I'm going to use a PC as the video and audio source in the kitchen.
What are peoples thoughts on a good amplifier/speaker solution?

The simplist thing would be to buy a PC speaker set but even the
'expensive' ones look too cheap to be any good - is there anything
i've missed? Otherwise I've got a sony stereo amp i could hide away
with the PC and drive from the PC's volume control (or get a nice USB
volume knob) but i could do with a sub/sat solution to replace the
bookshelf speakers i have at present. These all seem to be 5.1
solutions which is overkill for terrrestrial TV and mp3s (i'm not
going to be watching dvd movies). A 3.1 solution would be good but
then what do i do for an amp?