Tom,

You're right. When I first started exploring internet direct, I considered the Rockets but the decor was the biggest stumbling block. At that time, I didn't know about Axiom. As I conducted more research, other considerations came to mind and, via an extremely complex and sophisticated algorithm which for the life of me I can't remember \:\) , I decided to try Axioms. BTW, the excellent boards here didn't factor at all into my decision. I became a board junkie after my audio spirit was awakened.

House of the Rising Sone
Out in the mid or far field
Dedicated mid-woofers are over-rated