Well I should have the new house done by the end of the month (or real close any way). So I want to continue right in the home theater build. This is what I know for a fact so far:

Room is 14'-9" x 22' and 9'-6" tall
Two rows of seating, fist at about 11'-6" second on a riser behind that
I am going to do some kind of stage
Will have a star ceiling in the center
Totally light controlled (bat cave)
Projector to be a Panny 4000u

Screen I am planning is 130" (diagonal) 16:9. This I will mask to a 120" 2.4:1 or a 110" 16:9 (and any where inbetween for other ratios)

My big choice right now it if I want the speakers behind the screen of not. Problems I see with behind the screen:

1) Going to really cut into my seating distance, the distance I stated above is with the screen mounted right on the wall.
2) If the speakers are set to the outer edge of the screen they will be covered by what ever I do for masking to crop down to 16:9 or 4:3

My concern with putting the speakers to the sides of the screen:

1) I figure I am going to have to totally cover and conceal them so they are not visable. I could leave visable but what about reflections of them?
2) Center speaker above or below the screen (or both?)
3) I wanted to do some sort of curtain system for the side masking, Speakers will have to come out far enough to have a pocket behind them for the curtain to go in.

This is my big hurtle right now. Get this figured out and I can start drawing and get some 3D renderings of it. So any input or personal experiences would be great.

Your room length is fine for placing speakers behing an AT screen. Most seem to comment that 24" is adequate depth behind the screen, some a little less, some a little more. I have 39" behind the screen due to a pillar - first row at 10'6" from 112" wide 2.35 AT screen.

Can you move your 1st row location back a bit to compensate for some of the distance lost to the proscenium? I'd guess there's still plenty of room for a riser and second row.

I recall reading a thread with acoustically transparent material used in masking, not sure which thread though. Or, you could move your speakers in a bit. Are your screen dimensions listed above as diagonals or widths? If those are widths, getting your speakers inside the width of 110" seems doable. 4:3 material would be more challenging.

If you want to hide your speakers, the clean look of an AT screen and false wall is a good choice - if you have adequate space, which you do.

Good luck.

Screen dimensions I have posted are diagonal.

The speakers I have are rear ported and are about 14" deep. With 24" of space that leaves 10" to the wall, that seems a little close to me???

Screen dimensions I have posted are diagonal.

The speakers I have are rear ported and are about 14" deep. With 24" of space that leaves 10" to the wall, that seems a little close to me???

Should be fine. And sure beats having the speakers sitting at the side of the room boundaries. It also gives you room for front wall treatments (bass traps) and some wiggle room for your sub. Go 30" and you'll definately be fine.

If you go AT, consider ditching the center speaker for a speaker for a matching R/L main.

Also, try to avoid having your main seating in the exact center of the room. You don't want to sit at 11' in a 22' room.