Affordable floorstanding speakers?

[Koggit]

Thanks for the response and welcome.

I could go a little over $500. I don't have a finite number, but being a student I can't spend $1,000+ on audio... that's almost a quarter's worth of tuition!

I actually started my pricing research on eBay. The big problem I ran into was simply not knowing what I was looking at. I could find information on the higher end and mid-range stuff (such as the Energy C-9's, which, from reviews, seem to be an amazing value... wish I could afford 'em)... but when I come down to the sets I can actually afford (such as these Divinci DV-1450s for $300 shipped), I can't find any information about them anywhere on the web.

Here are a couple other speakers with their current prices...

Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 - $300/pair, shipped
They mention "bi-wiring", and they explain it as similar to higher end video signals separating color channels to get a more accurate picture. Is this a gimmick, or are these as good as he claims? They seem awfully cheap for what the seller claims.

Yamaha NS-555 - $139/pair + shipping
These got great reviews from users on AudioReview.com. It lists the MSRP as only $200. I don't understand why they're so cheap if they don't suck. The only big complaint seems to be toward the lows, which I don't need anyway (deep bass will only make the neigbors complain!)

MORDAUNT-SHORT MS906 - $308/pair shipped
Google results only return Europeon sites, but the cheapest from an online retailer is £339, which is $650 USD. What caught me with this pair was just the aesthetic design, they look really nice.


EDIT: On the Onkyo site, I found this receiver. Looks promising, at $199 for a refurb. TX-LR552: http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?...il=1&ext_war=1

It has two component in, two optical in, a coax, even component video out.. quite sleek, as well. I don't know anything about the audio side of it, the specs and features don't make any sense to me. It's all moon-man gibberish. Onkyo seems pretty popular though.