Speakers

I'm a proud owner of the original 4.1 set. I've had them since spring of 2000, and they're still going strong. I simply blast away my friends with them.

Now you can buy a refurbished 4.1 set from them for $150. That's damn good. I bought mine when they were still sold only on their website, and I was on a waiting list for 4 months. Sorry, but the MarkII waiting list had nothing on this one, because they made the sets much more slowly, so fewer people got them. it was agony.

So in conclusion: BUY THEM.

But I'm sure that other people here will suggest other systems. I obviously biased towards these babies, so maybe I'm not the best to ask. But I will say that you can buy a digital decoder for the 5.1 set.

I'd also have to say that buying a good set of speakers is a wise purchase. Like I said, I've had these speakers for two and a half years, and if they don't blow out, I'll have them for another 2.5. Speakers will tend to be among your longest-lasting pieces of computer equipment.