In reply to:
The "nook" where this will all be built is about 4ft deep, so I've got a fair amount of depth to work with. I wasn't too much against elevating the M60s
Board regulars (and general audio savants) spiffnme and Ajax both reported enjoying the effects of elevating their M60's. I don't think it would be sonically problematic in any way; I was more concerned about the aesthetics in this instance. It's good that you've got plenty of depth, though.
Could you put the equipment in the "lower" cabinets under the TV so that you could leave the "shelf" part more open?
The VTF-3 comes in nicer finishes than the STF-3, which might help you
I seriously doubt that there are many people futzing with the plugs; I think most people just dial in the sub for their primary use and leave it at that. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, because I don't listen to a lot of music with extremely low notes. That is, if I set up the sub in maximum extension mode, I'll bet I'd have enough SPL to satisfy me, it would go as low as possible for movies, and my music listening would probably never demand either a higher SPL or greater extension. YMMV. I'm not a fiddler.
In reply to:
Should I expect any other problems with the sound field if I do this? I've been trying to follow the Dolby recommendations to a tea. As it is, I'm already short on the recommended 44-degrees of separation between my fronts.
Okay, based on my experience, knowledge and conjecture about your situation, my *opinion* is that you have far more to fear from the boundary effects of having the speakers in a cabinet AND close to the wall than you do from having them - potentially - closer together than you might like considering the fairly long distance to the sweet spot. If it was me, I'd try really hard to get the mains a couple feet away from the corners.
Besides the distance, the other thing that struck me about that back listening position all the (long) way across the room is that it is basically against the back wall. Having a wall directly behind the listening position is suboptimal, but that's life.
Overall point being, the Dolby stuff is all well and good if you listen in a lab. For the rest of us, the Room and the other realities of life tend to require a few compromises here and there. You'll still be thrilled. Really.
