OK after over a year I'm down to paint and furniture for the new HT room. In a compromise that I'm really very OK with, the wife prefers a couch and love seat combo vs. HT seating. This leaves two more decisions for the audio fans and the sawdust addicts of the the group.

Decision #1
My original phase 2 budget had dual subs with the purchase of a 2nd EP500. $ has been cut from the budget due to some recent vehicle expenses but with a move from HT seating to a cheaper couch and love seat, it may yet return. Possible configurations are below.

I'll be experimenting but anyone want to chime in on where they think the best placement will turn out? I've read a ton of stuff on sub placement so I really don't need any further links to tech articles. Just looking to chat about your predictions really.

Edit: I realized I forgot to show the QS8 surrounds but they are situated roughly in between the two rows of seating. I also have some old HK bookshelves that I'll be experimenting with for rears. Wiring is for having them situated on either side of the window on the shelf that basement outer walls always create.

#2 for the woodworkers.
The basic frame of the bar is built but the finish work is not done. I really never had a mental picture of how I wanted to finish it off. Love to see some of your ideas and pictures of "basic" bars you may have built or own. I'm looking for ideas on simple trim, counter design, etc. Essentially, it will have a couch against it in the front so counter overhang needs to be minimal and it's open in the back for knee room. No plumbing, and I've yet to decide if I can squeeze a bar fridge in there and leave room for two sets of legs.

basic layout is below. Items are not to perfectly to scale but are roughly where they belong.

One thing that comes to mind is you don't want to be sitting in the exact center of the room length. In looking at your drawing it appears to be 24ft long and your seat is at 12ft. The center location of a rooms dimensions is where the worst null is located. Of course, you may not have any other options, so multiple subs should help if they are spaced out accordingly.

Agreed. I've also gone from a square room to one with a .5 ratio in dimensions. No better.

As for the seating arrangement, I consider the couch to be the primary seating as I have already experimented with the projector in there with nothing but camp chairs and I prefer that distance for the screen size.

The room dimensions didn't allow a lot of room to play with the seating unless I had omitted the bar. Keeping the bar and using 'real' furniture were decisions partially made to help on the WAF as she had strong fears of it feeling way too theater like and not "Cozy" or "homey" at all.

In the initial planning stage, I also was concerned about the 12' null and decided I should go leaving my current EP500 front and center and adding two side facing EP350s as you have done. I consider it overkill for a room that size but it may help even more with those half room nulls. I could still be twisted in that direction but then might wish I had nulls to hide in when I get the blast from my wife. Optically, two new subs are much harder to explain than one new sub, even if the price difference is marginal.

Is it fundamentally agreed upon that subs should be placed up front? In my last HT I had a single sub located behind and to the left of the seating area. I had already experimented with it up front and found it to be much more effective behind the couch. Your set-up might not allow for this unless you place one behind the bar and the other on the far corner wall. Another downfall is that you have to hook them up via 30 foot RCA cords, and longer run cords can be detrimental as far as audio is concerned. Just throwing that out there.

I recently did a quick table using scrap granite (I paid $40 for a bar-top size of rough cut Angola Black). For your bar you can really get a fantastic look for a good price (but more than $40 for finished edges) if you can find a granite top. With that, the support under it is less important; four black wood legs, etc., will look great and can be done DIY. Just a thought.

Murph, in regards to a fridge, make sure if you go that way, it is a quiet one, fridges in a theatre can make more noise then you'd like.

Your right Mike, there is definitely no rule that subs have to be up front, it just works better in my room due to the the dimensions. Behind the bar would play with my brain, thinking it was being distorted back there and at one time I envisioned a EP600 in vertical mode in the rear, right (facing the screen) corner but it is too close to the door and would minimize the space when walking around to the back of the bar.

Wiring in any position is not a concern. I ran coax to plates in the rear of the room, both side walls as well as the front wall. Anyone wants to donate a bunch of subs, I'll gladly risk the structure of my home by test running about 6 of them at once.

I bet on options1. Do you have a preferred bookie to place the bet?

I like option 2 for aesthetics, but if it were me I'd try and put one up front, and one in the back if at all possible. Maybe you can use one as an end table to the left of the love seat

Option '1' will place the subs right in front of the 60's will it not? option '2' would be better methinks, for looks and they'll be out of the way.