OK here's what he should do.
Tell the wife and tell the folks that he loves his new home theater system, he just wants to add a bit of his own money to upgrade it to the very next level. Meanwhile he has already ordered a full Axiom set up (M2's or M'3s all round) and then he returns the HTIB.
Is anybody really going to notice a brand change?? If they think HTIB is the way to go they obviously don't know about speakers so the are not going to know about the change in brands. And even if they do, all he has to say is, they didn't have the next level of Sony's so I had to settle on these darned Axioms.
It just might work and nobody's feelings would get hurt.
