Mr. Cat (Using that just because I like the sound of it). No worries about thinking I'm a newbie. My previous hypnotic avatar has probably just put you into a more relaxed state that you have yet to recover from.
I agree that there is a guideline that 3 identical fronts should create the best soundstage. I just would hate to buy a 3rd M60 just to have something change down the road and then really wish I had a "regular" center channel. As for the ports, if the speakers were behind the screen/wall, I could push them a little more towards the middle of the room (not IN the middle, but a little away from the wall since they will be behind the screen) and have solid wall behind them and not the bass traps. I would probably mess with amounts of toe-in since they won't be as wide.
I was planning on messing with heights as well, thus half of the reason for the stage. Raise the speakers a little bit, plus I like the look.
As for the lights up front, that it a concern of my wife's and I tend to agree. I would probably construct the cabinet and put some tinted glass (not glass with vinyl tint on it, but real tinted glass) like I used in my MAME cabinet. IR and RF signals go right through just fine, but it can block a lot or light depending on the level of tint.
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I am glad to hear that the Green Glue seems to be a worthwhile investment. I am still debating if I should go the normal 2 tubes per 4x8 sheet for the ceiling and just 1 tube for the walls to try to keep costs down (plus I am staggering the walls already) or if I should just cough up a few hundred $$$ more and do 2 tubes for the whole thing. I wasn't AS concerned about sound leaking into the rest of the basement since there is a whole other set of walls between the home theater and the bedroom that will get very rare use down there anyway.
Oh, and exterior door with all of its seals is what was planned. Not sure yet if I should do a steel door (original idea) or if an external fiberglass door would work as long as it is solid.
I've got time to figure that out though. As long as I get the opening framed right for the size and maintain some level of decoupling through the wall, I can decide that part a little later.
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So, ideas on the storage and equipment?
I will have to run the idea of the movies stored in another room past my wife. I don't see what the difference is between walking to the back of the theater to find a movie vs. looking in a storage cabinet half way down the hall just outside the home theater, but you know wives... (note that I didn't say "women". Didn't want to offend SonicFox if she happens to read this.
