First, if you are going to stick with mp3s, all getting a good system is going to do is show how poor a media format they are. You need to use a lossless format.

Second, if you get the right sound card you won't have to "simulate" surround sound, at least with movies, as you will have a 5.1 system. However, you might have to run it all through an AV receiver for amplification and audio processing. Without a receiver you will need a sound card that does digtial audio processing for Dolby ProLogic, TrueHD, DTS, etc. In addition, imagine having to have 6 outlets for your speakers (and whatever other outlets you need for your computer and receiver) and you get an idea the problems you might face going with all powered speakers.

Third, if you will be listening to any CDs, the CD players with most computers are not adequate for good sound reproduction.

Fourth, all that said it is not hopeless with $2000-$3000 to spend just on the audio section of your system. Especially if you will be listening in the near field. Let us know if this system will be for an entire room and multiple people or you in the near field.

Finally, this site is predominately for two-channel systems and you could try asking at Stereophile's sister AV site. http://www.ultimateavmag.com/

First off, welcome to the forum and I hope that you find the members here helpful and the forum a worthwhile place to spend some time.

Okay, so I agree with just about everything Jackfish wrote and would like to elaborate on some issues.

The X-Fi card can be configured for a straight digital output, which is very useful to connect to a home theater receiver which has a built-in digital to analog converter (most, if not all, home theater receivers have a built-in DAC). The reason I'm talking about a receiver is that all of the speaker systems you listed in your original post require external power, hence the need of some type of amplification and with a 5.1 channel system, a home theater receiver is the least expensive way to go. A fairly good receiver can be had on the used market for $1000 and under. I like Marantz but there are other equally good brands out there.

Next I would recommend putting the speaker system together piecemeal since I'm of the option that the rear channel speakers need not be of the same caliber as the front and center channel speakers. I would also suggest getting a nice powered subwoofer since then you can then get a less powerful receiver and still be able to get some decent volume levels without distortion plus you don't have to worry about the bass response of the other speakers since the subwoofer will be carrying most of the bass load. Another thing to consider is getting the best center channel speaker your budget allows since when watching movies this is where all the dialog comes from and the better the speaker the clearer the dialog.

So to recap:

home theater receiver: $1000 (or less)

Subwoofer: $400 to $600

Center channel speaker: $300 to $400

Front left and right speakers: $300 to $400

Rear left and right speakers: $100 to $200

Total: $2100 to $2600

Don't forget to factor in another $200 to $400 for cables (speaker and interconnects, although the only interconnects you would need would be a simple mono mini jack to male RCA jack to run from the X-Fi to your receiver and another cable to go from the receiver to the subwoofer) and possibly another couple of hundred dollars for speaker stands and/or mounting brackets.

It may take a little more effort to put a system like this together rather than a just getting a simple home-theater-in-a-box but you will be rewarded with much better sound and a system that you can live with for several years.

If you buy used and shop carefully these numbers are very realistic and you will end up with a really nice sounding surround system.

One last thing, I really like Energy speakers and highly recommend them.

X2 on the Energy speakers. I had an old roommate that had a pair for several years and they didn't make me want to drive ice picks into my ears. That's my odd way of paying them a compliment by the way.

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X2 on the Energy speakers. I had an old roommate that had a pair for several years and they didn't make me want to drive ice picks into my ears. That's my odd way of paying them a compliment by the way.

What an odd way of saying that Energy speakers have good tweeters. I have a pair of Energy Veritas 2.1 speakers and and Energy Microstar 12 subwoofer in the room here with my computer and they sound very, very good. I also of a pair of Energy Veritas 2.1 speakers as the fron t left and right speakers in my home theater setup and they also sound great. Plus I have a pair of their little siblings, the Veritas 2.0 speakers in my bedroom and again, ditto on the sound.

The best part is that I picked all of them up, plus a couple of pairs of dedicated stands, all on deep sale and therefore at very good prices. As I said in my prior post, if you shop around, you can get some really nice sound equipment at very real world prices. Sure the Veritas series of speakers are quite a bit more expensive than the Take Classic series but similar discounts on the Take speakers can be found. So much so, that with a $2K to $3K budget you might be able to pick up $5K worth of gear, at least based on original retail prices. A little bit of work, some luck and a lot of patience is all it takes.

I also have an old set of energy speakers that I like a lot...I believe Audio Adviser is having a big sale as I type...

I'd look at and listen to something like this:
Onkyo TX SR806 receiver $800
SVS 5.1 compact surround system, Four SBS-01 bookshelf speakers, one SCS-01 center channel speaker and one SVS PB10-NSD subwoofer $900
http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/svs_sbs01.htm
http://svsound.com/Reviews/2006-12_S&V_Review_SBS-01-PB12.pdf

In the same price range as Energy I've had a TON of positive experiences with Paradigm. I sold them for about 5 years and can't recall a single customer that was dissatisfied with them. Their customer service was second to none. Because of the HUGE number of speakers that they build it's really hard for others to build affordable speakers that even come close performance wise to their offerings. In general, the Canadians (Paradign, PSB, Energy, Mirage, etc) really have the affordable speaker thing down to a science. Literally, the Canadian government funds research into human hearing and provides the data to Canadian companies for free. It's better hi-fi through Socialism.