I would start by deciding what use you want to prioritize the most which IMO will dictate the better seating arrangement.
I think the narrow setup will work better for HT as all seats will have a more direct angle to the screen and the screen. Especially important should you upgrade to 3D. Also this will make the screen the primary focus. I’d consider moving the surround speakers back a little bit to get better coverage of your back seats. Maybe ceiling mount the right surround farther out off the wall if that corner is an issue.
I think the wide setup will work better for sports and more informal GTGs as all the seating is facing in lending to better interaction between viewers. I would just make sure your screen does well with off angle viewing. I would also consider moving the back speakers off the wall and ceiling mounting them further out in the room if that corner is an issue for the left seats.
If I were in your shoes I would prefer the wide seating. I think it would be better all around for the uses you plan.
As for the seats themselves good luck that was the hardest thing for me to find since I wanted to be able to actually sit in the seats before buying them. If you haven’t already just do a search for “Home Theater Seating” to see what’s available but the minute the label HT goes on something the price goes way up.
Clearly sectionals off greater flexibility but at an increased cost especially if you get the “wedges” to fit between seats. I found a great deal on a HT sectional at “The Room Store” 4 seats (reclining or chaise) with 2 wedges for about $1,500. However, they weren’t firm enough to support my bad back.
A combination of couches and say love seats would probably get you more seating cheaper and probably work well in the wide setup. With some ottomans or coffee tables for people to put their feet it could work pretty well.
It took me 9 months to find the right seats for me. On thing I found was that the local furniture stores tried to rotate their inventory quickly so I hooked up with a reliable sales person at each nearby store letting them know what I was looking for and to call me if something like it came it. This helped save a lot of time running around to furniture stores every few weeks.
Cheers,
Dean
