I'm definitly a Rotel fan, their products look great and produce wonderful sound with my Axiom speakers. I'm not familiar with the RSX-1065, I have the RSP-1066. The speaker doesn't need break-in time, it may be the receiver.
I'm not sure what to say about your 7.1 dilema, as I'm having the same one. I think a direct firing may be the best, but it's a personal opinion.

Good Luck,

Rick