equipment rack along the back wall-Bad?


I have recently spent considerable monies buying a mix of room treatment devices from Michael Green, ASC, and RPG. After putting them up and tweaking them around, it just dawned on me that my 5 Shelf wood Michael Green rack sits smack dab in the left half of the "sweet spot:. I have a smaller 3 shelf rack on the right side of the same area.

My room is small, approx 9 ft wide and 16 ft deep, my speakers sit approx 6 ft into my room.

Question, does the presence of the huge racks along the back wall create a detrement to my soundstage? If so, to what degree? If, minor, I would keep the situation as is, however if significant, I would put the gear on the floor and lose the racks

My room is such that i just cannot move the racks somwhere else

thanks
128x128justlisten
Same for me as Twl, I've had it both ways and don't notice a signficant if any difference. My speakers are out front and my stand is a shorty. Amps are on the floor.
It's not always bad.

In some setups, I've noticed no audible difference if the rack was on the back wall or not.
Having the speakers in the middle of nowhere is the best way to obtain a 3-D soundstage. The important fact to remember is ventilation. Do you have tubes, class-A amplifiers, etc. Then you may want to position the rack a bit off the back wall to get a little air back there.
Taking the rack out from between the speakers is absolutely the way to go.
The speakers should image better. You should notice it right away.
I always run my Apogees with the shortest Target rack I own for CD, preamp & crossover. All amps & line conditioners are on stands or granite slabs, as low as possible.
I learned about this when I took the 53" Avia rack out from between my Maggie 3.3Rs, several years ago.
Shouldn't really have much effect on the sound, however I would stand where the racks are during loud music with substantive bass and see if the bass waves are setting up a lot of vibes in your equipment, phono especially. Both the front and rear boundries of your room can be a haven for bass boost.