OP,
Thanks for the feedback. The glass above the system looked like mirrors at an angle. I get it now.
You would move the rack to prevent it from interfering with the imaging. You could cage the rack over to the side, like you have the whole system now. Then just protect each speaker.
Once this is done and you are able to sit at the apex of a roughly equilateral triangle with the speakers (you can just move a chair there when you listen). You will want to dial in the speakers. I think you can move the left speaker a bit further out since there is no adjacent side wall... Actually what is the speaker to speaker distance? I can’t tell. You would want 6’ to 7’... but it can be smaller... it determines where the listener position it.
You will want to slowly vary the toe in on the speakers between beams crossed behind your head and straight out. Take your time. I typically try one extreme and then the other, very slowly converging on the one with the best central image and widest sound stage. You can work on this for a week... Drop it and work on other things... pick it up again next year. Over time you will learn the sound of your system and optimize the toe in.
You can determine how effective acoustic panels are by simulating them. I have used couch cushions (wrap in heavy blankets if they are leather), pillows and rolled up blankets... anything like that. The height of the imaging will be determined by the acoustic treatments. The treatments that you have only do not extend to the floor. So they will restrict the imagine height. Look at my main system, notice the pillows along the floor. The soundstage on my system goes from outside the speakers, above the speakers and into the wall.