Ok, I brought out my old Altec Lansing MX5021's(2.1 system), which in their day were highly regarded. Made the connection using the same mini-cable as for the Mako's and fired them up. Played stuff that was distorting on the Razer Mako's. WOW!.......no distortion! So I'd say the amp(s) in the Mako are dying. Sad, considering they were expensive and highly rated. Now discontinued......I now wonder why? So, that now leaves my with the question: new speakers for gaming and music, which I do on an equal level. I care about fidelity for my computer music. I used to have the Logitech Z5500's, which were powerful and 5.1, but the sound for music was the worst. Great for games though. That's when I went back to 2.1 gaming and music as I was not impressed with the music fidelity abilities of 5.1 systems. I'm looking at the Corsair 2500's, which gets great reviews, even one that says they are better then the Mako's. The other option is to get one of the AudioEngine speakers, although I think the powered 5 model are too big for my desktop. More like the passive 4 model, but then I would need to get an amp. Anyhow, any thoughts on the Corsairs or Audio Engines? Don't recommend Bose, I can't stand them. They sound overprocessed.