downloading files

I posted a simular question before and never really got an answer. The post drifted off into some other valuable information, but I still have the same question. I am trying to create a site with file downloads. The files on the server that are to be downloaded need to be protected somehow. I have already created a login page for the site so users must log in. The download files are in a directory protected by htaccess which it is my understanding that PHP can go underneath htaccess to get access to the files. My problem is where do I put this directory? I was already told to put it outside the web root directory, but I really dont know where the best place is. Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks, Aaron