I would not expect any problem pairing Axioms up with a 950/770 system -- they have a good reputation, and several gunslingers around here use 'em (Matthew Hill has some MT80's, as I recall). Some of them may be able to offer some thoughts on how they compare to the Paradigm Reference and Boston Acoustics lines. I will say that from what I've heard about the Axioms, they are pretty substantial and a good value -- certainly a step above Best Buy's typical offerings. At the same time, $500 for a pair of Studio/40's is one heck of a good deal since they retail for around $900 I believe (most AudioReview reviewers were paying around $750 to $800 or more).

If you are working on a budget, consider this: the high bandwidth connection referred to for HDTV is the component video switching; progressive scan DVD and HDTV video signals use a lot of bandwidth, and some receivers and pre/pros use component video switching that can't handle the signal bandwidth well enough to make the switching fully transparent (leading to signal degradation). The 1050 lacks any component video switching. Is this a problem? Not necessarily. If you have only one compatible input on your display, then you would want external switching. If your set has two inputs, then you could just as well use those two inputs and bypass the 1050 or 950 entirely.

Before I turn off the monitor for the night, I'll offer one bit of advice: when speaker shopping, try to listen to a lot of different products, preferably using some demo material of your choosing that you are familiar with.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review