Rack between speakers or off to side?

[daveneumann]

As I've been considering changes to my system, I'm thinking more about tweaks and set up before new gear.

Currently only my amps are between the speakers. The equipment racks are along the side wall about equal to my listening chair. I'm using a 5 meter balanced Transparent Reference interconnect.

The upside of this set up is a wide open space between the speakers with nothing to distract from the illusion of the musicians being in front of me.
The downside of this set up is a very long interconnect.

For those with the option of setting up your gear as you want, what choices have you made and what do you see as the trade-offs? I know many folks don't have the option given the system is also used for home theater or is a multiple use room and other considerations take priority.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

As I've been considering changes to my system, I'm thinking more about tweaks and set up before new gear.

Currently only my amps are between the speakers. The equipment racks are along the side wall about equal to my listening chair. I'm using a 5 meter balanced Transparent Reference interconnect.

The upside of this set up is a wide open space between the speakers with nothing to distract from the illusion of the musicians being in front of me.
The downside of this set up is a very long interconnect.

For those with the option of setting up your gear as you want, what choices have you made and what do you see as the trade-offs? I know many folks don't have the option given the system is also used for home theater or is a multiple use room and other considerations take priority.

Balanced cable runs are typically no problem. I've had to run over 25 feet of Transparent balanced without any sonic degradation that I could notice.

Let's not forget that microphone cables are typically much, much, longer and the fragile microphone signal has to travel as far as 300 feet in some cases.

[crwilli]

Jim Smith, a well know setup expert recommends keeping your rack to the side as it provides for a better sound stage.

Most seem to use low profile racks with amps between with no issues.

If you have the room, keep the rack to the side and as Serge says, don’t worry about long runs of the your Interconnects.

[80B]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Jim Smith, a well know setup expert recommends keeping your rack to the side as it provides for a better sound stage.

Most seem to use low profile racks with amps between with no issues.

If you have the room, keep the rack to the side and as Serge says, don’t worry about long runs of the your Interconnects.

+1

[gadawg]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Jim Smith, a well know setup expert recommends keeping your rack to the side as it provides for a better sound stage.

Most seem to use low profile racks with amps between with no issues.

If you have the room, keep the rack to the side and as Serge says, don’t worry about long runs of the your Interconnects.

Well maybe except for the price of those longer runs

George

[daveneumann]

Thanks all for your input and advice. It was Jim Smith's book that prompted me to move the gear out from between speakers in the first place. I agree that it can help to improve the soundstage, imaging and perception of live performers in my listening room.

However, it leads me to wonder why I see pictures of some people's home systems costing many times the price of mine with racks of gear placed between highly expensive large speakers. Seems like all that could be limiting the performance of the system including perceptions of the soundstage as well as mechanical feedback to the equipment like a turntable.

[crwilli]

Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should.

Most all of us have to make some compromises in our rooms/systems.

[daveneumann]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should.

Most all of us have to make some compromises in our rooms/systems.

[Masterlu]

I have done/have systems both ways (gear in center & gear off to the side) I have not concluded one is clearly superior to the other.

[George Prentice]

I have had it both ways. When I had ribbon speakers off to the side. For the last ten years or so between the speakers. I haven’t noticed a difference... but I did no experimentation or moved back and forth to determine small differences. I like having the equipment straight ahead to see volume... gauges, inputs, and I like the way it looks. I don’t like the cost of long runs of interconnects. So this is my preference.