Reddit mentions of M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 Active Studio Monitor Speakers (Pair) (OLD MODEL)

For that amount of money you should be able to get a U-Turn, a preamp and a set of cheap powered speakers.

If you want something even better you can look at used equipment, although I understand giving used stuff for Christmas might not be desirable for all.

EDIT: A system could look something like this:

• U-Turn Orbit turntable - $179
  
• Art DJ Pre II phono preamp - $29
  
• M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 powered speakers - $76
  
  or if you can stetch the budget a bit
  
  
• Micca PB42X powered speakers - $120.
  
  That'd be a total of $284 (with M-Audio) or $328 (with Micca) (excl. potential shipping cost). Much better investment than the all-in-one system. It will sound MUCH better and last your gf MUCH longer. And as an extra bonus she can upgrade individual parts if she decides she wants to gradually upgrade later on - something which is more or less impossible (or at least impractical) with the all-in-one-system.

I've always found that those systems with the subwoofer rely too much on the sub, which makes everything boomy. Others might have different experience, but i'd suggest going with something that is just 2.0. In that budget, i think you could find the m-audio av30 or something similar.

Another idea is to get a Dayton DTA-1 and a set of Dayton B652 speakers. I have this in my bedroom right now and it is perfect for music. Very well balanced..

If you do want that subwoofer, people on here have said good things about the klipsch promedia 2.1 set, which is a little over your budget, but you might be able to find used/refurb deals online.

Not looking to be snarky. If you love the sound out of those Logitech's, look into getting some real bookshelf speakers. The sound will blow you away. Logitech's are actually really low quality speakers that are incredibly overpriced. The quality of sound you can get for ~$100 is amazing: M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 Active Studio Monitor Speakers (Pair) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051WAM1O/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_YScLub10P0587

Good monitors are huge. Headphone sound is fine, but you want to mix using unbiased reference monitors so you know what things are going to sound like. Then you make sure it sounds good through headphones, in the car, etc. Even something like these will make a huge difference. If you've got some extra coin, go for something better. I found a pair of Mackie HR842 monitors on eBay for $250 (the old ones, not the new mk2 model). They're amazing.

You don't need more inputs than what you're actually using. If you're trying for a cheap home studio, your Apogee will work just fine. Just switch cables/inputs when you're recording something new.

But anyway. Here we go. What I would buy (of note, these are all Amazon affiliate links):

Mics:

• Shure SM58 - $100 (for vocals)
  
  
• Shure SM57 - $100 (for guitars/vocals)
  
  
• Sennheiser e609 - $100 (for guitars, so you can double-mic)
  
  
• 20' mic cable - $7.50 (2 for $15)
  
  Monitors:
  
  
• M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 - $85
  
  
• Auralex MoPAD monitor pads - $44
  
  
• OnStage SMS6000 monitor stands - $100 (if your desk isn't large enough)
  
  Bass:
  
  
• Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI - $200
  
  I've been out of the "assorted percussion" game for a while, so you'll have to use your best judgement for that.
  
  All that I've listed is $744 off of Amazon. You can DEFINITELY find cheap used mics and the Bass DI. Look for Gear Talk: Classifieds on Facebook, for example. This is all stuff that you can use today to get your home studio off the ground and functional. You also have $256 to spend on other stuff that you might need (percussion, surdo, etc.)
  
  Logic and Pro Tools are built from the ground up to be recording suites. Ableton, while certainly being a live-sound-first option, works just fine. Nothing wrong with getting your feet wet using Ableton, and switching over to a bigger/better suite later. I recorded my first EP using GarageBand before making the transition myself.
  
  Start with the basics. Start with what you NEED to record, not what you want. While what you already have is basic and not feature packed, it works and will get you in the game. (Related: stay away from plugins until you know how to really mix well with the basic compressor and EQ your recording suite comes with.)
  
  Hope that helps!

Some people love those things. I have never been a fan really.
For around the same price I would get some little mini studio monitors like the M-Audio Studiophile AV30s

I have a pair of M-Audio speakers and they are fantastic. They have a 3.5mm jack so it'll plug right into your computer.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B0051WAM1O/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1347086353&sr=8-6&keywords=m-audio

Within your range too. They sound great.

