Just a few comments. I like the 5.1.4 layout. It is too bad that the side surrounds couldn't be more, well, on the sides instead of back that far, but I think that Atmos calculations will work to surround you with great immersion since the overheads aren't directly over top of the surrounds. You should really like the effect.
As for the VP160 vs VP180 purchase....
When I pre-ordered the VP180 (for the special pre-order price) the VP160 wasn't even announced yet. So at the time, the only thing better than the VP150 was the VP180. Simple as that.
Funny thing is that when I pre-ordered, my current room wasn't even done. By the time I was ready to install speakers back into the room, the VP160 WAS out, but the return policy was gone, so I would have had to ship the VP180 back at my cost, get a "trade in" price for it, and have to buy the VP160. If I remember correctly, it would have cost me a few dollars to make the switch... Maybe $30-$50 total, plus the effort to do it.
I just kept the VP180 and never looked back. It does amazingly well, and my receivers that have powered it since I got it, both want to set it to a lower crossover than the other speakers (even the M60s) since it is so large. That allowed for great male vocal reproduction with my Onkyo receiver that I used to have, and now with the Anthem receiver it isn't as big of a deal since it does much more bass management, but again, it has not let me down.
If I knew that the VP160 was going to be coming back at the time, I would have probably bought that at the pre-order price and saved a couple hundred bucks and been just as happy.
I know they should be closer to the sides, but really no way to do it optimally. But I figure this setup, would sound better than a traditional 7.1 with my four QS8s on the ceiling. At least I hope so, that is my only worry.
I would try to separate your front and rear tops a little more ideally, but it's all a compromise. Having the rears directly overhead is not ideal. You are at a huge advantage over my roof as I had solid ceiling. All else fails you can swap tiles.
As for the dogs - cute, and I totally understand. We have no kids and our dog is spoiled too! He's my buddie for sure.
Cute little guy! I really can't move the rears heights back any further as they would be directly over the rear surrounds. However, I can easily move the front heights another tile closer to the front. I'll just run enough wire to let me move things around. I ran wire for 7.1 with QS8s near the ceilings in mind, so I have to rerun things anyway. Thank god for the drop ceiling!
