5.1 or 7.1 placement for smaller room

[Dankul]

Hi
I'm moving into a room that is partitioned from the living room and need help deciding how I should place everything. I have a 7.1 system that am using at my apartment but was wondering if it would be better to change it to a 5.1 due to space. The room size and my planned layout is in the next post.

The left side is curtained off but still open on top due to the high ceiling. I'm thinking for 7.1, I might be able to mount the rear speakers on the wall above my bed but not sure if its a good idea since they are rear ported. Also, would a 100w sub a enough for the small listening area even though it opens up to a larger room? I'm thinking about placing it under the tv. Thanks

 

[Dankul]

http://www.la-z-boy.com/roomplanner/resources/fs.aspx?planID=B3EEBA66-C7C3-42FC-9DB2-C4E1A67D88CA&

 

[Djizasse]

Don't use the side speakers, there's no need for them in a small space.
Don't put a subwoofer next to a TV or computer, unless it is magnetically shielded.
Other than that, your proposed layout seem good, i would not worry about the rear speakers being close to the wall. If you want you can mount them on wall mounts that give 10-15cm of clearance.

 

[mfabien]

Based on your layout, your sitting position (5'2") is good for up to a 40" diagonal screen size (30 degrees side to side from your viewing distance). I would forget watching TV in bed, in your case.

If in fact you will view from your sitting position, I would place the rear speakers at 110 degrees each side from your sitting position and forget placing ambiance speakers. For the rear centre speaker, you can place it on the rear wall but adjust volume in the a/v speaker setup accordingly (to get the same dB's as other speakers).