Ha! Thanks, zieglj01
Krock99, given your $1000 budget, I'd certainly second the Pioneer speaker recommendation!
You'll want the SP-FS52 Towers. They are sold individually, so order 2.
You can complete the 5 speaker set with the matching SP-C22 Center and SP-BS22-LR bookshelf surrounds.
Amazon, Best Buy, Tiger Direct, B&H Photo and Parts-Express are the authorized retailers for these Pioneer speakers. Prices go up and down a little bit, so it's a good idea to check all 5 retailers to see which one of them has the best prices at the moment, and which retailers have them in stock, since they often sell out. Normal retail price is $130 each for the towers, $99 for the Center, and $130 for the pair of bookshelf surrounds. So under $500 for all 5 speakers. And you can sometimes find them on sale for less.
The Pioneer 2nd Generation Andrew Jones speakers are easily the best deal going right now. Gene (founder of Audioholics) just made several posts on Facebook describing his amazement at how good they are for so little money, and I'm in total agreement about that. There will be a full Audioholics review coming. But I can promise there's no better speakers to be had for less money. And you have to pay a good deal more to get a genuine upgrade. These are an easy recommendation
With the rest of your money, you have some options. If your current AV Receiver does everything you want it to do, I would strongly lean towards upgrading your subwoofer. With the room being open to the kitchen, you have a large volume of air to fill. Reproducing strong, deep bass is very difficult. It's all about displacement. And there's no cheating physics.
I'm no fan at all of Polk's subs. I'd recommend selling your current Polk subwoofer and that will hopefully give you enough money that you can afford a $550 subwoofer. It might sound crazy to mate 5 Pioneer speakers where all 5 of them cost under $500 with a $550 subwoofer, but I promise you, this is the best way to spend your money.
The subwoofer is what makes it FEEL like you are "at the movies" or listening to live music. It supplies the foundation for all the other sounds. It is your bedrock, and you cannot skimp and still get good results. Upgrading to a truly great subwoofer will utterly transform your system combined with the Pioneer speakers, you won't believe the difference and improvement over what you're hearing currently with your soundbar and less than stellar Polk subwoofer.
I'd recommend either the HSU VTF-2 MK4, or the Outlaw LFM-1 Plus. Given your room size, I'd actually lean towards the Outlaw LFM-1 Plus in this particular case. It has slightly more amplifier power, but not as many tuning options. The VTF-2 MK4's plethora of tuning options are more important in a smaller room size where you will need to compensate for room gain. But in your larger room size - remembering that open floor plan to the kitchen - you're all about needing just sheer output and headroom, and the low end tuning options won't be necessary. So go for the higher Wattage amp with the Outlaw LFM-1 Plus. You mate that $550 subwoofer with the Pioneer speakers and you'll be grinning from ear to ear
