Another option would be some Focal Chorus 705V's bookshelf speakers with the Audioengine N22 amp or a simple T-Amp. Those Focal's sound very very good and far better than the A5's or A2's would ever sound IMO.

For desktop I'd always go with active nearfield monitors, it saves needing an amp on your desk, they're meant to be listened to from close range, they do everything just as well at low/high volume, they're not all overly harsh/ruler flat and they often offer built in EQ adjustments for dealing with desktop reflections, taming the bass if you have them against a wall and stuff like that, which is very useful.
 
I have Focal CMS 50s, and if I wasn't in a bedroom and had neighbours and people beneath me, I'd add the CMS Sub, mainly for EDM and games. If I had a much bigger budget, I'd have gone for the Focal Twin 6 Be's and the Focal Solo Sub 6. I doubt I'd ever want 5.1 for a computer (7.1 is pointless unless you have a big room and a lot of space), but I could always add a Solo 6 Be as a center and some di/bipoles for the rears. I'd probably forgo the center actually since monitors tend to have great imaging and give you that phantom center effect very well.
 
The trouble is that only your ears can tell you what you like, and your budget dictates what you're able to afford, so throwing suggestions about isn't that much help. See what's available for you to listen to nearby, audition, see what you're able to afford, pick what you like most.

Thanks for all of your inputs.
 
I went to audition the Audioengine 5's, Bowers and Wilkin MM-1, and Harman Kardon Soundsticks III, and truthfully, I loved the engine 5's the most. I'm not going to get into details why, but they are $325, but I can maybe get them for a little lower than that. They don't require a sub either which is amazing, what a room saver! What do you guys think, worth it?
 
I also wanted to ask about the Harman Kardon GLA-55. I didn't get a chance to audition them, but any comments?

 
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zombie_x said:

Another option would be some Focal Chorus 705V's bookshelf speakers with the Audioengine N22 amp or a simple T-Amp. Those Focal's sound very very good and far better than the A5's or A2's would ever sound IMO.

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+1 i heard one of those Chorus offerings and santa maria! Dun think many peeps outside Europe would have heard these though 
 
For cheapo PC audio and if one really can't have amps/receivers
 
Edifier 1900T/Microlab Solo 5C/Swan D1010MkII08 or better
Sub with RCA in/out (like Dayton SUB-80)
 
offers solid performance over low/mid/high and pretty much bang for buck hehe Am not too hot with compromising to cheap/muddy bass with PC Speakers though so i would seriously try decent musical passive/actives and hifi style subs 

I've also heard great things about those active Tannoy offerings. The ellipses look pretty awesome. Problem is, I haven't had a chance to audition them myself. 
 
For less expensive, I've also heard good things about the Blue Sky offerings. Again, no chance to try them myself, though. 
 
http://www.tannoy.com/StudioSummary.aspx

Genelec is supposed to be amazing. For more affordable speakers you could try the Audioengine A5's, which is what I use. The swan Hivi m200mkiii is also very nice, sounds about the same as the audioengine a5's.

The A5's are active speakers and have only 3.5mm TRS input, so keep that in mind. What this implies is that you wont be able to pre-amp your music before putting it into the speaker and there is no way that I have found to bypass the speakers' built in amp. The only "problem" i've noticed with them is that they do not produce sub bass frequency tones such as those below 20hz, and that if you go below 30 they have kind of a hard time bringing that bass out. I noticed it because my ipod classic via MeElec M11p+ and via Monster Turbines was able to produce much lower, rumbling frequencies that are inaudible on the A5's.

The A5's have a line out so that you can forward the music to a subwoofer or reciever at the same volume at which it entered the speaker. I'm currently tossing around ideas to figure out how to get that bass response.