I believe its about time to make the move to 7.1, but I would like to hear others that have made the move from 5.1 and the advantages if any. I have the BDP that I want and my AVR supports 7.1, so I looking to max out all of the features of my HT. I am out in the field right now so I am unable to provide a diagram of my room, but I will try to write it out to give you a mental pic.

Room: 20wx35L, the left wall is solid with one window (near front) and fireplace, The front wall is solid, Right wall has opening from Front door entry way (near front wall) and opening from Kitchen at about the 20' mark toward rear wall. Rear wall is mainly a sliding glass door.

Speakers: All speakers are mount approx 7' high on walls with a 30 degree down tilt except for center channel. The rear surrounds are located on rear wall approx 12' behind the listening area (will be the surround back when other speakers are added) two sub's each located on floor under fronts.

Seating: Main couch is located approx 10' from TV Kitchen table is behind couch.

The additional speakers will be place same height (to keep everything uniform) with the same degree tilt, but will be slightly (3-4" in front of couch, due to wall limits on right side.

Questions:

By placing the surrounds 3-4" in front of couch, will that give an odd effect on surround sound

What effect can occure if I turn the speakers back toward the couch area