There seems to be a lot of these types of threads around here. Obviously whoever is building these houses doesn't have their priorities straight.
Anyways, here's the dilemma.
Wacky shaped living room, which turns into a dining room, which turns into a kitchen. Vaulted angled ceiling that hits at least 14' high in the center. And to top it off, the "walls" don't completely go all the way up... hard to explain. Basically it is seperated from the other living room area by a 9 foot wall... but the vaulted ceiling is much higher than that... so there is an opening up there where you can put flowers and stuff. The opening is fairly substantial, to the point where the ceiling fan in the one room will cool you down from the other side of the wall. Sound also travels very easily between them. I've attached a very poorly done picture which allaws you to get the general idea.
Not looking for anything amazing, just an added sense of realism for surround effects. Currently running 2 mains and a sub. Will be adding the surrounds and center. Want to go as CHEAP as possible.
The biggest problem is the surrounds. I will probably just run 5.1, but you'll see the issue on the picture: when seated on the main couch, there is a wall on your immediate left. On your right, there is no wall for 15+ feet.
Because the left surround speaker has to be up against the wall, rear ported speakers won't really work. I was thinking of mounting something low, like around ear level, just peeking over the couch corner. Then I could use a small speaker stand for the right surround speaker, sitting on the end table, and raising it around 12" to match the left speaker. Or would it be better to mount them both on the wall, up a few feet? Or could I mount them both to the wall directly behind the couch (where the 2 rears would go if I was doing 7.1)?
Again, I'm not looking to make this an amazing setup by any means. I have a dedicated 2 channel setup in another room with some high end stuff. This is just for family entertainment, nothing serious.
Thanks in advance for the help.