Removing components from between the speakers

I've read many of the previous threads on this question - longer IC's vs. longer speaker cables - but what I'm writing about is what I read in Jim Smith's book "Get Better Sound" about removing ALL components and racks between the speakers and setting everything up side-stage, so to speak.

Has anyone done this? If I do, it'll necessitate longer speaker cables and a longer set of IC's from the tt to the amp.