Have I ever listened to Klipsch speakers, yes. I have owned Klipsch computer speakers. They were awesome. And have been to a house that used Klipsch in their setup. Have I listened to these yet? No. But I will before I buy. But if I don't come up with a solid leading candidate that would suffice before I go, I'll end up leaving spending too much money without doing research and regret my purchase later.
Along those lines, I like that the Klipsch I am interested in are available at stores near me (Frys, A&B TV, Best Buy...ok these aren't at BB) and online from multiple distributers. With those options, I can get a price way below MSRP. These are positives when buying especially if I ever to need to replace a unit or add to the set.
I looked at the Ascend Acoustics website and they seem fine, but I'll admit the 1990 website is a bit of a turnoff. Also, I have never heard of them so I am a little trepidatious. I'm not ruling them out, but I'm not sold yet.
SVS subs get a lot of love on avsforums.
I do appreciate all the responses here, I've already saved hundreds by not buying things I initially planned on buying (receiver and wireless sub) and focusing on the right things (getting matching center and left/right speakers).
I'll keep reading through avsforums. It's making more sense. Thanks for the strong advice.