i agree with the what sounds good to one, will not sound so good to another.

Me personally, I tried the NHT's and a few others. The dealer I bought some of my gear from would let me bring the speakers home to try out in the actual room to see what worked the best.

For me, Paradigm sounded significantly better than the others. I prefer a speaker with a slightly more higher end. I know that this shouldn't be the case, but the type of music you listen to may also have an effect on what you buy (I'm assuming this isn't just for HT listening)

The active 40's, to me, coulpled with the Studio CC and your choice of rears are awesome.

Don't know what you are talking about with those other questions.

Mark W