Thanks for the responses thus far, everyone. To address a few points...

JohnK: About the M60 placement... thanks for looking out for me as a newbie! I am aware that the alcove isn't a suitable place for the speakers, really... I'm going to have to go with the "move them out for serious watching" approach, i.e., they'll sit in the alcove when watching regular TV for half an hour, but they'll be placed in the proper position for movies or extended watching. Kind of a pain in the butt, but no real choice... it is the main room, and it won't be suitable to have the speakers anywhere but in the alcove generally.

That brings me to my next point... this is probably a "two more years" house. It is pretty small, I'm about to get married (buying $2700 speakers is the last gasp of a dying bachelor) and hopefully the next location will be a better setup. All that considered, I'm again leaning toward the "better" system including the EP500, as I'm considering these speakers a 5-10 year investment, and hopefully the next house will accommodate a sub in a reasonable location in the the front. (That's one of the reasons the EP500 is appealing in the first place... seems to be an outstanding performer, and certainly better looking and a bit smaller than SVS offerings, though I'd not mind a nice plus/ultra SVS in a wood veneer.) SO, that's definitely a reason to "not" get the twin small-sub setup, which is more oriented to "this" house rather than a long term plan.

Robert/Ajax/bflat... thanks for your help. I did hope that a "proper" setup would make a difference, and I did expect that it would. I was just wondering if it would be a lost cause trying to "hide" the sub... I guess I'd prefer it to be perfect, but so long as it is "reasonable" that will have to do in this house.

Hmmm... perhaps I'll stick with the M60s/EP500... and see if I can ALSO add a small Rocket sub in the front! Hmmm? Hmmm?

Now I'm just waiting on finish samples, which should get here this week! And then... I'll be waiting for the speakers to arrive (I'll be ordering B-Stock).

I'm tired of waiting!