Removing components from between the speakers

If you're referring to me I'm as serious a a colonoscopy without anesthesia.

I was thinking about this a little more, and as I said, I have done it both ways depending on my living situation with good results. What I was thinking yesterday though, assuming that you don't use a turntable, which I don't; is that the rack, and the components on it may in some way act as a room treatment in themselves.
What I mean is, when you look at the room treatments available, they fall into the categories of absorption and diffusion. (scattering) So why, as one poster said, would it always be desirable to have nothing in the center. I see some very high end systems here that have those protruding blocks on the center of the front wall with all of the random height blocks of different lengths.
My present system has a large rack between the speakers, and with eyes open or closed, the center image, and the soundstage as a whole is very focused and coherent. Many years ago, by necessity, I had a pair of Celestion Sl6 Si speakers on either side of a mohair upholstered 7' sofa and the sound was fantastic. That would have probably considered the opposite of what I have now, that was I suppose absorption. In each case, the sound was excellent. So, I am not suggesting that there is no difference, only that no single rule will apply to every room.

Yep, like most things, no 100% right or wrong, it all depends......

Sound can be reflected, absorbed, or diffused as needed. How one gets to the right balance in each case is totally up to you.

In any endeavor there are gradations of seriousness, some real, others only imagined. If you are truly a serious audiophile, then you will have a professionally designed dedicated listening room, or two. If you have $100k plus in equipment and you haven't truly dealt with your room, then what have you really done? You can be a Ferrari aficionado without actually owning one, but you can't be a serious Ferrari aficionado without owning 3 or 4. There are times when being extravagantly over the top is appropriate and necessary.

BTW, I currently have two dedicated listening room, neither of which were professionally designed. In one I have no acoustically treatment of any sort. The other room has two bass traps. One room has the equipment rack centered and five feet behind the loudspeaker. The other room has the rack to the right side of the room and I have a 27" computer monitor placed centered and midway between the loudspeakers and the listening chair. The monitor has no negative effect on soundstage or imaging.

I think there is some wisdom in approaching things audiophile as an experimental question, not as conformity to a particular dogma a priori. I appreciate Jim Smiths book, but I have yet to live in a house where I can reasonably put his recommendation into practice. This may be heresy, but I think most of us will do well to consider some limited compromises to sound to accommodate room aesthetics. When I go into my listening room, it is an engaging of all the senses, yes, even smell. Sometimes I have to run my Shelty out of the room when he needs to have his teeth cleaned! I spent a lot of time addressing the visual aspect of my room, carefully selecting furnishings, artwork, and lighting that was very pleasing and comfortable. My enjoyment of the listening experience was significantly enhanced. More perhaps, than an equivalent investment in equipment upgrades. Many rooms will present limited options for placement of equipment. If that is the case, the decision is made for you. If you have options, it makes sense to invest in enough cabling so that you can evaluate the impact of placement on acoustics. One can always buy used and resell what is not needed long term. But I suggest you also evaluate placement holistically, from the point of view of which placement affords the most pleasurable total experience, not as a single variable assessment based on sonics alone.