Just a bought house and have to work in my HT gear somehow; the space isn't ideal and I only see 2 options.

Here are some shots of the room:

Looking into the LR from the DR:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/InfernalMachine/House/livingroom1.jpg

A little closer:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/InfernalMachine/House/livingroom2.jpg

Looking out from the LR:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/InfernalMachine/House/fireplace2.jpg

Sliding doors on the right, picture window on the far wall:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/InfernalMachine/House/livingroom4.jpg

I was running a 7.1 setup previously (950 then, 990), given the layout of the room, I feel that I may have to go down *sniffle* to 5.1 (maybe 6.1 if I can work with the space above the sliding doors (livingroom4.jpg).

I can place the set (50" LCD) where the couch is in the livingroom1.jpg shot, with main viewing where the couch is in livingroom4.jpg, mains l/r of the set, sub to left of the far (big) window, component rack off to the right of the right speaker against the far wall (or swaped with the sub or left of the set), center below the set, surround l/r behind the couch at ear level (or tucked into the ceiling corners, above the windows which would require the purchase of smaller surrounds, but would allow for 6.1).

Corner loading (livingroom2.jpg) doesn't seem to be an option due to surround placement.

Current Speakers:

Klipsch RF3 x2 (mains)
Klipsch RC3 II x1 (center)
Klipsch RS3 x2 (sides)
Klipsch RS3 II x2 (rears)
Single SVS 20-39PC+ (sub)

My new house might not allow me to use anything speaker wise except the mains and center and Sub (which might be too much of an eyesore now given the room).

The surrounds are basically too much speaker for the space, the areas for placement can't handle speakers of that size and I don't want to add stands, to keep the open feel of the room, I'd like to wall mount.

How many people here are running smaller sattelites? Smaller than Bookshelf?

I'm not planning on moving anytime soon and there are no other options for setting up this area. This will be used for both HT and music (but I am not a 'stereo purist').

Given the small space, I think I might need to drop down to a smaller system.

How many people here are running smaller sattelites? Anyone dropped from towers to bookshelves/sattelites and been happy with the result? Bookshelf/sattelite combo? If so what brands?

Thanks!

I wasn't able to get to your pictures (got a 404 error - it looks like the links got a bit truncated), but when we moved into our current house about a year and a half ago I found that the walls that needed to carry the side surrounds simply would not accommodate my Studio/ADP surrounds. I had initially planned to leave the ADP's as side surrounds and get a pair of smallish bookshelf speakers for rear surrounds (previously I'd used a single ADP for a 6.1 arrangement), but due to the fireplace and french doors I was forced to scrap that idea and move the ADP's to rear surround (where they seem to have worked out quite well, actually) and replace them at side surround with a pair of Axiom M3ti bookshelf speakers on adjustable wall brackets. I even had to connect one speaker's bracket to the side of the speaker to avoid the brick surround on the fireplace. I never had towers for surround detail, but I've had good luck with both dipole and direct radiating bookshelf speakers - remember, the 990 will let you cross over bass to the sub so they don't have to reach real low.

Here are some pictures of my setup: right side and rear surrounds , rear surrounds and left side surround (left side surround is hiding in shadows to the left of the fireplace), and left side surround .

I went from small floorstanders(Vandersteen 1b's) to large bookshelves(B&W 602's) to compact bookshelf monitors(Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's) with varied results.

-I think the Vandy's were better than the
B&W's in their overall sound. If I did not have
a sub I would not even consider bookshelves. I want the low end. That said, my motivation for changing from the Vandersteens was hearing a pair of Paradigm Studio 20's at a local Hi-Fi shop. They sold for more than I paid for the 1b's. A friend who worked at another audio/video shop suggested the B&W's were superior to the 'Digm's. He offered a trade for my 1b's and his own pair of 602's. Since I'd purchased my last sub from him(also from his home system), I had no reason to think he was giving me bad advice. At first I was thrilled with the higher(brighter?)treble energy of the B&W's. After a while they hurt my ears. So I began my quest for my next set of speakers. Since the shop where my friend had worked had fallen prey to financial, as well as the owner's personal issues, I no longer had an inside contact for great deals. I then began searching on the internet. I was looking hard at Aperion(Edge Audio), Axiom, Dahlquist, Swan, HTD, etc. I was very close to purchasing Axiom M22ti's, but the person who was interested in my 602's was surprised on his birthday when his family pulled together and got him a Bose system(LOL!). I had discovered Ascend Acoustics from the "Cheap Home Theater" website and began my investigation of those. Since I had managed to save up enough money to outright purchase a pair of CBM-170's, I figured I'd give them a try. I honestly had low expectations given their $300 price. I put them on the too-low stands the 602's were on and fired them up. WOW! Except for the bottom end, everything improved. Treble was smoother without being harsh or shrill. Midrange had better detail and clarity as well. The bass was leaner than before, but what is there is tight and controlled. Imaging improved and took on a holographic quality. I put the B&W's on consignment at a local shop and recouped 75% of my cost. I bought some nice metal stands! Paired with a good sub this is a "Giant killer"! I would be hesitant to downsize too much in sattelite size as you want the mains to go deep enough to blend with a sub.

Sorry for the long-winded post! The point is, make sure you can live with the sound. Smaller sat's have pluses and minuses, the biggest minus being their ability to seamlessly blend with a subwoofer. Also their dynamics will be limited.

Just my opinion, YMMV.

Thanks for the inout guys.

I fixed the link to the photos, perhaps that would help a bit more.

In addition, I have a 7 week old, soon to be a speaker poking toddler. I would consider 'child-proofing' the area as well with a smaller sat based systme like Orb Audio. I'm tempted to pick up some Orbs and try them out as rears.

I've never used 'mix-matched' speakers before as I believe in keeping them all the same as far as build, but I might be will to try, though it would be a bit tougher given the Klipsch Horn.