[TremendousTiger]

I am looking at getting some speakers for my computer, and I'm looking to spend a max of $150. Going to be used for music listening and gaming. I've heard good things about the Klipsch set but I've also read that passive speakers are better than active. Just looking for some clarification and suggestions as I couldn't find a whole lot of info on this. If the bookshelf speakers are the better option I would probably be using a budget amp like the lepai lp-2020a or something. 

 

[jatergb]

Look at Dayton Audio speakers and Lepai Amp. Perfect set-up for about 100 USD. Also, check Pioneer BS 22 LR by Andrew jones. 

 

[tjohnusa]

I vote for the Klipsch. The bass can't be matched by a 5.5 or 6.5 bookshelf woofer. I own a selection of bookshelf speakers and also the Klipsch (sadly the amp crapped out on me) the overall sound of the promedia rivals a larger set up in both sound quality and volume. The Klipsch 2.1 is a great setup for a budget minded type looking for a "home stereo" just for volume alone....it can crank quite loud. I do not have a T amp and can't attest to the quality but I do know a lot of them use IC's that were used in high output car audio from the 80's and 90's. Even though my amp is dead I still am able to use the satellites with a powered sub for my bedroom setup with excellent results. I plan on buying another promedia setup soon. They can be had on ebay for around $100 if money is a big concern. 

 

[bigx5murf]

I actually have both these setups currently hooked up to my PC. I've got a set of klipsch 4.1 promedias, that I'm running as a 2.1 system, being fed by a schiit modi, hooked up with optical output from onboard sound. My ATI radeon is feeding HDMI to a sony 7.1 receiver, with energy take5.2 satellites, and energy 10" sub. I use the klipsch promedia for near field listening when i'm sitting at my PC, and the external amp/energy take5 for listening on the couch. The ext amp, and energy setup fills the room better, has noticeably better mids, and lows. Vocals are also noticeably better on the energy setup compared to the klipsch. Percussion instruments also have more oomph.
 
If you go with the klipsch, I'd budget for an external DAC. I've ran mine directly from the onboard for a long time. With an ext DAC, instrumentals were improved very noticeably, in particular the bass got tighter, and the instruments got more distinct. Cymbals gained a reverb that wasn't there before.