My brother has one of these and it totally kicks a$$! He uses it outdoors at the beach, BBQ, etc.

For my office system I also went with cheap used stereo (NAD 3020) I got off eBay (or look at craigslist) I think it was $100, and a nice pair of used bookshelf speakers (also easy to find on eBay/craigs for $200-$300). I got lucky and harvasted a pair of JBL Control5's from work, not great speakers but ok for office use.

I don't have anything helpful to add. This thread just reminded me of one of the best ad images of all time.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353427807.jpg

There's some wisdom in here, for a budget setup. In my office I have an old Sony amp that was part of my dad's old stereo system - mid-range consumer grade, probably $200 new, but that was 20 years ago. For speakers I've got a pair of Sonys from an old portable boombox that I think was my sister's. It was a fairly large one and high-end, as boomboxes go. The speakers are wooden and have a 1" tweeter, a 3" mid-range and a 5" as well, so fairly decent sound. Total cost was free, but to buy used would be under $100 all-in. The sound is by no means pro level - it would never do in my studio, but it beats the hell out of any plastic-encased computer speaker setup I've ever heard.

Lousy iphone pic (massive design flaw on the lens in those things - it's flush with the surface so gets scratched over time. Mine is completely scuffed and scratched, so all my pics look like crap):

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353429359.jpg

They're pretty tough, too - that's drywall compound smeared on the right speaker. They made it through my basement reno several years ago. :)

Headphones.....

Another vote for a decent (used) hifi amp and some half-decent speakers if you can live with stereo instead of surround sound.

I use a Cyrus One that I bought in the UK a while back and a pair of JBL Control 1 Pros that I picked up on ebay for about a hundred bucks.

Jambox worth a look
 

+1 on the Jambox.
I pickup one at the local Costco. Good price.
Works great. :)

My setup, pardon the messy bench :p

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353512163.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353512220.jpg


Edit to add, the Jambox does sound great, but at +$100 it is not cheap IMHO... I see they have a large one now too...

My workplace......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353513229.jpg

Whoever it was that suggested the used stuff on Ebay, thanks! I got this for $20 the other day, should be more than enough for my computer usage. And if it's not it's going to be a good fit in my gym.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1354153159.jpg

Excellent!

I have some small Audioengine speakers at home and some larger Jamo's at my office. Both are powered and sound excellent. At home I do listen thru some AKG headphones more than speakers though.

We covered this about 2 years ago. My answer is the same.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/584146-computer-speakers.html#post5770659