Hello everyone! This is my very first post here, and I am really hoping to get some good advice on this forum.
I am upgrading from an 8-year old Onkyo HTIB (5.1 setup), with the intention of going either 5.1.4 (preferred) or 5.1.2 (minimum) to enjoy Dolby Atmos. My room is on the smaller side (15x10 feet) and the biggest issue is that the main listening position can at most be only 1.5 feet from the back wall. To complicate matters further, I have a beam running through the end of my ceiling, which means that any top "rear" speakers can only placed about 1-1.5 feet from the back wall as well, which would make them almost directly overhead from the MLP (and not even close to the 30-55 degrees from the MLP that Dolby recommends).
I realize that this would not be an ideal position for top rear speakers, but is there any way a case can still be made for a 5.1.4 over a 5.1.2 setup? I am worried about losing out on the "forward-backward" movement of overhead sound, and regretting it later if I opt for only 2 ceiling speakers.
Would a hybrid 5.1.4 with a front height + top middle make more sense?
Whatever I decide is likely to be permanent.
I've attached photos of my room as well as the layout (scribbled on paper, but hopefully legible!) for reference. Distance from the MLP to the TV is about 8 feet.
Please do share your thoughts, and help a noob out
Thanks in anticipation!
P.S: Ignore the speaker placement for the front and surround channels. They are only kept there temporarily. Bookshelf speakers to be placed on stands soon.
- Tanay
