First some background, then some questions.

Background:
I'm in the design/planning stage for my home theater room right now. Construction won't start until next year, so I have no problems making drastic design changes (within certain practical constraints).

I love looking at all the different rooms in this forum, but two in particular served as references for my design: ScottJ0007's 4-way manual masking system (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=941076) and WishIWasFlying's Reserve Cinema (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=755207).

Here are my design criteria/constraints:

This will be retrofit to a finished, multipurpose room. Don't want to do any significant structural modifications (i.e. relocate ductwork, walls, soffits, etc).
2.40:1 CIH screen with side masking down to 1.33.
Screen material will be Wilsonart DW laminate due to it's durability and ease of cleaning (have two young kids).
Must use existing sectional for seating.
Equipment needed:

1080p projector with minimum 1.5x zoom and lens shift (pretty much limits me to LCD/LCOS)
compact surround/center speakers (like the
Klipsch Quintet series (http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/quintet-iii.aspx))
Blu-ray player
Optional equipment (if budget allows; listed in order of highest to lowest priority):

receiver w/HDMI inputs/output
video processor
anamorphic lens

Budget is $4K, but will allow an extra 10% for inflation adjustment. This is the bottom-line total budget and includes all costs down to the last screw/nail/staple, etc.

The screen will be housed in essentially a box that contains the side masking system.

I'm already on design rev.2. Here's a Google Sketchup picture of my room. The left side (as facing the screen) is open to the rest of the basement. I'll probably put a curtain there to close off the room during showtime.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll158/il_siu/hometheaterroomrev2.jpg

The L/C/R speakers will be mounted on the ceiling just in front of the screen box top.

Questions:
1) For aesthetic reasons, I'd like to place the speakers inside the screen box. The center above the screen, L/R on the sides (can't place behind screen, not A.T). The picture below shows the 'guts' of the screen box. If I do this, what kind of treatment would be needed for inside the box (linacoustic, etc)?

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll158/il_siu/screenwallframingrev2.jpg

2) If my budget allows for sound treatment on only one of the walls, should I do the rear or side wall, or not even bother?

To be honest, I'm not too picky about sound. I'm current using a Kenwood 5.1 HTIB in an untreated room which sounds fine to me and my family. But at the same time, I'm open to making things better. Just trying to figure out the cost tradeoffs since my budget is relatively small compared to alot of the theaters I see in this forum.

Again, I've got plenty of time to redesign, so feel free to make any suggestions on any design element.

Thanks!

Anyone?

I too would like to know the answer to question # 1, and for q.#2, IMO I don't think I would bother, then again I'm not a big sound freak either. I would spend that extra $$ on a decent receiver with HDMI input/output and focus on overall design and picture quality. A good 1080p projector should negate the need for a video processor (and considering your budget as well). Good news is that 1080p projectors and blu ray players are coming down in price. I think I've heard those speakers at BB once, I recall them being fairly decent. Leave some extra room for a bigger center channel as well, in case you want to upgrade in that dept. Hope this helps.

My guess is that you aren't getting a lot of response because the answer will depend on other information that you haven't supplied yet.

My recommendation would be for you to contact Bpape on the board. He can do a complete accoustical analysis of your room and design the best treatments, and he can help you determine what would be the most important spot in your room if your budget does not allow you to do everything he prescribes.

I just enlisted his help, and he needs pretty specific details to tailor it to what you want and need. A few hundred dollars may seem like a lot, but if your are going to spend good money on speakers, and a receiver, then I would think you would want to get the best sound out of them you possibly can and that is what somebody like Bpape can do.

Just my 2 cents.

Funston - thanks for the suggestions, I'll look up Bpape.

As to other information, I'd be happy to provide more, but I really don't know what's relevant. What sort of details did you have to supply?