[This maybe?] (http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B0051WAM1O/ref=sr_1_23?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1368496953&sr=1-23&keywords=audioengine)

With audio you always get what you pay for.

you'd want something more like these:
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Active-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B0051WAM1O/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413490781&sr=1-11&keywords=powered+bookshelf+speakers

STUPID AMAZON!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $569.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $92.99 @ NCIX US
Motherboard | Asus Rampage IV Black Edition EATX LGA2011 Motherboard | $474.98 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $164.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $212.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $69.99 @ NCIX US
Video Card | XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) | $489.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) | $489.99 @ Newegg
Case | Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case | $99.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $139.99 @ Newegg
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $89.98 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor | $479.99 @ NCIX US
Monitor | Dell P2314H 60Hz 23.0" Monitor | $184.87 @ B&H
Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 2 51.4 CFM 120mm Fan | $11.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 2 51.4 CFM 120mm Fan | $11.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 2 51.4 CFM 120mm Fan | $11.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | be quiet! SilentWings 2 50.5 CFM 120mm Fan | $24.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | be quiet! SilentWings 2 50.5 CFM 120mm Fan | $24.99 @ NCIX US
Keyboard | Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard | $91.24 @ Amazon
Mouse | Logitech G400s Wired Optical Mouse | $47.72 @ NCIX US
Mousepad| SteelSeries QcK Mass Mousepad| $12.00 @ Amazon
Headphones | Audio-Technica ATH-AD900x Headphones | $189.49 @ Amazon
Speakers| M-Audio AV30| $80.00 @ Amazon

| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $4067.13
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-23 03:11 EDT-0400 |

My small rationale why I went for these products.

CPU: Beast of a CPU. 6 core, 12 threads. Overclockable. A lot of PCI-E lanes. Meaning your 2 cards will run at 16/16x speeds.
CPU Cooler: Corsair makes great AIO coolers, this one will do just fine. If you replace the stock fans, wich are very loud.
Motherboard: Yes, this is something I often refuse to do. But I did it because budget just doesn't mather and you want to have a motherboard that will work. it's looks amazing, it will work amazing. It got one of the best on board audio that you can get right now. And supports 16/16x PCI-E for the 2 GPUs.
Memory: G.skill makes awesome RAM. RAM is RAM and this one looks great. It are guns! I mean, this is gaming as hell?! No it's not, it performs just as good as any other RAM.
Storage: 500GB SSD of a brand I trust. 2TB HDD as you asked for.
Video Card: 2 R9-290X in 16/16x will give you absolutely amazing fps on 1440p for quite a while.
Case: Aside from case labs. There aren't many case manufactuers that get close to this level of awesomeness. Here is a video that will show you why it's amazing.
Case fans: Place 2 Pure wings in the front as intake, 1 in the rear as intake. Then place the 2 SilentWings on the H100i in push as exhaust.
Power Supply: Went with a 1000W, 80+ gold, full modulair (black cables) & 10 year warrenty. This is a very solid PSU and will deliver more then enough power for the whole system under heavy load.
OS: Windows 8.1 as requested.
Monitor: So I went for a 2560x1440p monitor with an 1920x1080p monitor. This is my current setup and I love it. I use the 1440p for gaming. While I use the 1080p in potrait mode to browse forums, reddit, etc.

Peripherals are all very hard to suggest, if we don't have enough information. So I picked the ones that I find will work in most cases.
But there are a lot of things we need to know before we can suggest the right setup. But anyway, here is the list. No I won't explain to much why I picked them. I did went for these because I think they will work for "most" people. But if you got the time to answer the questions, I will have a better idea if my suggestion will work for you.

