Moderator wrote: Don't let the dealer rush you, he'll take your money when you're ready too.

I would not suggest the non-height channels be Invisa HTR 7000 in your setup, they need to be further away from the listening area. If you have walls, I would suggest either Invisa MPX or Invisa SPS as surrounds and/or rears at ear level. If not, perhaps SuperSats on stands or wall mounted at ear level. You may also wish to consider a 5.1.4 instead of 7.1.4, to minimize the number of ear-level channels you need to implement.

Your locations for Atmos height channel speakers looks good, perhaps just a bit more forward for the front height channels.

How far away from the MLP should MPX or SPS be as side surrounds? I can put an in-wall speaker onto the built-in bookcase - there's actually 16" of wall on either side of the bookcase (necessary to hide drain pipes). I measured and there's enough room to fit the depth of either speaker. I would have to built some sort of bump-out on the other side, since there is no wall - or maybe I can mount it to so drywall attached to a hinged support, so it swings down from the ceiling when I want to use it, and swings back up again when I don't (like a pull-down attic staircase).

Okay, let's say I end up doing that. At that point, there is only 25" from the speaker front to the edge of the seating area, so let's call that 29" to the nearest possible ear. If the side surround speakers are at ear-level, like Sandy recommends, is that too close? Will anybody on the other side of that first person get the side surround effect from that side? Or should I think about going a little higher than tweeter-at-ear-level?

What about the rears? I can't possibly put speakers on the rear wall and maintain the recommended 135-150 degrees positioning. I can't think of a physically ear-level solution in my room. So I can go either:
- in-ceiling speaker, probably involving a sealed enclosure underneath the plenum. Should I use HTR-7000, 650, or SP 652?
- on-ceiling speaker on the plenum. Should I use the SuperSat 50 maybe?

This is driving me crazy, and his the last piece of the puzzle before I trigger a full GoldenEar speaker package!

auz wrote: How far away from the MLP should MPX or SPS be as side surrounds?

Will anybody on the other side of that first person get the side surround effect from that side? Or should I think about going a little higher than tweeter-at-ear-level?

What about the rears? I can't think of a physically ear-level solution in my room.

Distances and levels are set at the receiver during setup and are not an issue. That said, some distance is necessary and the more the better in terms of creating a large envelope of sound.

Putting the surrounds slightly above ear level to prevent sound blocking is fine.

We would suggest skipping the rears, they are a location problem for you and it makes no sense to put them in the ceiling unless they are HTR 7000s spaced an appropriate distance away from the listening area.

Given the issues described (and not being in the room with you to make these decisions is far from ideal), we would opt for a 5.1.4 setup and figure out some way to get ear-level speakers in the back of the room for your surround channels.