Compact HT speakers with good sound quality

Looking to upgrade my home theater speakers (just got a flat panel TV and jumped on the deal for the Onkyo 809 receiver)

While *I* prefer sound quality over everything else, the wife....not so much. She wants "small" speakers, right now I have a set of front and centers that I built forever ago (I think its the "Dayton HT" design that was on the parts express tech site). She says those are too big, so Im guessing bookshelf speakers are out.

Also complicating the issue is that half of our living room is open to the upstairs and fully open to the dining room right behind it. All in all it becomes a pretty large space. I realize I cant make it sound perfect, but Ill settle for the best I can get it (Im hoping Audyssey can help out too)

The 809 seems like overkill for compact cube-type speakers, but for the price I dont feel like I wasted anything. But now I need speakers.

Any suggestions? I was looking at the Energy sets (Take 5 or RC Micro) for smaller speakers. I also saw references to a discontinued Boston Acoustics set that seems to have gotten good reviews even in a large room like mine. Most of our use would be for TV/movies with the occasional jaunt of loud angry music when the wife and kids are gone. I already have a separate sub (Dayton 10" powered), so could run with that for now.

Budget wise Id like to keep it in under 350 or 400 if possible. I know for that much I can get Pioneer bookshelf speakers! But again there is the WAF butting in

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

Yeah sorry about that I forgot to mention:

I currently have cube-size surrounds, already on mounts. I dont feel like I *have* to replace them, but Im guessing they wont match very well with a new set.

Since I already have the sub I also dont NEED 5.1, I can get away with replacing the fronts, rears and center for now. At minimum Ill need the fronts and center since "thats what everyone sees" (wifes words!)

Would the MTM suffice as a center channel?

I see Paul designed a center channel as well but its pretty large. WAF popping up again!

Actually Paul designed an MMTMM center channel, different than the MTM.

The TM is a nice size, the MTM is a little larger (obviously). If I went with the MTM that would put me in about the same size range as the Pioneer 22's. Granted, the MTMs would probably sound better/fuller, etc but the Pioneers are already built

Another question - these are going to be mated with a flat panel TV. The front of the screen is about 5" off the wall......is there a problem using a speaker thats deeper than the screen is off the wall? Ive never had this issue before since my old RPTV was 30" deep

Just throwing this out there - I see a few good deals out and about for Polk RTi4 and corresponding center.

Are they any good? Some reviews Ive read say yes, some say they are harsh at the high end.

Not exactly the most compact but if I can get them in the cherry stain they are at least decent looking.

If not that I might lean towards the Overnight Sensation kits, would just prefer to get something already built so I can mount it and go

I *think* Ive gotten the wife to come around to bookshelf-size speakers.

As such, Ive narrowed it down to the following:

Polk RTi4/6 mains + CSi3/5 center

Cambridge S30 mains + S50 center

NHT SuperZero mains + center

Overnight Sensation MTM mains + Overnight Sensation MMTMM center

The Polks are an interesting deal because they can be had on Ebay as "refurb" directly through Polk. Also nice is the wallmount is built in even if they are rear ported, and the real wood cases.

The Cambridge just get so many good reviews its hard to ignore them. My issue will be how far I can get them away from the wall. The manual says 8cm is minimum....has anyone tried that? I know they will sound better further away but my aesthetic constraints dictate I cant get them the 2' away that seems recommended around here

The NHT seem to get excellent reviews, my only concern is how far away from the speakers Ill be (about 10' or so)....will they be able to fill the large area well enough? They'll be powered by an Onkyo 809.

And the OS sound like a great possibility except I prefer not to take on any more projects. The ports can be moved to the front baffle without issue, but that precludes a flat kit that I can just buy and glue together. And if I have to build them myself, Id just as soon tinker with the dimensions to make them taller and less deep to get them even closer to the wall.

Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Chris

OK, still dealing with analysis paralysis! Thanks for all the options thus far.

Now just to throw something else in the mix.....stretching the budget a bit, how would the Definitive ProMonitors fare? Most likely the 800 or 1000 models. I notice they are *rated* for fairly low frequency, but not sure how that translates into the real world.

Their size/direct mount against wall are a bonus, Im just not convinced of how good they would really sound (although people in the Definitive owners thread sure like them!)

Thanks in advance.

-Chris