So I've done my super-long rant about room treatments...now let's talk about your gear choices!
One of the reasons why Def Tech's bi-polar speakers are not often recommended by audio enthusiasts is because they just don't jibe with the "normal" ways of placing room treatments. They depend on reflections off of the front wall and the side walls to give them their signature "big" sound. In a room like mine where the front wall is covered in absorptive panels, the corners are bass trapped and the side walls and ceiling have absorption panels at the reflection points, that bi-pole design just isn't going to work!
So the problem with Def Tech's speakers is that they are unpredictable. They might sound great in one room, but terrible in another. It's all going to depend on how all those early (intentional) reflections sum together and reach your ear. Personally, I'm just not a fan of having it be such a crap-shoot. And if clarity and resolution are your goals, the bi-pole design just isn't going to deliver in the long run.
There's also the issue of those built-in subs. Bass is a really difficult thing to handle in any room. Bass frequencies have long wavelengths and considerably more energy than higher frequencies. Thus, they interact much more with the room and the end result is that the best position for your bass is often not the same as the best positioning for your higher frequencies in order to get the best imaging, clarity and focus.
Again, in some rooms, it'll work very well. Many people fantasize about having "full range" speakers all around. But, in reality, it makes much more sense to have a pair (or quad) subwoofers handle all of the bass frequencies while speakers positioned for best imaging and clarity handle everything from 80Hz on up.
So are Def Tech speakers a good idea for you? The only answer I can give is - maybe. You might like how they sound in your room. Then again, you very well might not. You might like how they sound before you add any room treatments, but then not like them after you add even just the minimum of some bass traps in the upper corners of your room. You almost certainly won't like them if you treat the front wall and first reflection points with absorption. But if you DON'T treat those positions, you almost certainly won't get the highest resolution and clarity in the size of room that you have.
When you read about Def Tech speakers needing lots of space and working best in large rooms, it's because of all of these acoustic issues. With lots of space, those early reflections take longer to bounce off of the walls and reach your ears. That massive processor in your head that we call a brain is able to separate direct sound from reflected sound and compensate for what is technically distortion. But in a medium sized room like yours, you're going to get early reflections that are too close to the direct sound for your brain to separate. The result is "muddy" sound. And my guess is that you're not going to like the Def Tech speakers as they sound in your home the way you like them in the store.
Again, I can't say for sure. But this is the reason why you don't often see a ton of love for Def Tech except from fans who either haven't really heard anything else, or who just happen to have a room that works well with the Def Tech bi-poles rather than against them, which is just as likely an outcome.
If you like the Def Tech sound in the store, what you're probably responding to is their "big" "open" sound and their slightly mid-range/mid-bass heavy presentation of most material. The Def Tech tweeters are not resolution kings. You said yourself that you couldn't get into the Klipsch horn tweeter sound, which is pretty much the opposite of the Def Tech tweeter sound.
So RBH is probably going to tickle your fancy in an acoustically treated room. They're higher resolution than the Def Techs, but really focus on pristine mid-range. They work extremely well in a nicely treated room and predictably so.
So my vote would go to RBH in your case. The good news is that you should be able to give them a try through the local dealer that you mentioned. My guess is that, in your home, you'll like them better than the Def Techs
To power those lovely RBH speakers, Onkyo is certainly not a bad choice. When it comes to bang-for-buck and features-for-the-price, it's really hard to beat Onkyo in the less-than-$1000 AVR range. That said, I almost always prefer Denon's offerings - if only because Onkyo occassionally has issues with some of their bleeding-edge features and are known to run on the hot side with occassional issues stemming from that. Onkyo's customer service is also - well - horrible. If everything in your AVR works, Onkyo's going to have the lowest price. But if something goes wrong, dealing with Onkyo tech support is a nightmare. Denon might cost you a little bit more, but their reliability is higher and it's rare to have a problem with one of their receivers. Again, I still really like Onkyo - I have an Onkyo receiver myself! But I'd certainly recommend Denon as well in that price range.
