Best 2.1 Sound System for Under $400

[patagent]

In your situation, I would look at active speakers like the JBL LSR 305's which are $288 per pair on Amazon.  Might be able to find them cheaper elsewhere.  A ton of positive reviews for these.  I would also look at a sub $100 DAC (audio recording interface) like the Behringer UMC204HD ($79 on Amazon).  Run this setup using Audirvana upsampling to 176 or 192 KHz.  Don't worry too much about cables.  If anything you can run balanced cables from the Behringer to the JBL's.

[patagent]

You can pick up the LSR 305's on eBay for $230 new and the Behringer for $69 new.  Used would be much cheaper.

[patagent]

1 hour ago, Nobear said:

Guys, my Sennheiser HD380s came, and I'm loving them hooked up to my M-Audio M-Track. Even though it's not what you guys were recommending, I learned a lot and took the information into account, and this is what I can comfortably afford right now. I know it's not audiophile level stuff, but the headphones are clearly superior to my multimedia speakers. The HD380s are light and give my big ears plenty of room. The grip is a bit tight for my big head, but at least they don't slide around, and so far I've been able to listen to them for quite a while without my ears getting sore, either physically or through listening fatigue. In quality, they are good enough to tell which recordings of mine are great and which suck. I hear chairs creaking that I've never heard before, and some entire albums suddenly have an unbearable noise floor, but my good recordings are worth it!

 

Now I have some questions about media players. One of you recommended Audirvana, and I've also heard of JRiver. Which one do you all think is better? And am I likely to notice the difference from iTunes with my current headphones/interface?

 

The HD380s have a flat frequency response, which I want for making music. However, for listening, I'd like to be able to use a high quality EQ, for instance to boost the bass. The iTunes EQ, apart from any quality limitations it might have, only goes down to 32 Hz. You know that's not low enough for me :P.

 

 

I've tried both Audirvana and JRiver.  I prefer Aurdivana's SQ (and interface.  It's so much easier to upsample on Audirvana.  You can download free trial versions of both so go ahead and test it out.  I ended up purchasing Audirvana.