Thanks. I will post a diagram soon to ensure my understanding is correct. My concern with the side speakers at 67" from centerline is that they will be too close to the edges of the listening area (those not on the center). How far should these speakers be from the edge listenters?
Ah yes, well first of all, there are ALWAYS compromises. No matter how you slice it, people on the edges do not have the best seat in the house. Ok, ideally, you would like at least several feet from the speakers to the ears.
So, just exactly how close are the edge listeners to the speaker position in question? Even if as close as a few feet, I might still lean that way. Not only is 193" pretty far away, it's not symmetrical either with 131".
If it makes you feel better, surround effects are truly few and far between. Many movies have nary a surround effect at all.
Just level match them, which means they will be set to a lower level. Surrounds shouldn't distract you, but subtly add to the movie experience. Then again, some people run 'em hot.
IMO, the biggest place to concentrate is the front stage. Particularly the choice and placement of center speaker. Ideal of course is to use three identical, vertically arrayed speakers on the same plane. Everything else is a compromise in some way or another, in terms of audio. Of course, that's often not possible, such as in my case with a large PJ screen that's not AT. But many
could do it with a wall mounted flat panel, but IMO they often are brainwashed by furniture magazine pictures.
edit: and these large credenzas are usually very expensive, besides the compromises to both audio, and often video (distracting lights). 35ft Mono cable is $50, a URC RF system is $85, and for just $135, you can hide the electronics. Or at the very least, just have a very inexpensive vertical rack in the back corner or something . . . I mean, that's all that's needed to setup the
ideal front stage.