOT work. I would suggest one of the following:

Ingress Engineering cup and rollers directly under your equipment, supported by a thick slate platform supported by either Machina Dynamica springs, Townshend Pods or a 12 inch dia. inner tube at very low pressures.

For speakers the easiest solution is Townshend Podiums but you could also use MD springs and/or Ingress speaker footers.

For rack isolation you can use either Townshend Bars or Pods, alternatives would be MB springs and/or Ingress footers.

For more detailed advice you are welcome to PM me.

For anyone considering Machina Dynamica Springs for speakers and subwoofers I recommend using two 2x4s two to three feet long depending on size of speaker under each speaker with a Super Stiff Spring located at each end of the 2x4s. That allows a wide arrangement for the springs, necessary for stability with heavy high centervof gravity objects. For lightweight speakers use Baby Promethean Springs and two 2x4s.

So, if you have a TV mounted on an audio rack positioned between and a couple of feet behind the speakers, would you cover the TV with absorbing or diffusing material when listening to audio system? I’m currently using a sound absorbing panel in front of the TV screen.

I got a pair of GIK Freestand panels (gobos). Experimenting with positioning was interesting.  Least effective was the pair of them standing directly in front of the screen and blocking it.  Much better was having them right beside the screen, each side, touching and perpendicular to the wall behind (the front wall).  Evidently, if your screen isn't wall-mounted, reflections can get behind it too as well as bouncing off the front of it.  Best was them sitting half way between the back inner corner of the speakers and the front corners of the stand, at about 45 degrees to everything else.

Not sure about the acoustics as I’ve never had my rack in between my speakers.  But my buddy just had a larger, taller rack made for his equipment which sits behind and between his speakers.  The rack is very nice looking, but even so for me it slightly disturbs the aesthetics of the listening experience.  In my home my source equipment is in another room from my speakers, and I’m used to experiencing the imaging/soundstagong  sensation of musicians playing in a shape-shifting venue between and behind my speakers.

This is somewhat thwarted at my friend’s place by staring at a large wall of equipment and lights sitting in between the speakers.  It was a better listening experience when he had his much shorter rack between his speakers.

But that’s a subjective impression.  I know lots of us audiophiles are gear heads who really like to stare at all their equipment when listening to music.