Question Speaker & in Between Furniture?

[Djinnius]

What are thoughts about furniture between speakers, ie, along the wall, parallel to the speakers, speakers which would be positioned (50cm +) away from the wall & toed towards the seating? I'm not suggesting the HiFi equipment or a TV be between the speakers but perhaps a coffee/side table, or sideboard, or maybe even a cushioned bench? The idea is to 'break up' the large flat wall surface. Is this likely to improve sound or deteriorate it? I do appreciate that there is a need to experiment but I don't want to spend money on a sideboard (say) & then find the overall audio is poorer, so looking to hear about others' experiences please.

 

[nopiano]

A few thoughts…It’s tricky to advise as so much will depend on your floor and wall construction. Floorboards and plasterboard are very different to concrete flooring and solid walls.

However, the main impact is likely to be a resonance of some type. It’s pretty obvious that an empty sideboard will be more resonant than a chunky coffee table or bench, for example. Try thumping the furniture with your fist - the more sound you hear, the worse it’ll be, I would expect.

My speakers have the Hifi between them, in the ‘altar’ layout that is far from ideal. But everything is pretty solid and it’s almost impossible to try any alternative!

 

[Gray]

Not a very helpful answer I'm afraid, but I can only tell you that the most impressive central imaging I've ever heard, was between a couple of (Proac Tablette Ref 8) speakers....with absolutely nothing between them.

They were well out from the (brick) front wall of a dealer's demo room - a completely impractical scenario for the majority of domestic locations.
(Look at anyone's equipment photos. How often do you see that?)
But it really showed me what you lose by having anything between speakers.