Putting your components inbetween your speakers.


Would like to know if there is any truth about putting your components inbetween your speakers will affect the imaging other than an amp between the speakers on the floor.
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A low rack is almost on par with having nothing at all between your speakers.  A tall rack is not good and will affect the center image.  It acts like a magnet and also makes the image taller or enlongated, limiting most of the soundstage to the center.

Anything below your tweeters and even with or below you midrange is best.  I also believe in diffusion on the front wall.  I have tried it both ways and prefer the low rack to long interconnects.
OP, while it seems you are getting basically a universal response that nothing between the speakers is "best", rack and gear placed lower than the tweeter/mid second best and so on, there is one other thing to consider... The *plane* of the items. I recently moved my speakers forward (closer to PLP, further from front wall) of my audio/video rack. So while my television and other gear is still "in between" the speakers, all items collectively are no longer on a straight line of sight (when viewed from the side walls). So you might want to add moving the speakers forward a bit to any experimentation you're conducting.
If a rack and components (or screen) MUST be between the speakers, one way to minimize the damage is to place diffusers on both sides of the rack(s) and/or screen, parallel to the side walls. When the sound coming from either the rear of planar speakers or sidewall reflections reaches the diffusers, that sound will be intercepted and randomly dispersed by them, rather than reflected off the rack and EQ.
Update. I did wind up moving my 2 stands further back from where they were in the middle of the speakers and i swear i could hear better imaging from my B&W 800 matrix.. Maybe its in my mind maybe not. But i do like it !!! Thanks to you all....