speaker selection help ... on a budget

My suggestion is that you save up enough money to buy some decent speakers. Let's be honest here, $250.00 won't get you a whole lot. This is just my opinion, I'm sure others will chime in with their own. Good luck.

I'm sure you will get plenty of suggestions, but let me throw out the original Advent Loudspeakers. I still use a pair in my analogue setup. They won't resolve as well as much more expensive speakers, but their dynamic range and clarity is excellent for the price. For $250 or less, you should be able to easily find a pair in great working condition. You might be able to find two pairs needing a re-foam (kit is like $18 on eBay) for $99 or less a pair. That would allow you to go with the classic "Double Advent" setup. I'm fairly certain the double advents will blow away anything you could find for $250 or less.

If you can stretch your budget by $50, you could try the Energy RC-10, originally priced at $600 and now offered by Vanns.com for half that price, shipping included. Google "Energy RC-10 reviews," and you'll see they are generally very well regarded.
-Bob