What's your pick for best i-pod Classic active speakers?

Just get a B&W Zeppelin if your  just using your iPod.

Hmm I've got a similar setup to you - I put my 24" screen between two Epoz Aktimate Mini's. I was very confident when I bought them a few years back that they were the best active desktop monitor speakers I could have bought with an iPod dock, and I'm pretty confident they still are. I compared them to the Focal XS system and the original Zepplin - while the Zepplin system has a nice authoritative sound it obviously can't be put on two sides of a monitor, and soundstage width is mediocre. The Aktimates have a clean, dynamic sound with amazing soundstaging and a surprising amount of finesse in the highs.

My only recommendation is if that you have very limited space from the back wall, the Aktimates are rear ported and need room to breathe. I myself just bunged the rear ports with foam.

I dont think the RP5 would be ideal for ipod. The A5 has a aux output. 

Well, you won't need a DAC necessarily with the Aktimates. They will take input straight from the iMac headphone out, or an iPod. I run them at the moment with a MusicStreamer II+, but even something like a uDAC is awesome with them. Straight out of my 2006 Macbook Pro's headphone out I noticed some quiet buzzing, but didn't notice anything with newer models. So yes, they are perfectly adequate without a DAC, but better with one. (Same with anything really.)

As for bass, that's the least of your concerns with the Aktimates hehe... though if you want some really rich sub-bass you may want to go with a subwoofer eventually like I did. They have a bunch of flexible input outputs, so they offer plenty of opportunity down the line.

well the Audica can you still get? same for the picoforte which you dont say which number (1 or 3) actually i do see a couple of places with the 1 at a pretty bargain price.

ill toss in another couple of options, the Roth Charlie 2.0 or 2.1 or the Acoustic Energy Aego M.

btw you havent really said what sound signature or behaviour you want so it makes it hard to say which might sout you best but id stay away from bigger things like the A5 if your going to be sitting right in front

I don't have any recommendations, but I wanted to point out something that may be minor: since each of the Rokits has its own RCA input jack, you’d have to split down a Y cable (or get a split one), and it could be messy/awkward. They also weren’t a good match for my 4G iPod Classic when I tried them (to me the result was harsh and hollow). I’ve heard very good thing about the Kanto iPair, but I’ve never tried them.

Good luck making your choice.

Prodipe Pod3 , i'm not sure how they sound but prodipe make excellent sounding monitors.

I would go for the AudioEngine A2's. They're affordable for the price, and for the sound output, it's very good.

If you can find them used, even better, as they're cheaper, making them super affordable!

I have a 27" monitor, and a tiny desk. I went with the A5's because someone was selling them for $220. I jumped on it faster than anything else I ever bought.

They were bigger than expected, and now my monitor is off center due to the size of the speakers. Haha. :(

Also, I'm getting a Maverick D1 soon as well as more tubes, so I'm expecting the audio quality to increase.