iPod about to arrive, need advice...

[jove]

Hello,

My wife has splurged. My B-Day present is a 20GB iPod :-). The introduction of any toy brings complication :-)

Our living room is our contemporary room. It has a nice spartan and modern look. It is not homey. Due to the somewhat bizarre layout of our house, it has become the center of activity. The entertainment center is downstairs. We would like to have accessible music upstairs. The iPod will easily store all our CDs (that is just amazing). So the question is how do we amplify the iPod without a big honkin’ and bright receiver/amplifier? We would like to not have wires and the usual receiver fare visible.

Several options have come to us but we need to be pushed in a direction, any direction.

1) We have two Tannoy smallish speakers. Be can a pair of nice speaker stands, and shove an existing amplifier in the Quibits (Sauder shelves). But that would require drilling wire holes and the receiver could be visible.

2) Same as above but getting a new Best Buy $69.65 amp that has a more subtle look and remote control. Requires drilling wire holes and costs money for yet another amplifier/receiver.

3) Computer self-powered speakers. Are there any worthy of a stereo system?

4) Home-theater self-powered speakers. The only ones I have found cost a small fortune at a local music store.

6) Wireless self-powered speakers. The receiver is a small device that can sit next to the iPod. The speakers look good. Unfortunately I have not heard much good about the current state of wireless speakers.

Any other ideas or opinions? I have attached a picture of where the iPod will go.

[voice-]

This is kinda off topic, but you really should film the opening. There's something special about the first time you open an iPod and I really wish I had captured mine on film...that box is genious.