Journey to HT ( Nirvana or Rabbit Hole )

[sud]

Dear FMs,

This is my first post. Though joined in 2019 ; being active on the forum since last 6 months only ( one of the "blessings in disguise" of pandemic ) . It has been very humbling experience looking at the various posts for these being so diverse , interesting, and reflecting so much enthusiasm & passion from FMs on each thread .

I have been an avid user of HT since long ; but never invested enough of time and ( of course) money. Started with SONY HTIB ( 1st version ) , updated to ONKYO + POLK Speakers ( Polk Monitor 60+ Monitor 20 + CS 1 + TSi 100 + PSW 125 ( 2nd version ) and now upgrading to version 3.

I have come to below so far

• AVR – Marantz 6013
• Speakers – LCR soon to be upgraded to IndiqAudio Diamond FS +Universal Aakar ; surround continues to be Polk monitor 20 (surround back) + TSi 100 (Surround) Looking forward to integrating IndiqAudio ; review follows .
• Subwoofer – Rhythmik L12 . After going through many threads & articles on sealed versus ported , music sub versus movies sub ; finally considering room dimension opted for L12. L12 is a small unit ( give me option to have 2 in future if required ) . I am very much satisfied with performance ; disappear in soundstage and makes its presence only when it needed ( tested Dunkirk , Saving private Ryan ,Fast and Furious series , Monster Inc ). Additionally , musicals are sounding much better .
• Height Speaker – Dali Alteco C1

My preferences are movies : music ( 60:40) ; no dedicated room . Room dimension is 20 ft (L) X 12 ft( w) X 9 ft (h) ; with MLP being ~ 6 fts. As I learn how to make best of these and how to plan for new additions , I seek views on below points

• If the MLP is up to the wall , does surround back speakers add value or it distorts the SQ ? Would it make sense to downgrade from 7.1.2 to 5.1.2 given the room dimension and MLP distance ?
• If the MLP is up to the wall , does it make sense to have calibration Audyssey with 8 positions .The back ( 2 ) positions from MLP are really non-existent .

More queries follow as I venture more into it ( with my observations , confusion & queries) and would request insights .

Kind regards
Sud