Mouse: How do you grip the mouse? How many buttons do you want? I personally use 0 when I play any game.
Keyboard: I recommend to go read about Mechanical Keyboards switch types first. Then after you know wich switch would be for you, you can give me that information. Then my other questions would be, do you want a TenKeyLess? Basicly numpadless keyboard. If you don't, do you want any "macro keys"? This can be helpful in some games, but in my personal experience I never used them when gaming. Only for some text macro's, push to talk, screenshot and other stuff. But not really to use while fighting a boss or anything.
Headphones/Speakers: What music do you listen? Where will you sit when using the headphones, will it be in a loud room? Will you be on your own? Do you need a microphone?

###If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0051WAM1O?pc_redir=1407012026&robot_redir=1

I currently use

Speakers: M-Audio AV30 Good speakers. Just don't turn them all the way up or you will go deaf.

Headphones: Audiotechnica M40x REALLY good headphones. The best you can get for about 100 USD. 'Nuff said.

Mouse: Steelseries Rival Good mouse. Feels nice, moves nice, no problems. The software on the other hand is shit and I haven't gotten that to work since I first used it. No fucking clue what the fuck is wrong.

Keyboard: Coolermaster Storm Quickfire Rapid w/ Black keys Good keyboard, feels nice, works well.

No. I love my CCs, but a CCA wouldn't help my bedroom as nicely as my two PLAY:1s have. The fact that I don't have to turn them on, can use them as a clock radio alarm, and can use one app to play Spotify, Play Music, TuneIn, and different accounts is awesome. Also, they sound good.

The CCA doesn't sound at all. For $35, i can add speakers to it (or two of them), I suppose. What would be really helpful for someone who wants to achieve what I have with the PLAY:1s would be to recommend a pair of powered speakers that could connect to one or two CCAs (and sound as good, look nice, and cost less).

I kind-of wish I'd had a CCA before I got a Sonos CONNECT and CONNECT:AMP, but not really. I like having one unified system. I like using the existing nice speakers with the :AMP. I love that I can instantly turn on something throughout the house from an app, with volume fully controlled.

The CONNECT has the same shortcomings the CCA would have (incomplete control of volume and no control of power). I overcame this with a Beaglebone (it's like a Raspberry Pi) that listens for the CONNECT, turns my stereo on, and talks to my stereo to set input and volume. Hopefully, someday soon, a similar workaround will exist to please makers with CCAs. It may not exist today.

With about $1,200 spend (Best Buy open-box and craigslist) on Sonos (I have PLAYBAR, too), I've upgraded my system to be better than my super-rich NYC buddy's system. We both already had a stereo amp and speakers. He added $100,000 of custom home audio and theater project work. Mine works much, much better. As he flails with his in-wall touchpad and things don't always work, I use an app smoothly on my phone. Everything just works, throughout the house.

CCA is awesome. Multiroom is a huge improvement. It is far from "exact same things" status.

EDIT -

Here are some speakers that can be used with the CCA: http://www.androidcentral.com/best-speakers-under-35-use-chromecast-audio. I don't know how good they sound and do not think they look as nice as I like (the Anker's not bad); but, they are inexpensive. For $150, you could have stereo sound in any room.

EDIT 2:

This is an interesting, possibly better option (with the 2.1 choice being interesting as well). http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Active-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B0051WAM1O/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1449856398&sr=8-15&keywords=powered+speaker
Note, though, that it wouldn't be wireless between the speakers and would need a y-adaptor for the input.

Someone else has posted today that the Klipsch KMC1 is a good option, including USB to power the CCA. At $150-$300, it would be good if it sounds more like the PLAY:3 and is better than the PLAY:1.

You could hook this TT up to a pair of powered monitors. Something like these.

Here's a nice pair of studio monitors that'll suit you well, and here's the build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor | $159.99 @ Micro Center
Motherboard | ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $73.98 @ Newegg
Memory | PNY XLR8 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $56.87 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $207.87 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card | $552.89 @ Amazon
Case | Fractal Design Core 1500 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $54.99 @ Directron
Power Supply | Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $63.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $88.94 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor | $349.99 @ Micro Center
Monitor | Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor | $349.99 @ Micro Center
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1959.50
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 17:06 EDT-0400 |

I'm personally a bit OCD about monitors, so I included two identical 1440p monitors while staying under $2000. A GTX 980 is more than enough grunt to push 1440p.