Need to buy a system for $600 max

[Subleam]

Hello, I am a layman when it comes to audio. Basicly I am tired of my $50 5.1 system that my parents bought me 7 years ago.
I want to buy 2 decent speakers (and a sub? is that needed?) to put on my desk. I will listen to them from a short distance (near-field that is called?). I will not play anything loud since I have quite sensitive neighbours. I have an eclectic musical taste (i mostly listen to bass-heavy music like classic dubstep or drum and bass, but also metal, jazz and some other genres). I will play music from a PC and a laptop (both with some generic integrated sound cards). Is there any way to diminish the effect that those soundcards have on music? Like some external USB card or some device? Or is that unnecessary?
Basicly I want to get the best sound for maximum price of $600 - that includes speakers and if necessary some devices and cables. I would highly appreciate your help.

 

[ImcLoud]

With your budget, I would get...


Dayton Audio APA150 150W Power Amplifier 300-812
Dayton Audio SUB-1200 12" 120 Watt Powered Subwoofer 300-629
FMOD Crossover Pair 100 Hz High Pass 266-274
Amazon.com: Behringer B2030P Ultra-Linear Reference Studio Monitor Pair: Musical Instruments

that leaves you a little bit for a couple rcs splitters and speaker cables...

 

[Subleam]

Thanks for that, but I forgot to say that I live in Poland and would have to pay $500 for shipping.
Can't find many of those items on polish/european shops.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I don't know how expensive for you would be shipping from uk, but there is a simple setup for nearfield sound:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-B2031A-Reference-Studio-Monitor/dp/B000MJ7AA2/ref=sr_1_12?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1376055447&sr=1-12
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-192KHz-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6

You'd also need a pair of shielded (75ohm, aka coax, aka digital aka subwoofer) rca cables

 

[Subleam]

Both the monitors and DAC are available in Poland.
Do they have a bass response good enough to play without sub?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Both the monitors and DAC are available in Poland.
Do they have a bass response good enough to play without sub?

With 8 3/4" woofers I would certainly say yes, well except canon shots in 1812 Overture

When I just got my JBL lsr2325p and played Avatar on them. The shuttle landing scene - I think my window glasses were shaking... all from a pair of 5.25" woofers... just saying..
usually the bigger woofers => more and better bass

 

[tmurnin]

Check out AudioEngines A5
Audioengine 5+ - Audioengineusa.com

Combine that with their D1 DAC and you have a very nice 2-channel system that is space efficient as well. You can eventually add a sub if you feel you're missing the deep bass. I have the A2 speakers, which are smaller and great for my purposes, but that's just occasional listening.

 

[Subleam]

Ok, so I bought Behringers Truth B2031A and that FiiO D3 DAC as BoredSysAdmin suggested. Now I need cables for laptop-DAC connection and DAC-monitors connection. Could you link me to specific offers?