Hello David...welcome!
You could consder some self-powered speakers that are MP3/Ipod
ready. Audioengine 5's have had lots of great reviews. I've heard them and am impressed...good for a dorm room/bedroom or a moderate living room:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/audioengine-A5p1.php

Another option is to find a used stereo store...preferable a place that repairs equipptment. What city are you living in? I'm sure one of us could give you suggestions.
Good luck. Let us know what you get.
Mike

Quote:
I dont know if thoes speakers are gonna be load enough for what i am looking for.

Hey just a forewarning for you if your going to be cranking up the volume allot.

I'm sure you've heard of blowing out your speakers, I used to be under the impression that this was due to too much power, it's usually not (correct me if I'm wrong everyone). Basically the problem is the amp is too wimpy to drive your speakers correctly at those higher volumes. The amp just cant move the cones as much as they need to go and you get something called "clipping" this will eventually heat up and destroy your speakers.

thus when going for loud loud music, you probably want a very easy to drive speaker, and an amp that actually can push the volumes for extended periods of time. generally the amps that you see from sony or technics or whatever at BB are way overrated in the wattage/power output. that's like there theoretical maximum. I like to think of it like Miles per Gallon, sure if you drive at a consistent 45mph on a totally flat surface in perfect weather you can come close to the MPG rating. However, if you drive hard, or even normally your going to run out of gas quicker.

For an amp that can take abuse look into the audio source amps on Parts Express. You should also be aware that some of the better made audiophile type integrated amps like those from NAD, will have protections against clipping and thus ruining the speaker. They are also way more conservatively rated than the cheap Yamaha reciever the guy next door has. Thus if NAD says its 50watts per channel, it will likely beat the pants off of the 200 watt Panasonic mini system, in just about every way.

I don't mean to bash those other recievers/amps, but just to let you know the numbers don't mean a whole lot with most of them, and that your far far more likely to damage a speaker with too little power than too much.

shop around, look for used buys, get to know the electronics, and have fun.

Cheers

Stop. Stop. Stop. The word you are looking for is "loud", not "load". Speaker load is important, but probably not what you mean. Speaker diameter is not the measure of quality or volume. Speaker sensitivity is the measure of a speakers output for a given input. A 90 plus value plays pretty loud for a given input. Lower 80db values take more power for a given volume. Then just because a speaker can play loud doesn't mean that it can play loud and sound clear. If you are really concerned about quality sound, what format is your music files stored? Low quality lossy compressed files? How are you converting these digital files to analog? Using a crappy digital to analog converter in your computer? Just like the computer phrase "garbage in, garbage out", the same holds true for audio. The worlds greatest speakers can't fix a poor source signal. If you just want loud, shop sensitivity. If you want quality sound then research the complete music path.

The first college sound system, boy oh boy does that take me back. My first "system" was a Harman Kardon 330B combined with a couple of "baby" Advent II loudspeakers. It cost me 380 bucks way back in 1974 and my dad pitched a fit about my spending an entire summer's savings on it. Considering it served me quite well for over 10 years it was actually a pretty good investment and I still use that 330B as a tuner.

First, lets review a couple of things. One is that you won't be able to "win" any loudness contests on your budget. Get that out of your head right now because it just can't be done, not if you want any quality to your sound. Second, you'll be using your system in a SMALL room and you really don't need a lot of power, or huge speakers.

I would recomend the Infinity Primus 150 loudspeakers. Cheap, small, and very good sounding. For the Amp, that's very difficult today. Ideally, something like the Advent 300, or my old 330B would work quite well. Unfortunately, you can't buy that kind of quality anymore at your budget level. Today it's all about "Home Theater" and "music power" ratings for amplifier power. Basically the "consumer" has killed off quality 2 channel audio by purchasing gimics and "numbers". So hit the big box store and get whatever 2 channel reciever is still on the shelf. Looking at $ircuit $ity's website, they have 2 choices, a Sherwood or Sony, both rated at 100 wpc. I would get the Sony simply because Sherwood has a very long history of "hyping" (which is a shame becasue way back in the 60's they were a premium "reference"). At least Sony is somewhat trustworthy. BTW, the Infinity Primus 150 is on sale at Circuit City for just 39.77 each so you'll have room in your budget to add the Infinity 8 inch powered Subwoofer (109.99) to your system to fill in the lower registers where the 150's are a bit weak. Total is about 340 bucks and it's a system that will be loud enough that your neighbors will want you to turn it down.

BTW, I have also been shopping for a new system but my budget is much higher. TO give you an idea of what true audiophile quality costs at the low end, here it is. Amps, NAD C372 integrated and C272 amplifier, both will be run bridged for a total of 400 wpc. Cost is 899 for the C372 and 699 for the C272. Speakers, PSB Stratus T45 floorstanders at 750 for the pair. I would have liked the Infinity Primus 360 but cannot buy them locally and don't trust shipping for a speaker this large. Pre-amp for my turntable, NAD PP-2 at 129. Rega Apollo CD player, 1000 bucks. Turntable, Rega Planar 5 for 950. That totals over 4400 bucks and it's probably about the cheapest that you can put together a "true" audiphile grade system today.

I recently helped someone in a situation similar to yours purchase a system. I strongly recommend one brand for that price range; AKAI!

They make some small systems that run $300-400 that are quite remarkable for their performance and sound quality; I would certainly buy one if I needed a small system for office/dorm/vacation home applications. AKAI is not quite as easy to find as some other brands, but if you can find a dealer, I think you will be impressed with the performance of their equipment.