Nice prices... quickly looked through, seems like they only sell in pairs. I guess I could just run the rear with two channels instead of 3 but I'd hate to dumb the system down.
The reality is that 90% of the time, the rears are only used to add depth to the soundstage. An additional speaker isn't going to add much here. Any actual content also tends to be static, as in not moving across the soundstage.
Bottom line, I don't think you are going to be missing much by going with 2 speakers.
Do you have space for wall units instead? I have never been happy with any of the ceiling installations I have heard. The sound is always thin and feels like it is not part of the rest of the theater. Of course, that could just be me.
Soapbox disclaimer: I think the manufacturers get carried away with additional channels, whether they be high front channels, back and rears, multiple centers, etc. In most cases, the material simply isn't there in the soundtrack, so usage is forced, or worse, the speakers sit there idle. When I was a kid, the Japanese made their first big push into the American market by selling transistor radios. It quickly became a game of who could claim the most transistors in the design. 2 transistor radios quickly became 6 transistor radios and then 11, 12 and 15 transistor radios. Well, the basic design everybody was using was the old all-american 5, converted to transistors, so anything above 6 was just padding. I was into electronics, so I took a number apart. I found transistors with only 2 leads connected being used as diodes. In one case, I found three transistors simply glued to the case and not connected to anything!
I think a lot of these 7 and 9 speaker receivers are like that. They put them there because they can, and it gives marketing advantage.
