I have always been impressed with Martin Logan subwoofers. Every one I have heard seemed to outperform its size. As far a placement of your sub, I would suggest some testing. Sub placement is one of the most critical things to good sound in the room. Get an SPL meter from Radio Shack and a audio test disc (I just used the tracks that came on my Digital Video Essentials calibration disc) and map out the dB level across its entire range at the primary listening position. If you have some dips in the curve, move the sub around to try to flatten them. This takes a lot of testing and moving and back again but is well worth the extra effort. There are some good articles on calibration on this site. If you want to learn more and get a good starting point, here is a link to another site. Look under white papers.
Harman International White Papers
At first, this info may be a little daunting to some but if you take some time to read through them a few times and so some side research, you may find this to be a very rewarding effort to emulate.
Good Luck and let us know how everything works out.
+1 for curtains. Can save on energy costs too. If your wife can sew, get some black out lining to go with the curtains.
