Frank;
Almost all the computer speaker sets are "free standing", that is they have
their
own self contained amplifiers. I use a 3 pc set of yamahas with my Sony
minidisc walkman plugged into the headphone jack, and they sound fantastic.
You definitely will see an improvement in sound quality if you get into a
soundblaster live and a 3pc or more speaker set.
  You can get some yamaha YSTMS30  (30 watt) and
YSTMS50W (80 watt)sets for under $100 that sound great.
 Try Computer Geeks for some good speaker deals (Altec Lansing, refurbs, and
others)
http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=SPK
they have fair shipping, but they may be down for inventory for a few days
right now.

-----
From: "Frank R. Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>

> If I decided to go for a three- or five-piece speaker set,
> would I need a special sound card to support it, or
> would it make sense to use it with something like the
> basic soundblaster you recommended?
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