I'm kinda a newbie to this type of home theatre set up as well. Our first and only ht was an all in one by sony and while we thought the speakers and sub were great, it's nothing compared to the epic 80 system. My wife was POed to say the least when she caught wind of the $ spent but has now come to appreciate what we have. I'd be hard pressed to get her to return it now.
I have noticed that on some cds, like The Very Best of Talk Talk, some highs make you cringe. But this has changed somewhat after using Denon's auto setup feature. Some of you may harp on me for using it but right now it has served me well. I just have not spent enough time learning how to use the manual eq. Now, the music comes across clean at moderate to high levels. I love these speakers.
As for the sub, the 350 is great, IMO, for music but it lacked the ability to go way down for HT. So I purchased the ep500. I can't say enough about this sub. My windows, pictures, and anything else that's not stable, rattles while we watch movies. Way cool. Kids love it as they get to experience movies the way they are meant.
Whatever route you chose, I think with a little placement and calibration tweaking you will not be disappointed.
And did I mention the customer service. They are top notch in that area. When having an issue with a ground loop, Brent gave me a call on his day off since we did not get it resolved during the week. Way to go Axiom!
Good luck in your decision!
