Get an integrated or separates. Pretty much all receivers suck for pure two channel music listening (although Marantz has had a good history). Most people who ditch receivers for separates come to this conclusion.
This nice thing about Axiom is that they are sensitive speakers and can be driven by a low amount watts.
You could hit your budget with a NAD integrated and NAD cd player used and a little bit over if you buy one of the two new. I like the NAD stuff with Axiom because it's a bit darker sounding than Rotel gear.
If you want to save on software, are planning to gets tons of it, and willing to spend the time learning turntables, you should get a turntable. The amount of nice classical records out there for $1 to $3 is astonishing. And many are recordings that will never be on cd. The downside is time spent cleaning records and money spent on various sundries (fluids, brushes, etc.).
