What are the best pc speakers?


The title pretty much says it all. What are the best 2.0 or 2.1 speakers for pc audio (preferably active, though I could use a t-amp for the right passive speakers)?

Computer wise, I haven't yet decided to go with a mac, in which case white speakers would be good, or a pc, in which case black would be the order of the day. I'll be using digital output from the computer to a Lite Dac Ah, then to the speakers.

The other thing is that the speakers need to be fairly compact, to fit on a desktop and... dare I say it... a little funky looking. Given that the speakers do need to be small, I'm thinking a 2.1 setup may be best, but I'm willing to be swayed. Budget wise I guess I'd be looking at up to $500, though could go higher for the right product.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
baileyincanberra
I second the Swans. I've had mine a few years and would buy another pair if I had it to do over. Nice sound for the price. They look good too.
Here is a link to an M200 review and some other PC speaker options

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SwanM200/
The non exotic Altec Lansing I found to be quite satisfying. Athough I have seen ribbon PC speakers also.