placement of speakers in living room?  

I think I just about have my living room set up to my liking. I have decided not to put a TV in that room, but I still need some kind of sound system.

I've attached a crude image of the room as it is now.

I am thinking of getting a pair of Audioengine 5 bookshelf speakers...see the link.

I like these because the sound is supposed to be very good for a bookshelf system, it allows you to plug in your MP3 player (no iPod dock, but I can use my stock dock with it), and it allows for an airport express to be plugged into the back, so I can stream audio from my computer upstairs. I also wanted separate speakers for superior stereo separation.

The question is where to set them in the living room? Should I put up wall shelves for the speakers, say on either side of the sofa? Should I find some kind of stand to put them on? I certainly don't want them on the floor, but I've got this nice mid-century thing going on in the living room and I hate to destroy it with non-matching speakers.

On the other hand, I don't want crap speakers that look good either.

fm

http://audioengineusa.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=76&osCsid=f51ac1e94c1345424d6e1c803897a81