Where should my equipment rack go?


hi all,

i am trying to figure out where to place my equipment rack. i really have two spots available. one is right behind my speakers in the center (speakers are about 6 feet from the rear wall), or all the way in the back of the room (about 20' long roon). obviously one requires long interconnects and the other is close to the speakers. does anyone have good advice??? thanks.
dewinkle
I agree with Vikvilkhu. Place your rack off to the side and away from the speakers.
Dewinkle- If you have a low profile, open architecture rack, then placing the equipment between the speakers might work just fine. I've had problems in the past with racks between the speakers effecting the sound stage presentation. Given that many hi-end cables are quite expensive, especially in long runs, you might want to consider upgrading your rack(s) to allow the central placement and get the benefit of improved sonics at the same time. The Sistrum line of racks and stands has proved very effective in my system. If this option is not viable, then relocation and longer interconnects would seem to be the only other option. Not all interconnects will work well in long runs, so check with the manufacturer/vendor to determine applicability. I've had very good success with the Sonoran Plateau ICs in long runs, but YMMV. Good luck.
Ideally your rack should be in another room or total isolated from the speakers (eg, in a closet behind closed doors). Since, for most of us, this is impossible, here are some alternate solutions (from best to worst)

1. On a side wall beyond the first reflection point of the speakers or the front wall (wall on the opposite end of the room from where the speakers set)
2. On a side wall behind the speakers
3. In a corner behind the speakers
4. Between the speakers

Whatever you do, do not place the equipment rack on the side wall parallel to your speakers-- this is the worst possible place; even worse than between the speakers.

I've had pretty good luck with the corner location, but my speakers sit about five feet out into the room and my rack is "open". The advantage of this location is that the rack doesn't sit between the speakers and the interconnect length is minimized. My power amp sits on the floor between the speakers which also keeps the speaker cables short

Experiment and see what works best for you (within your budget constraints for cable length).
I would advise against corner placement of a rack as that is where you are most likely to run into large quantities of low frequency reinforcement / air-borne vibrations. There was a thread about this the other day and i know that there is quite a bit of info in the archives about it. You might also want to try checking there. Sean
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I have moved my equipment rack from between the speakers and out along the side wall. Getting the more sensative equipment away from the amp helped the sound quite a bit. So did going with a much better IC than I used previously.