Greetings ya'll,

I'm a relative newbie to the world of non-chain-store audio components, planning a speaker purchase in the near future (definitely mains and sub, possibly center and rear). As a new father of twins, budget is a big concern. After doing a fair amount of online research, I was all set to go with Paradigms, until last week, when one of the sites I visited hipped me to Axiom. Since then I've trawled these boards, read some reviews, and generally tried to soak up as much info as possible. Now I'm seriously considering some Axioms instead, but I have a few lingering questions that I'm hoping some of ya'll can help clear up.

Forgive me if all this has been covered in other threads. I've tried to look around for answers, but my twins only give me so much idle time on the web ;-)

1) The consensus regarding Axiom subs seems to be that you can get more bang for you buck elsewhere. HSU, SVS, and Outlaw are all very commonly recommended replacements. Problem is -- I'm really digging the Boston Cherry veneer. So I'm wondering: a) is there a better sub out there, cost-to-quality wise, that would match? b) if I don't need or want wall-rattling bass (which would probably just disturb the babies), and will be doing 80% music listening and only 20% home theater, would the 175 probably suffice with M22s as mains? (Room is medium size, 12 x 22)

2) Along those same lines, I've read mixed reviews of Axioms center channel speakers. Would a few of you care to comment on your degree of satisfaction, and possibly compare the VP100 to the VP150 (is the extra $130 worth it?)

3) Lastly, I was hoping that a couple people who decided to buy factory seconds from Axiom would be willing to post pictures of the "flaws" that earned them that designation. Are we really talking "not even ... noticable to the eye"?

Bountiful thanks in advance to any and all willing to post of response.