Help with Choosing Home Theater System

We have a family room that is 25x16x12H, the TV (65” LG Plasma) is placed at the front along the 25’ wall. There is a wall to the left, but the right opens to a 17x7x12H foyer (no wall), and the back opens to a 11x16 kitchen (4’ bar, no wall). So this is a very open space. I read with interest this post from trakslacker:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1418229/nht-superzero-2-0s-for-5-1-setup-in-large-open-room

Our budget is around $1,500 including the receiver, but that is flexible. We simply do not have the room for floor-standing speakers, so the 4 speakers will be mounted on the ceiling. We have an old JBL PB10 subwoofer we hope will work with whatever system we purchase.

Originally, we wanted the non-cluttered look of speaker bars. We tried the following sound bars: Energy Power Bar, Klipsch SB 3, JBL SB300 & Harman Kardon SB16. Out of these we liked the JBL best, but we found that none of them produced the kind of sound/music that enveloped us in our open room. After much research, I came to the conclusion that to get that kind of sound, we need 5.1 speakers or more. We almost decided on this system:

http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Technology-Pro-Cinema-800/dp/B001JQZXCO

until I came across trakslacker’s post. Trakslacker was going to purchase:

4x Primus P163 bookshelf speakers http://us.infinitysystems.com/product-detail-11657/p163bk.html
1x Primus PC351 Center speaker http://us.infinitysystems.com/product-detail-11657/pc351bk.html
1x Hsu Research VTF2-Mk4 () OR Outlaw Audio LFM-1 EX (http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html).

Would this work for us also, or would the Definitive Technology or something else work better for us?

Could not find much research on KEF C3 (suggested from the post), but from what I could find on http://www.whathifi.com/Review/KEF-C3/ , the review was not favorable, so we probably will not go with them.

For receivers, we looked at Denon 1612, AVR-891 suggested from trakslacker’s post. We also looked receivers from CNet, HomeTheater & Amazon reviews, and for our price range, we think Yamaha RX-V473 has the best reviews & reliability. I also like AirPlay available on the Yamaha. We will be using our system for watching TV as well as listening to music. Do you think this Yamaha receiver or something else work better for us?

Thank you so much for all your expertise & time in helping us newbies with our decision.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments!

ifor, which Pioneer speakers are you referring to? Also, is it okay to use a 7.2 receiver (your Pioneer Elite VSX-60 suggestion) for a 5.1 system? Thank you!

Thank you, ifor, for your clarification! Are there no bookshelf speakers that would fill our big open family room? I am having problem with 2 extra floor standing speakers, though I suspect that might be what we need for our room

Thank you, ifor, for all of your suggestions again! I am getting overwhelmed with all of the choices available! Newegg is having a fantastic sale on the JBL Studio 1 speakers today, but I feel uneasy purchasing speakers before listening to them, and I was not able to find many reviews on the JBL Studio 1 speakers. There are great reviews on the Def Tech SM55, but these speakers are not mountable!

At the risk of sounding like a doofus, is there a way to tell if speakers are going to work in a big open room, like are there numbers I can look at to tell if the speakers can fill a room, or are all the suggestions you gave me based on your experience?

Earlier in the thread I asked if there are bookshelf speakers that would fill our big open family room? You answered none in our price range. Can you point me to some bookshelf speakers that would work in a big open room if money is no object? As always, thank you very much for your time & all of your suggestions!

You mean the Definitive Tech SM55 & not the Definitive Tech ProCinema 800? Right? THANK YOU!

So just to make sure, you like the SM55 the best out of all your other recommendations?
Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SEs bookshelf monitor
Ascend Acoustics HTM-200 SE home theater monitor
Pioneer SP-FS52 x 2 towers
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR x 2 bookshelf speakers or x 4 bookshelf speakers
JBL Studio 1 Series Studio 130 Home Audio Speaker Pair
Infinity Primus P163 bookshelf speakers (from my original research)

You have been wonderful with your suggestions & we are going to try out the SM55 at Best Buy tomorrow. THANK YOU!

Hi, ifor,

Do you know anything about Def Tech's in ceiling speakers (DI 8R, DI 6.5S, DI 5.5LCR & DI 6.5LCR)? I called Def Tech this morning to see if the SM55s can be mounted & the tech said they can & even told me the mounting kit to buy. I asked him if they have any other speakers that I can mount & fill our big open room & he said not really; he suggested the in ceiling speakers.

After the call, my husband & I went to Best Buy to audition the speakers. They didn't have Def Tech in ceiling/wall speakers, but guess what, we fell in love with Def Tech BP-8060ST. I know I said no floor towers, but we like these speakers more than any of the other speakers in the Magnolia Room (including the Martin Logan and B&W). The 1 nice thing is that these speakers are very slim. We are looking at a special BB is having right now:
2 Def Tech BP-8060ST SuperTower 4-1/2" Floorstanding Loudspeaker
1 Def Tech CS-8040HD 4-1/2" Center-Channel Loudspeaker
2 Def Tech SR-8040BP 3-1/2" Surround Loudspeaker

All 5 pieces for $2,000. I know this is more than we wanted to spend, but we like the sound so much better! We have couple of questions:
1) Do you know how Def Tech's in wall/ceiling speakers compare to the towers?
2) Do you know why Def Tech grouped the 8040 center channel & speakers with the 8060 towers? We were wondering if we should upgrade the center channels to 8060 & the speakers to 8080. Thank you so much for all of your help!

Thank you so much for your reply, JJ7! It's great to hear from someone who already own these : ) Since our family room is open, do you think these speakers will work as well for us as it does for you in your media room (which I assume is a nice dark, enclosed room? They really sounded good at BB!

Thank you, Kini62! Yes, we've already blown our budget, but my husband said we will only buy this once (hopefully), so he doesn't mind if we have to spend a little more : )

Unfortunately, BB does not carry any of the 8080 speakers, so we can't try them out. I will call Def Tech tomorrow. The tech there is very helpful & patient with all my stupid questions.

You said "You won't notice much difference between the three anyway (IMO)." Which 3 are you referring to? Thank you!