I will try and explain this to the best of my ability. We are moving into a new home where the great room will have the equipment in the middle of one wall, the listening area across from it, and the surround speakers placed on a plantars shelf behind and above the listening area. The planting shelf is somewhat angled, so the speakers will not be firing directly forward. They will be at a slight angle, as if firing at a diagonal. Since they will not be on the side of the listening area, I'm wondering about how adding the rear surround (which would also be placed on the plantars shelf, in the middle, would impact the surround fields. It would kind of be aiming the same direction as the rears, with the rears being more out to the ends of the shelf. Can anyone get this mental picture in their head? If you picture the front stage and how you have L,C,R speakers across but each facing the same way for the most part. This is kind of how these speakers will be on this plantars shelf....they'll be spaced apart, but also be facing in the same general direction.

Would adding a rear center make much difference? Or am I best served by sticking with a 5.1 set up?