Hi All! I'm Ted and I'm trying to find a good setup to replace the blend speakers on my computer.
I mainly listen to Pop, R&B, Jazz and a good bit of everything mixed in-between, but the speakers will also be used for gaming/multimedia etc.
PC has Coaxial/Optical S/PDIF out ports 
My budget is quite limited at around $500 and here are two different approaches I'm considering:
1. Vanatoo Transparent One: for my $500 budget this seems like a great "all-in-one" package which I can just connect to my computer via S/PDIF. I've seen some positive reviews on them and they seem to provide adequate bass for their size. A minor inconvenience I see with this setup will be adjusting the volume by reaching to the backside of the speakers.
2. Emotiva Airmotiv 4 + Aune T1 DAC (Or maybe Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1?): heard nothing but great things about the Emotiva speakers, and having two separate components means it'll be easier if I decide to upgrade one of the two later down the road. Easier to adjust volume levels comparing to option 1 and I get a headphone amp too. And more components=more things to play with (tubs, opamp).

 
Thanks for your time, all helps and suggestions welcome!
Ted