Hello, I am considering buying a 5.1 setup to connect to my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, for 5.1 DVD's, 4.1 gaming, and 2.1 music. Axiom looks nice cause it's internet-direct, and the M2ti's seem to be a pretty dorm-friendly set of speakers, and the EP175, with it's thinness, looks like it would be nice to set under a desk. So, I browsed the Axiom website, and the EP175, two sets of M2ti's (I would want directional rear speakers for gaming purposes, and the ability to place them more easily), and a VP50 comes to 1028. Now, chances are, I wouldn't really be buying this thing *any* time that is *REMOTELY* soon (I might have to wait a few years until I get into an apartment, and out of a dorm, for example), but this looks like a good starter setup. Now, what about a reciever? I would want something somewhat small, relatively inexpensive, and I would want to get something with very tweakable bass management for the 6-channel analog inputs, to better help speakers that might not go down to 80hz with a whole lot of authority. Also, to what frequency is the port in the M2ti's tuned to? If the speakers have to be placed very near a wall, I would want the crossover to be a bit above the point that the port frequency is tuned to, to make placement a bit easier. Thanks!

BTW, if I do manage to get this soon (which is fairly unlikely), I would probably just get the M2ti's, a reciever, and the sub in the meantime. What is a good reciever that would go with that, and that I could keep for a long time? Someone suggested the HK AVR-520, but that seems a little oversized/overpriced/overfeatured for me. What would give me the bass management and size that I need, inexpensively? Thanks!

Also, in such a setup, I wouldn't be going for a WHOLE LOT of accuracy, but I would want it to be pretty nice. Would there be any problems with placing the EP175 under my desk, at my feet? I was considering the Adire Rava, but that seems to be a lot more difficult to place in such a location (being bigger). What do you all think?

You've got some good thoughts on what to buy for a small dorm system so i can't add much to your speaker choices. I think they sound pretty good. I wish i had known about axiom back 10 years ago when i had $1500 to spend one term.

As for receivers, cheap is always a hard thing to find when looking at quality receivers but if you absolutely need to keep costs low, then at least get a good brand name. Offhand i don't know tons but i've used/heard extensively onkyo, denon, yamaha and pioneer before. I would recommend any of the first three over the Pioneers though.

good luck, keep buying those lotto tickets