To answer your question fairly, I'd want to know what your expectations were from these speakers. From what I understand they were not produced in large numbers and maybe somewhat of a rarity. Here a link to an older article with a review and real world spec tests:
http://www.mickandviv.com/pfm/DMSHiFiforPleasureReview.pdf
A lot of information to digest there, but once you do, you need to honestly ask yourself what you'll be listening to. If your expecting concert volumes with stupid loud low end listening to Master P or ATL, these probably aren't the speakers for you. You would be better off selling them for what their worth and buying a system designed to do that. But if you're after accuracy, nuance and detail found in many types music, you may have a nice little treasure in your hands.
I wouldn't consider that Phonic amp, or any other, for this application. These amps were designed for entry level musicians with limited budgets and have generally inflated specs.
I would look for something more in-line with the speakers you've got. one of my favorites was Conrad Johnson's CAV-50 integrated amp. Here is a review:
http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/898cj/
I've seen these used for a decent price that should fit your budget. Not a lot a watts (45wpc, 23wpc with triode mod) but still a really nice sounding amp, even with larger speakers. I seem to recall that these speaker like a large room to open up and fully realize their low end potential, so keep that in mind when you choose a listening area.
Use a decent gauge speaker wire- high strand count, 12ga should do nicely and don't worry about name brands just yet. Don't expect great things from an ipod here; even "loss-less" seems to lose something on a full range system. Get a really good CD player or treat yourself to a turntable. You'll be surprised listening to stuff you though you knew.