I bought a set of Logitech Z313 at a department store just to have some quick speakers to use. The quality seems decent for an inexpensive set, but I'm not a fan of the design. They have a power/volume/headset output dongle that seems hard to use compared to having a knob on the R speaker like with most designs. Having the headphone jack next to the keyboard does make it easier to use headphones or record audio to a laptop though.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/speaker … em-z313?crid=47

As others have said, vintage does not automatically equal "quality". You will need to listen to the speakers.
Having said that, Radio Shack used to make an Optimus mini speaker, the new ones are garbage the older ones are pretty good, though. A pair of those with a small amp would make a nice bookshelf system.
Audio is one of those things where there is definitely a diminishing point of returns, you can spend $500, $5000 or $50,000 on a system, while you could probably tell the difference between the first 2 I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between the 2nd and 3rd. And as things have gotten better, even a $500 system sounds pretty damn good these days.

Wow necro posting here. 😜
I'm basically settled on what I'm going to use. (Or rather am using.)

With Logitech you do tend to get better speakers the more you spend. I have Logitech speakers ranging from USB powered 2.0 to the 5.1 Z906. I like how they sounds and they are good value.

In my retro computer lab however I wanted 2.0 speakers and went with the Gigaworks T40 II and I also like how they sound.

I like the idea of amplifier + stereo trio system speakers.
Here in Serbia it is possible to find vintage (1970s - 1980s) speakers in great shape, some times even Japan made ones, for cheap.
I bought my self an unknown set of speakers (EuroSound) because they seemed in great shape, turned out they sound even better than they look 😀

Yeah using the older stereo systems is definitely bonus style points in my book. 🤣

Logistics wrote:

Keep in mind that in order to get that great, 3D imaging from stereo over a set of stereo speakers, you'll need to make them aim directly at you.

Not always true. It depends on the speaker and how they're designed - some speakers sound better "aimed straight ahead" but some do not (and some sound worse setup that way). Best advice: experiment with different layouts (and your room will also make a difference in terms of how they'll sound).

snorg wrote:

As others have said, vintage does not automatically equal "quality". You will need to listen to the speakers.
Having said that, Radio Shack used to make an Optimus mini speaker, the new ones are garbage the older ones are pretty good, though. A pair of those with a small amp would make a nice bookshelf system.
Audio is one of those things where there is definitely a diminishing point of returns, you can spend $500, $5000 or $50,000 on a system, while you could probably tell the difference between the first 2 I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between the 2nd and 3rd. And as things have gotten better, even a $500 system sounds pretty damn good these days.

In some cases the $50,000 system will actually be worse than the $500 system - some scary stuff goes on in the nose-bleed expensive realm of hi-fi. 😵

On Radio Shack - they have a new "brand" Avio or something like that, and they sell a basic pair of bookshelves under that branding. They aren't anything revolution, but for $30-$40 they sound pretty good and aren't terribly large. Not quite the Optimus Mini speakers in the metal cabinets, but better than some stuff you can get for 2-3x the price these days. 😊