Hello all -
Rather new to this forum, a novice as it relates to home theater setups and looking for some advice. I recently moved into a new place and have finally finished with most construction projects and it's time to put a music system back in place - probably an even spit between movie and music use. My room is 10' wide by 15' deep and 8' ceilings. There is a half wall at the back which opens up to a stairwell and on one of the 15' walls there is an 8' opening that leads to the kitchen.
The room is wired for four speakers in the ceiling - I know this is not ideal for home theater, but at this point I cannot rewire. I would have the option to mount speakers on the ceiling or place in-ceiling speakers. The other challenge I'm dealing with is that I do not have a good spot for a center channel. I could place something under the TV but would be restricted to about 4" in height. The other option would be to use a bookshelf placed a bit off center - also not ideal.
While i have not made any firm decisions yet, I have been looking at the Denon X3300W receiver and SVS SB-1000 sub. Looking not to go over $2k all in, so if I go with these two components I would be left with about $800 for speakers.
For the fronts and surrounds, would I be better off mounting speakers on the ceiling or flush mount in-ceiling? And any recommendations for good speakers to use here?
Next - would I be better off not using a center channel at all if it has to be placed somewhat off-center?
Finally, knowing that ceiling mounted fronts are not ideal, do I skip the surrounds for now and get higher quality fronts to compensate?
Appreciate any suggestions.