Well the past several weeks I've been overwhelmed with the sheer number of options, variables, combinations, opinions, etc etc etc in trying to choose the best home theatre sound setup within my budget.

I started out looking at $500 HTIB options carried by local B&M stores, but as I researched them and started expanding my horizons a bit I quickly ruled those out. I ended up in a local store dedicated to home and car audio and saw a whole new world of stuff in a whole new world of price range. I definately liked what I heard in this store and quickly realized I would need to increase my budget.

So after a few weeks of online research and listening to different setups in stores like Best Buy and the Local audio store I mentioned above.. I've settled on a budget between $1500-$2100.

I really like what I see in the Axiom products, really delivering on the bang for the buck factor, which I love in any product I'm going to invest a large chunk of cash in. From browsing the products here, the Epic 50-175 setup seems to fall within my budget and offers the quality I'm looking for. I'll go over my budget a little bit when adding in a receiver and cabling, but I'm a little flexible if it means I'm going to get a superior value.

My "home threatre" basement room is approx 12x30x8, 2/4 walls are painted concrete (short wall behind tv and the left-side wall). My couch is about 10 feet from my 42" Hitachi Plasma. Its setup with a Cox digital/HD cable box and a Toshiba Progressive Scan DVD player. I will typically just being using this for TV/Movies but would occasionally like to play music over it.

Questions/Advice Seeking:
-In looking through the forums and using the search function, I can't seem to find anyone talking about the Epic 50-175 speakers. Most are using the higher end M60 or M80 systems. Are the Epic 50-175's a good choice for my budget and room size?

-If so, what is a good receiver in the $500 or less range to match up with them? In my research there seems to be 3 that stick out from the rest: HK AVR-247, Yamaha RX-V661, and the Onkyo TX-SR605

-How do the Epic 50-175 speakers compare to Klipsch Synergy III series (F3 mains, C-2 Center, S-2 Surrounds, and the 10" sub) paired w/ one of the same receivers? This setup prices out slightly cheaper than the Epic 50-175 (and includes cabling and Monster HTS-1600 power).