7.1 speaker set up recommendation

Give Totem speakers some serious consideration at this price point. I second the recommendation above that getting better individual speakers and staying with 5.1 at this price point is advisable. At most, consider going to 6.1 (1 surround back speaker)so that you can enjoy THX Ultra2 and DTS 6.1 Matrix-ES post-processing on traditional DVDs (and the newer formats as well of course)...

I have a pretty satisfying $5K Usher setup (7.1) at my shop...

Main: BE-718
Center: S-525
Sub: SW-103
Rears: S-520

Budget busting upgrades include:
- BE-616 center channel
- X-719 rears
- Lottery winners can move the BE 718s to the rear and replace them with a pair of BE-10s or BE-20s (-:

I second Boston_high_end and forgot to include Usher when I mentioned Totem above. Usher is another brand that gives great sound/value for less than many other speaker manufacturers....

5.1 allllllllllllllll the way. Unless your room is a rectangle and your seating is in the middle facing one of the skinny walls. Even then most movies, even new ones are 5.1. not only that,in 7.1 movies the surround back speakers dont have a dedicated audio track for them as a 5.1 system/movie would give. the fact that the correct setting on your reciever for a 7.1 movie is dolby pro logic2 movie, should tell you all you need to know! If you want a more diffuse sound field in the back use a dipole/bipole speaker(preferably switchable so you can experiment).Dont waste your time on 7.1, doesnt sound as good at all.