Ted,
I have monoblocks and recently positioned an equipment rack between the speakers with the monos between the rack and speakers so no cable is over 1M. Before that, I took advantage of positioning the monoblocks next to the speakers and used longer ICs and shorter SCs. I recommend your longer ICs be shielded to reduce EMI/RFI pickup. Some will disagree but it is my opinion shielding is generally a good idea for all ICs. Most commercial ICs are shielded.
I have monoblocks and recently positioned an equipment rack between the speakers with the monos between the rack and speakers so no cable is over 1M. Before that, I took advantage of positioning the monoblocks next to the speakers and used longer ICs and shorter SCs. I recommend your longer ICs be shielded to reduce EMI/RFI pickup. Some will disagree but it is my opinion shielding is generally a good idea for all ICs. Most commercial ICs are shielded.