I agree with a lot of the above posts, that being the size of the room is a factor. I also think for 2 channel music a full range speaker is the way to go. I have a larger room and listen to a lot of 2-channel, so I opted for towers up front. I have heard bookshelves in smaller rooms...
The trust your ears is the best way to go. Having not heard the Axioms myself I can not make any comments on them. I personally own studio 100s and 40s. After many many auditions, these fit me nicely, and just a touch over budget. listen to as many speakers as you can. If you can, listen to...
Speaking of the old Maxell bricks, I still get them, but I do have a purpose for them, it is a very convenient and cheap method of making practice session recordings from the board. You can still find the tape cleaning 'fluid' at Rat Shack and most electronic stores that still sell the tape...
Monster is a bit pricey IMO. The soundking you mentioned is good. That is what I run. I will second what Chu said about the length not needing to be the same and 16 AWG would be plenty. Oh yeah, the cats will still be able to chew through a heavier gauge, it will just take them longer... LOL!
I have seen worse damage from carriers. Had a large server that was in a crate on a pallet and apparently the fork truck driver ‘missed the mark’, put the forks right through the crate and server. :) The carrier even argued with us that the damage was like that from the sender, well, we knew...
Craig, you know you want (need) to get a ContraBass and a B-DEAP32. :p) I am thinking about a few of them for my PA. The question would be which one? Hmm, Mark, I may need to talk to you about that one of these days.