Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Looking at the Fluance site. Given my room situation, would I be better off with their Signature 5.1 setup at $1429 or the reference 7.1 system at $1609 to get the extra 2 speakers?
That would depend on the receiver and its surround options, but given your photos and that you are simply moving up from a "home theater in a box" type setup, I would probably stick to 5.1. The Signatures will sound better and it is the speakers that you want to prioritize. 7.1 typically adds a second set of surrounds or front height speakers, so think about placement. Side surrounds go to the left and right of your seat, slightly in front of you. Rear surrounds go behind the seat but spaced apart. Would you be able to mount all 4 in proper locations and get wires to them? Front height speakers go above your towers near the ceiling. You have that large piece of duct work on the ceiling in front of your seating position which could interfere with front height speakers. If you have a tiled ceiling then you could consider adding ATMOS speakers in the ceiling, but those are typically in ceiling speakers, not boxes, so that duct comes into play again.

Use those points to help make a decision, but remember that if you go 5.1 now, you can always save up and add two more speakers for 7.1 in a few months or whenever, if you feel that adding 2 surrounds or 2 height speakers will improve things. The receiver will likely support at least 7.1 or above. Only a few cheap receivers are limited to 5.1 these days. For ATMOS in ceiling speakers you'll need the proper support in the receiver. A listing of 7.1.4 for example means the receiver supports 3 fronts + 4 surrounds, 1 subwoofer, and 4 effects channels (like ATMOS).

Surrounds are not as critical so you could opt for the cheaper Reference surrounds later. On my receiver, the rears in a 5.1 setup go behind the seating position. For 7.1 the other surrounds are side surrounds that are slightly in front. Check the owners manual of the receiver first to see supported setups before running wires and mounting speakers.
 
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