Welcome to the Axiom family, in advance. If you have no options but to put the couch against the wall, I would stick to a 5.1 or 5.2 HT setup. I would probably wait on the new receiver until after you hear how your current receiver sounds with the new speakers. You should definitely kiss your wife for giving you the green light on a new HT! I'm sure others will be here soon to give you some more advice.