[Bubbacritz]

Let me preface by saying i spend all my time in the headphone section and rarely ever dable in speakers so i dont know much about quality speakers. Currently i am moving into my frat house and i was hoping to throw a nice set-up in there. Id say i probably have a budget of around 500$ but thats not hard set by any means and im willing to go used though i dont prefer it. I am an EDM nut so id say that takes up a majority of my listening time genre wise. Also i currently own a NuForce DAC/AMP(link at the bottom) combo that ive been using with my Denon AH-D7000s and i imagine it could be useful at the very least as a DAC but im not sure. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-Silver-Performance-Headphone-amplifier/dp/B00370U0OG/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355767433&sr=1-2&keywords=nuforce+icon+hdp

 

[cel4145]

Yes. The Nuforce Icon HDP would work fine as a DAC for a speaker setup. You could run powered speakers off of it or connect a receiver to it, and then use passive speakers.
 
Since you are into EDM, a sub would be very important as long as you don't mind your frat brothers feeling the bass in their rooms 

 
Keep in mind that you won't get anywhere near the audio quality of your D7000s with a $500 budget. Depending on what your expectations are for audio quality and volume, and how you intend to use them (e.g., mainly sitting at a computer), might be best to start with the speakers (or speakers and receiver) first, using all of your budget, and then add the sub later. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

You can use all HDP of it - aside from the headphone amp and DAC, you can also use its preamp. You can use either a dedicated power amp with passive speakers (no volume pot), or you can use an active speaker where the problem despit having a volume control on them means optimum placement of the monitors usually means putting the knob beyond easy reach (if it wasn't mounted on the plate amp in the rear to begin with).
 
You can look up Swan active speakers - D1080MkIV goes for $200 and M200MkIII for around $400 I think - and similar brands (Audioengine, Aktimate, etc). Aside from their (the entry level products') definition of "flat" which is a bit warm, which in the absolute lowest price pro audio equivalents  tend to be too flat without dynamic range and probably bright-sounding by perception if not also by actual measurement, the more home audio-geared active speakers have a master and slave speaker. That means there is only one stereo (or dual-stereo if driving each transducer type individually) amp in one speaker. While some may contend that it makes the electrical signal asymmetrical with a longer cable running to the slave speaker, it has one convenient advantage : you only run one  power cable to the outlet instead of one for each speaker.
 
I have the older D1080MkII 08 and I can hear house bass pounding in a room across the hall, rattling the walls. Really low, really loud bass at high volumes should distort it but I haven't encountered it yet, so YMMV depending on how loud you'd go (I'm not holding back much though because I hate my next door neighbors' guts).