[milo]

...

[tooki]

You specify 2.1 sound, but consider getting a 2.0 system (full-range L and R channels, rather than limited-range satellites and a sub). I think they tend to produce a richer sound -- the cheap sub-and-satellite setups tend to leave out a lot of midrange and upper bass frequencies. My computer speakers are Jamo CS-5 (no longer available), and they sound superb. People ask me where the sub is hiding, but there is none.

One option is to go to a musical instrument shop and buy "studio monitor" speakers -- the kind professional musicians use to make music. They come in pretty much every price range, and generally sound great.

As for what you might find at a big box store: high-end Altec Lansing speakers tend to sound nice.

tooki

[fisherKing]

check out m-audio.com
you can hear their speakers in music stores...

i have a pair in my bedroom (with airtunes); they sound great.
(in fact, they used to be my music-production monitors...until i bought the big mackie speakers!)

[milo]

...

[Sage]

I have Creative’s i-Trigue i3350, and it’s wonderful. I’m not much of an audiophile, but every review I read of it said that it was one of the best 2.1 speakers for the money ($90), so I got it (and it nicely matches my iMac G5 – it even has the “top-heavy” design of the iMac! ). Check Newegg.com for it – when I bought it, I got a $20 rebate, so it only cost 70 bucks.

[milo]

...