Removing components from between the speakers

it does not 'just depend'.

as you chase the 'ideal'; dealing with the space between your speakers is one step closer to that ideal. the reality is that gear between your speakers is simply one aspect of the acoustical consequences of that whole area. and until you remove that gear and eliminate other negatives you will not be able to connect the dots on cause and effect.

every flat surface that potentially could be a first or second reflection is one; unless you neutralize them all one by one you will never know what detail is masked by smearing from reflections.

maybe look at the pictures on my system page and then read this post I wrote a few weeks ago on a related subject.

regarding cable lengths; properly matched amps and preamps should be able to drive longer interconnects without sonic consequences. could you hear the difference between 2 meters and 8 meters between and amp and preamp? it's possible but not likely. compared to proper acoustics? no way.

at the end of the day where your gear is is not a huge deal unless there is a large flat screen. the rest of the treatments between your speakers and on the ceiling are bigger issues. so if your room does not lend itself to moving your gear don't worry about it. just do all the other things to the wall floor and ceiling between the speakers and be happy.

So what you're saying is that there's other factors to room acoustics besides having your gear in between the speakers. It sounds far fetched. I'm not sure if I buy it.

It does depend on the specifics. A system with just a CD player driving powered loudspeakers presents a vastly smaller reflective surface area than say this. Placing equipment between the loudspeakers just isn't a problem in some situation, in others it is.

If we are going to talk about the ideal, then ideally your source components and electronics (power amps excepted) shouldn't be in the listening room, but in an adjacent dedicated, custom designed equipment room.

Zd and Onhwy61 my conclusions are similar to yours and that's why I wrote "it just depends". Depending on the size of the rack used, number/placement of components and proximity to the speakers. These variables can range from noticeable to minimal(or no audible effect) actual effect. Try both component placement arrangements and just listen.
Charles,

Everything 'JUST DEPENDS" when you break it all down. I have been to MANY a showroom over the last 46 years. Many if not most have had mono blocks in between the speakers (when listening to their higher end speakers and gear). I've heard systems both with the amps in between and without. I have a decent ear and can't tell the difference between the two sets ups in nearly all cases. I've been close with many dealers as well as designers etc... yes, in a perfect world you have your gear outside of the listening room (there was a dealer just north of LA in a warehouse years ago who set up their rooms like this) and just have the speaker cables hooked up through the wall. They built the room to have no parallel surfaces and everything else you can do to make it better sounding. I really was one of the best sounding rooms I've listened in. I was amazing how great a 2500 system sounded (back in the mid 90's).

The irony about boards is that folks ask questions that can't really be answered properly since everything is dependent on each other. Take any of our systems into someone else's space or even a new space in your own home and the sound changes, so how can folks honestly tell someone what something will sound like to them etc.... We all answer because it's fun.

I still say it's dependent...