That is actually a pretty good question... To start, the $191 you mentioned is an estimate for the entire system... Now add in that most people DO buy a aystem from any of the three companies here... Rocket tends to discount systems around 20-25% ... Where Axiom and Ascend give smaller discount packages, or cheaper pricing individually... I use the typical system price for just that reason, keeping in line with the usual customer's buying habits...
For Listening... as Alan suggested, you want to use mono and stereo... depending on what you are looking for... (tonal balance - mono, soundstaging - stereo.... And if a speaker is superior this way, it will be in a system as well...
