Hate to ask......

Inscrutable, surely you CAN have them spread out too much. Like i said, a lot of how they need to be set-up has to do with the size of the speakers, their dispersion pattern and the listening distance. It's the same thing that we run into for 2 channel use. You have to adjust them according to each individual situation design and the room acoustics.

As to having a center to anchor the dialogue for those not sitting in the sweetspot, that comes back to room dimensions and speaker dispersion. If the room is narrow and the speakers have wide dispersion, you would run into a problem with "overlap" between the three channels. Not only does this hurt overall performance, but the imaging is now blurred and channel seperation less distinct.

In a situation like that ( narrow room ), i would probably forego a center and just use good sized mains. One could even have the tv audio turned on at low level just to center the soundstage somewhat while the mains would do the majority of volume and side to side effects. Like anything else, it's a balancing act. Sean
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Mid-fi HT sound quality is below hi-end! I mistakenly thought good HT also meant good music. After years of suffering through "bad" music on my Denon AVR 5600, Def Tech BP 2000, and SONY DVD C3000, I added the Classe 150 integrated amp and ARCAM 92 CD to run my Def Tech's and the sound improvement was astounding! Furthermore, I pre-amped out from the Denon to the Classe for the front left & right HT channels and got that same improved sound quality for my HT. Before the Classe/ARCAM I was ready to ax my Def Techs but now I love the newly configured HT/music sound too much. Lesson? If you love music, using mid fi HT gear will not be satisfying so that's why I'm "down" on HT.

I did'nt read all these responses, but has anyone realized that HT has opened the eyes of many WHO WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND 2CH NIRVANA AT ALL? I feel that HT has helped two channel audio, not kill it. In this post I'm reading about some really impressive home theaters that; reguardless of what some 2ch "only" people say, are capable of producing some wonderful 2ch music. No,.. you will not have "the best" 2ch reproduction with a TV and some componets between your main speakers, but if you pull the mains forward a bit you will have better sound than 99% of the listener out there today. This is a great hobby, and I say the more use you can get out of your hi-end componets, the better!

THIS TECHNOLOGY IS COOL, DONT FORGET TO ENJOY WHAT YOUR INVESTING IN!

Mhubbard, what you're saying applies to me. I plunged into the world of 2-channel in search of a musical experience my HT couldn't provide.

Jwong, You can still get excellent 5 channel sound quality from the same companies that make your 2 channel gear. It is a fact that Classe takes as much care with the two channel analogue sections of their 5 channel gear as in their dedicated 2 channel products. Congratulations on getting good results from your new gear, but don't blame the Denon, it's a decent product, it just wasn't high end enough for you, and don't forget your listening skills and taste are always evolving.