I'd suggest that he get the Epic Grand Master setup - and most would suggest you sub out (ha! a pun) the Axiom subwoofer for an HSU STF-2... I've heard you kind of pay thru the nose to get those in Canada, so you might actually just want to stick to the package deal.
That leaves you $1000 CDN for the receiver, which should probably be OK.
If you think he likes his music more laid back (which might be a bad choice of words considering his taste in music) and want to save some cash, then you might suggest the Epic Master. By "laid back" I mean the mid-bass would be more pronounced - making it sound richer and probably a little "punchier" sounding.
Either way, you really can't go wrong. From reading many reviews on this site, everyone seems to agree that the Axioms are tonally very similar to the Paradigms. A friend of mine has one of the top-end Paradigms (can't remember model #) - and the tweeter sound is indeed very similar. My Axioms are definitely more laid-back than his (I have the M40) - but they cost about 1/3.
I personally like the laid-back, or "rich" sound of the M40s.. (don't even need a subwoofer for just music) but I listen to a lot of vinyl, and anything with a tinny sound just amplifies surface noise. I'm not saying that the Axiom would sound tinny, I just don't want a speaker that gives anymore emphasis to that upper mid spectrum. I am dying to audition some M22's... which I probably will one day soon.
Well... I hope that helped.
