Really, you dont absolutely need a mixer to run these from a phone, computer, ipad or whatever. Those speakers are self powered and have RCA inputs so you can get one of these cords and hook it right up to the first speaker and then get a couple of these XLR cables and link the next two speakers in a chain from the first.

If you really just want a mixer for more control over the EQs and volume, literally, any mixer will work. You don't need a 12 channel live sound mixer or anything fancy like that. I'd just get a, cheap, two channel DJ mixer. Search amazon and I'm sure you'll find one that looks good for you.

ipod's are analog. Try a new cable like this, and also try without the ipod plugged into the charger. And no, you don't need to clean the copper wire leads on the speakers.

yes, the only issue I have with it is the DAC input. Im not entirely sure if it is a problem with the amp or my PC, the amp works great with my table and the RCA input.

Now would it be easier to replace the VX1 with an amp that has two RCA inputs like the TP22? Could grab a DAC to plug it into and fix the problem? or could I try using an AUX to RCA cable to save some money at the expense of Audio quality?

As you can tell this is my first set up so im trying to figure out exactly what I need.

You need two RCA's (one for left, one for right) but a single stereo 3.5mm plug like headphones have combines both.

And also this cable:
http://www.amazon.com/6-35mm-Phono-Plugs-SCREENED-Audio/dp/B00G70MQMW/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1404968475&sr=8-19&keywords=stereo+RCA+to+mono+1%2F4

Will work with mono input of guitar amp. If your guitar amp has a cd/mp3 player input that is stereo then use:
http://www.amazon.com/BlueRigger-3-5mm-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B008UG6GCC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404968584&sr=8-1&keywords=stereo+RCA+to+headphone

Yes on the edit/update you made on Headphone amps. Not needed, but you might find some purists who will tell you a decent headphone amp will sound better than the Marantz. I think if you gather up a nice set - like those Sennheisers, which people seem to like - you'll be fine!

Those Pioneers are surprisingly nice sounding speakers for the price - remember that I said "for the price" there.

At the risk of sounding didactic, I would also assert that they are reasonably efficient, which is good because you're only working with 25 vintage watts. Not a ton of power. If you listen the way I listen, which can get "loud" but not "piss off the neighbors loud", you'll be just fine, but driving those Pioneers leaves you with the possibility of clipping at high volume. Clipping is a condition when the speaker needs more power to create a waveform than the amp can produce, and the wave is cut off, or "clipped", from the amp. This forces the speaker to stop creating it's waveform mid-wave: instead of a smooth back and forth motion, it's forced to try to make a square wave. Sounds awful, and speakers aren't meant to move this way. Clipping can damage speakers - seems odd, because overpowering speakers is less likely to cause damage. Hard to explain in words, maybe Google.

Anyway, if you keep your volume in line with your system's capabilities, no harm done. Clipping makes a loud popping noise, usually associated with Bass sounds. You hear popping, turn it down.

3 sounds like it might be redundant: get a 2.5MM stereo jack to RCA stereo converter cable: whatever makes the headphone out of your player/laptop turn into a pair of RCA plugs like this.

Plug the 2.5 into the headphone out, plug the RCA's into the "aux" input on the back of the receiver, select aux via the input selector dial on the Marantz, and adjust the volume out of the MP3 player until it sounds right. My Samsung Galaxy S3 phone sounds best 1 tick below full volume. My little Acer netbook I use for in-house streaming needs to be turned all the way up.

Then plug headphones into the headphone input, or listen via speakers. A DAC may give you gains in quality, but try this cheap-O method first and see what you think - you may be surprised how good the output sounds running out of a nice mid-fi receiver. I realize that saying this might get me dinged by purists, but there it is.

Last: people like the 2225 more than the 2252b, which is what I have. They say it sounds warmer, clearer. I don't know about that, but welcome to the Marantz club anyway. Good luck!

So really you've just got your PC setup normally but want to add your Switch into the mix and use the nice speakers.

You could get this Audio Extractor for the Switch. It would grab the audio from the HDMI signal so you can connect it to your speakers. From there you need an RCA to 1/8" headphone cable. Do your speakers have an extra 1/8" input spot? Or even an RCA input (red and white connector).

Yes you will need a 1/8" -> RCA cable like this:

http://www.amazon.fr/C%C3%A2ble-st%C3%A9r%C3%A9o-BlueRigger-fiches-M%C3%A8tres/dp/B008UG6GCC/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1408140050&sr=8-9&keywords=rca+3.5mm