RBH's speakers aren't exactly cheap. So if budget is a problem, certainly consider their "budget" brand - EMP Tek. Again, if you liked the Def Tech sound in the store and did NOT like the Klipsch sound, I think you'd really like the EMP Tek sound - and they'll work in a mid-sized, acoustically treated room better, IMO, than the bi-pole, built-in subwoofer design. RBH offers some good in-wall and in-ceiling options too, so that plan can still work for you with the RBH/EMP brands.
For the subwoofers, in that price range and with music being a primary focus, either Rythmik or HSU is going to be your best options, IMO. Bang-for-buck, it's really hard to beat HSU's VTF-2 or VTF-3, so those likely jump to the top of my recommendation list for you.
For the TV, I'm a fan of sticking with the SMPTE recommendation, which is a 30 degree field of view. That results in a much bigger screen size than most people expect or plan for. For example, if you have a span of 10 feet from eyes to screen, a 30 degree field of view translates into a 73.8" 16:9 diagonal screen size! Your 55" consideration would translate into a shockingly short 7.45 feet from eyes to screen if you follow SMPTE guidelines!
But reality probably dictates that a 70"+ screen size isn't in the cards
The best TVs right now really are Panasonic's plasmas. Samsung's plasmas are getting good reviews and scores, but I'm still seeing their trademark issues of phosphor lag whenever I view them. It shows itself as a very quick and faint "ghost" image whenever there's a sudden transistion from a bright scene to a black screen. It's a fairly minor issue, but it bugs me enough that I prefer to just avoid any annoyance by watching a Panasonic instead
Where a Panasonic plasma will not look better than any other display is in a well-lit room. Despite improvements, plasmas still use a glass screen, which causes reflections. But worse than that, they still wash out, turning those lovely Panasonic blacks to a dull grey. The newest Panny plasmas are better in retaining black in a lit room than older models, but it's still an issue IMO. If your room is always dim or dark when you watch, a Panny plasma is DEFINITELY the way you should go! But if you mostly watch with lights on or during the day, I think you'll eventually be bugged by the slightly "washed out" look of the Panny and you'll miss out on the truly impressive, deep black levels that turn grey under lights.
So if you have more than dim or dark viewing in mind, go with the only good option - a local-dimming, LED backlit LCD with a MATTE screen. Unfortunately, all current LCD models use these terrible super-glossy screens these days! The glossy screens render all current LCD's useless IMO. You have to be in pitch blackness to avoid seeing your own reflection staring back at you! And if you're going to be in pitch blackness, you might as well spend less and get a way better picture from a Panasonic plasma!!!
So what to do? Well, you reach back in time and get yourself a Vizio XVT553SV. Now, I know what you might be thinking, "Vizio?! Is this guy serious?"
Yes! Yes I am. The Vizio XVT553SV remains the best LCD available today. Every other LCD is rendered useless by its super-glossy screen. I hate the trend. I hate the fact that all of Vizio's newest XVT3D models use glossy screens too! But the XVT553SV is still out there. And if you have a lit room, it's absolutely your best choice. Go Panny plasma if your room is dim or dark. But go Vizio XVT553SV if it's lit. Simple as that
Don't go Sony. Glossy screens, blacks that are tinged blue, ridiculous user controls that make it impossible to dial in an accurate picture, and over-priced.
So I hope this helps! Remember:
1) Auralex FREE room analysis
2) Auralex, GikAcoustics, Acoustimac for room treatments.
3) Auralex SubDude/GRAMMA for your subwoofer(s)
4) Panny plasma if your room is dim or dark when you watch.
5) Vizio XVT553SV if your room is lit.
6) Nothing wrong with Onkyo - great features-for-price, but some slight worries about potential issues and crappy, crappy customer service
7) Denon's a touch more expensive, but better service and reliability.
8) Probably an HSU subwoofer (or better yet, two
)
9) I think you'll really like RBH or EMP speakers - especially in an acoustically treated room over Def Tech.
10) Enjoy the heck out of your new, awesome system!
