Quote Originally Posted by nirama
Also, keep in mind that these speakers are only going to be used for listening to at probably parties, and when I'm sitting around/doing homework.

....hmmmm parties and homework. So pretty much the full gambit wouldn't you say? You need proper quality at low levels and of course, you want to rock your friends like a hurricane when its party time. Dude, you need to buy an amp, theres no way a typical computer speaker set up will satisfy all your needs. And yes, a "receiver" is essentially an amp and a radio tuner combined into one package. A receiver would be fine but really what you need is just an amp which is for powering the speakers. Go to your local hi-fi shop and they will break it down for you....