Ah 1pha, it only appears expensive. Although the Michaura towers were supposed to sell for something like $1000 a pair, they could be found on uBid for $100 each plus shipping. The M55s went for about $19-39 each. (Loved them so kept coming back for more). The M66s I got from ebay for about $250 a pair. The Onkyo M282 amps were going for under $140 on uBid.
Anyone can buy a great system by throwing a lot of money at the problem. The trick is finding really great stuff for a reasonable amount. That is why Axiom is so wonderful, their speakers are giant killers, getting you 90+% of the wonderfulness of multi thousand dollars speakers but at a very reasonable price point.
Here's an example of some great recent finds - picked up a pair of vintage mint condition Pioneer silver face receivers (SX850 and SX727) for $200 for the pair. Stumbled on a pair of Dahlquist M905 speakers for $50 (real Dahlquists from the 70s/80s, MSRP new was $850 in 1975 dollars!) In some ways, this garage system (SX850 + M905s) is one of the best systems in the house - overqualified for car washing music.
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