Stereo speakers + amp up to 300 pounds

With your budget personally I'd shop opn eBay and get some decent 2nd hand stuff; more bang for your buck etc...!

Amps:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NAD-C315BEE-Integrated-Amplifier-40-Watts-Per-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Open-Box-NAD-C316-BEE-Performance-Amplifier-Gr...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nad-C325BEE-Stereo-Amplifier-/190782440385?pt=...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nad-C315BEE-Intergrated-stereo-amplifier-manua...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rotel-RA-04-Black-40W-Integrated-Amplifier-/26...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROTEL-RA-04-full-sized-Integrated-Amplifier-Gr...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcam-A65-amplifier-/121048262717?pt=UK_AudioT...

Speakers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-W-DM601-SPEAKERS-WITH-GRILLS-BOWERS-AND-WILK...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-W-DM601-S1-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/29084089216...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wharfedale-Diamond-10-1-Blackwood/dp/B0031NHB96/...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WHARFEDALE-DIAMOND-SPEAKERS-BLACK-PAIR/dp/B002WJ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tannoy-Mercury-M2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/281046...

All the above will work well. IMO one of the NAD amps and the Wharfedale 10.1's would be a superb set-up.

Does your soundcard have a DAC included. If not the likes of a FiiO D3 or Lindy DAC via Amazon (c£30/£40) with a basic optical cable and a set of RCA cables would be a great way to get a better sound! Thats if your soundcard has optical out that is. If not a similar USB DAC would would work well!

Have you also considered active speakers such as the Audioengine A5's or EPOZ Aktimate Maxis? Can be hand ex-demo/2nd hand for your budget and no amps needed; just plug into your computer & the mains and off you go!

My choice system for that price would be a second hand Denon PMA 250SE driving a pair of Boston Acoustics A26 speakers. Fantastic combo.

Secodhand is the way to go here, or a pair of new active speakers like KRK's Rokit 5, Yamaha's HS50, Roland's DS7 or stretch the budget out to around £380 would get a pair of Yamaha HS80M's which will satisfy your bass thirst!

For my money, and they are rare, try and get hold of a Harmon Kardon HK6550 or the beefier HK6850, both of which should come in under £150 - build to die for, ample power, good current, and sound terrific.  Plenty of power under the lid.  That leaves you £150 for something either new (e.g. Richer Sounds sale) or used, and the likes of Mission's original 751 for around £100 or less would be a winner.  Factor in £60 for a pair of Mission's excellent Stancettes and you can sit back and enjoy knowing you'd probably have a hard time beating that combo for the money (actives included).

Thank you for the answers.

When I think about it... active speakers would probably be a better choice for a computer-based setup.

So far we have the following candidates (prices for new pairs):

Audioengine A5 - £330

KRK Rokit 5 - £250

Yamaha HS50 - £240

Unfortunately I couldn't find Roland DS7s nor EPOZ Aktimate Maxis (these look bad-ass).

A5s are a bit over my budget ? Do you think they are worth the £80 over the Rokits ?

How are the HS50s compared to the Rokits ?

Any other suggestions ?

I would consider buying 2nd hand, but I need to be sure they will work... where is the most reliable place to buy 2nd hand audio ?

There are some Behringers active for about £180, can't remember the number but meant to be very good. 

OK they are B1030As.

EPOZ's here but over budget:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aktimate-Maxi-Black-iPod-Active-Speakers-Pair-...

However I'd be tempted to contact them as their price seems too high for ex-demo when they were that price brand new not so long ago with the likes of Superfi etc...

The Yamaha AS50's are superb speakers; some that I listened to alongside the Epoz's but you need a DAC and XLR cables for the Yamaha's so that adds up as well; you can just plug them into a computer and go whereas you can with the Audioengine and EPOZ speakers!

Another suggestion (way below budget paremeters as well):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Gigaworks-Series-Multimedia-Speakers/dp...

I have these and they're astounding and so much bang for your buck for PC speakers. For me they thrash the B&W MM1's outright soundstage and the MM1's are multi award winners!

When we were decorating the living room (completely gutted 20' by 16' room with just carpet down) I used these on the window ledge and streamed from my iPad and they filled the living room with ease and the bass depth/kick these produce is stunning!

Also think about the Focal XS Book 

^^^

Good call!

I think the ones that 'the record spot' recommended were HS50M - they are active as well.

I ruled out the A5s for now. I can't go higher than 300 (ideally around 250)... unless I find a good 2nd hand deal on them.

I also ruled out the Creatives. They may be a bang for the buck, but if I can get better for the money I have, then I'd rather buy those.

So far we have:

KRK Rokit 5 - £250,  Yamaha HS50M - £240, Focal XS Book - £260, Behringer B1030As - £180, I'm gonna be studying them' reviews now. Until then, please do express your opinion on which ones do you think are best. I'll be buying them around 2 weeks from now.

I know what youre saying re the active speakers (Yamahas, Rokits etc...) but as I said above; you'll also need a DAC with XLR outs so connect the speakers to the computer as they dont have standard RCA inpiuts unlike the Audioengine or EPOZ speakers

Pic of the rear of the Yamaha speakers:

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-HS50M_rear.jpg

The likes of Yamaha, Rokit et al speakers are ideally studio monitors but obviously will work well with a PC based system

Definitly dont rule out the Focal XS Book speakers; they are astonishing (brother has these as they were overkill for me) but the Creatives are also fantastic!

EDIT**

Just noticed that the Behringer does have an unbalanced RCA in:

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-B1030A_detail2.jpg

And the same with the ROKIT's: http://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/krk-rokit-5-g2-456283.jpg

You will need a DAC or similar to connect your PC to these sppeakers. Does your PC have just a 3.5mm phono out ot does the soundcard have RCA or an optical out?

You could get away with a basic optical DAC such as the Fiio D3 or Lindy DAC for around £30-£40 on Amazon.

If not you may have to rely on a USB DAC to connect your PC to these speakers:

Maybe something like this: http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm

I'm kinda confused about these out/inputs.

I thought cinch (RCA) was analogue... isn't that correct ? Why do I need a DAC then ? I thought I can just connect the jack output directly to the RCA input.

My PC only has a 3.5" jack output and I'm definitely looking for a solution that can work a simple jack output, so I can connect it to any source.

You might find the sound via the 3.5mm mini-jack is truly abysmal.

A USB DAC would probably be a big improvement. What about...

http://www.whathifi.com/review/epoz-aktimate-micro

This!