I am considering going to a 6.1 setup but there are a couple of room issues (aren't there always?). Here is a diagram of my room. The center or rear surround could be placed a couple of ways, neither ideal in terms of having it at the same height as the other surround speakers. For equal distance from the listening position it is basically in the middle of the hallway leading to two adjacent rooms. So my two options are: [*]Put it on the floor on a short speaker stand and just push it out of the way when not watching movies. This puts it around 4' below the other surrounds.[*]Mount it on the 8' ceiling, putting it about 3' above the other surrounds I'm not sure what the best way to mount it would be. I've looked at various ceiling mount products but can't see the details on how the mount assembly attaches to the speaker. Running the wire is another issue and I have little desire to go through walls or under floors. Given the sometimes debatable necessity of the 6th channel I've considered just keeping a length of speaker wire handy to plug in the speaker when needed. A bit of a hassle, but not that big a deal. Any input is appreciated.
Is it possible to go to a 7.1 system? Then you could just wall or stand mount the rear centers on each side of the hallway. If the room is carpeted, you could run the speaker wire along the edges of the room, under the carpet.
I know some people have connected the center rears in series with a 6.1, so that is an option, but again with conflicts. Stands would be preferable, but I would still not be able to put them at the matching height (~5') because of some wall decorations - a framed film poster and a mirror/hat rack on each side. I think any scenario will not allow me to place the rear center(s) at the matching height, so the issue is really whether it's better to have the sound coming from above or below. I know some of it will come down to preference, but my gut tells me from above. I tried placing my center speaker below the screen but found I prefer the openness of having it on top. Am I just answering my own questions? Any comments still appreciated.
Well, I think I've hit upon a solution. I don't think any speaker or television mount is going to work. The speaker I want to use (the JBL S-Center) won't allow for drilling for a mount and the smallest televison mount is too tall - one of the hall doors won't clear it. So I'll probably just DIY a shelf that will span the opening of the hall a foot below the ceiling (which will still give me a 7' ceiling), place the speaker on the shelf with a bit of an angle and run the speaker wire (white, flat) along the baseboard and up the wall. Next owners of the house can use the shelf to put plants or whatever. Pretty low impact I think. Now to pick a receiver.
