Which speakers will fill 5,000 cubic ft coherently

My Definitions are close to the rear wall with no problems. I have not hear the Zu Presence or the other speakers that you are considering. The metal on the Zu speakers (Def and Presence) can be anodized black; and the cabinets can be painted any color - matte or gloss. Personally, I like the gloss black with the aluminum driver trim (it is not chrome, btw); for the record, Architectural Digest agreed. However, if your wife wants wood veneer, then Zus will not work.

Infinity Kappa 9 will sound great in that room, and they are beautiful too. But, they will need to be bi-amped.

Having spoken to some people whom I greatly respect, I have added the Coincident line to my final few as well as Duke's Jazz Module; I would look for a Total Eclipse, but they are not available on A'gon, but the Total Reference is. Zu Defintions remain high up, but I don't seem to get a handle on their sound, other than the 6 Moons review, which is more akin to a racing car review:) Any views on the Total Reference? I suppose ideally, with an amp such as the A-S MA 2.2, it seems redundant to have a built in sub amp (the Zu)which is unlikely to be as good as the A-S amp. So a full-range speaker without a sub amp would seem to be the theoretical ideal and so far only the Coincident seems to fit the entire bill. But can they be placed close to the front wall?

The most recent reviews of Def 2s are in Positive-Feedback and HiFi+