Computer Speakers - For music

[stevos]

Hi,

Does anyone have any suggestions of a pair of decent speakers that can play music to a degree of reasonableness.

I end up playing a lot of computer games and listening to music from it in the background played from itunes. My current speakers are terrible at it.

I could connect it to my main hifi but that just sounds kind of odd, since the computer is on one side of the room and the speakers are 90degrees to it. I might also be moving the computer into the spare room at some point in the future.

I don't really want to go the full way of using hifi speakers, just something that can play background music at a relatively low level and fit onto my computer desk.

I currently have Logitech X-240

 

[voicecoil]

This is quite a great speaker Altec Lansing MX-5021 | Overclockers Online.

 

[BlueWizard]

Money, money, money?

More than anything your budget will determine what we recommend. There are many very good speakers with built-in amps that will work on a computer, but the price range is very wide from cheap to very expensive.

Also, are you looking for a stereo pair of speakers, a 2.1 system, or a 5.1 system?

Personally, I prefer a couple of good speakers to a lot of cheap ones.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[stevos]

2.0 or 2.1 is what i am interested in, i have no interested in surround sound.

Not really decided on budget but i am pretty flexible to a point.

Size is more of an issue, since normal hifi bookshelf speakers are just too big and so would the amp be.

An option i had considered until now, would be to use my denon's zone 2 mode and power a pair of small hifi speakers, something on the size of the now old key egg speakers. I just can't remember if i have any amp slots available with my main speakers being bi-amped, but i suspect here should be since i am only using 5.0 setup.

 

[BlueWizard]

Sorry, but 'flexible on budget' tells us nothing. Remember the range is from £15 to £15,000, you've really got to narrow it down for us.

As an example, basic budget studio monitors can cost under £100, but professional grade studio monitors can commonly cost £500 each.


The Audioengine A2 and A5 are HiFi grade computer speakers. The A2 are very small, but sound great, and cost £125/pr, the much better A5 with 5" woofers cost £250/pr.

Advanced MP3 Players Audioengine 2 Speaker System

Advanced MP3 Players Audioengine 5 Speaker System

You can find YouTube video giving demos and reviews of either of these speakers.

Both have USB charging for iPod/MP3 players and a connection to an MP3 headphone so you can use the speakers with your Player. Of course both have decent quality built-in amps.

I think the Audioengine A5 has an additional connection so you can add a Audioengine Subwoofer at a later date.

But, again, is that too much money... too little... we need some budget framework before we can effectively recommend anything.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[stevos]

Kind of fallen in love with the Key Egg idea, that should only cost me around £500. Wanted some of them for ages just because they look so cool, just always had better speakers for my AV setup.

 

[PSM1]

A Kef egg is a satelite speaker and as such is not full range. They are not going to sound good with music. They may look nice but it is more style over substance (although as far as satelite speakers go they are not that bad).

 

[stevos]

Yeah but then again when your talking small speakers that can fit onto a computer desk, your always going to end up with satelites. Having a pair of bookshelf speakers or anything of that sort of size is just a no go.

 

[Weetabix]

Hi Stevos,

Consider the B&W MM-1's at £399.00, they're cute and sound great!

Multimedia Speakers | Best PC & Laptop Speaker - Bowers & Wilkins | B&W Speakers

Reviews are here:

Multimedia Speakers | Best PC & Laptop Speaker - Bowers & Wilkins | B&W Speakers

regards

 

[danb1979]

Whats your budget Stevos as I've just bought the B&W MM-1's and well... WOW

I really dont think they can be beaten!

http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/display.aspx?infid=4503

 

[PSM1]

Yeah but then again when your talking small speakers that can fit onto a computer desk, your always going to end up with satelites. Having a pair of bookshelf speakers or anything of that sort of size is just a no go.

I would disagree with this a little as you will have to get small speakers but they do not have to be satelite speakers. The Kef eggs are designed to be used with a sub in a complete system and hence do not have a very low frequency response. Where as something like the QA 1010 is more designed to be a standalone speaker and hence has a much lower frequency response. The 1010 may be a slightly bigger speaker than the Kef but certainly small enough imho to fit on a computer desk. So looking for a smaller speaker that has been designed to standalone would be better than a satelite speaker which was designed to be used with a sub for lower frequencies.

 

[stevos]

They look like what the doctor ordered. Will have to have a scout around the hifi shops before the england game tomorrow to see if anyone has them for demo.

 

[stevos]

I would disagree with this a little as you will have to get small speakers but they do not have to be satelite speakers. The Kef eggs are designed to be used with a sub in a complete system and hence do not have a very low frequency response. Where as something like the QA 1010 is more designed to be a standalone speaker and hence has a much lower frequency response. The 1010 may be a slightly bigger speaker than the Kef but certainly small enough imho to fit on a computer desk. So looking for a smaller speaker that has been designed to standalone would be better than a satelite speaker which was designed to be used with a sub for lower frequencies.

Good point.

 

[Member 116841]

The MM1's are excellent little speakers.

 

[Zorba_8]

Whats your budget Stevos as I've just bought the B&W MM-1's and well... WOW

I really dont think they can be beaten!

Multimedia Speakers | Best PC & Laptop Speaker - Bowers & Wilkins | B&W Speakers

The MM1's are excellent little speakers.

That's an impressive frequency response for something so small and weighs less than 1kg! (38hz to 22khz)

 

[Member 116841]

I'd take them with a pinch of salt

 

[danb1979]

They punch well above their weight/size

 

[Zorba_8]

I'd take them with a pinch of salt

maybe of you stuck them in a cupboard hey?

 

[BlueWizard]

The B&W MM1 do indeed look very impressive and are a very reasonable price.

But I have trouble believing a 3" woofer can produce a 38hz note at the same volume as a 1khz note. Now, it might be capable of generally producing a 38hz note, but not at the same level as midrange frequencies.

If it can, this is something of a miracle speaker.

Still, you can trust B&W quality, so that is a plus.

However, for £555, you can get the Audioengine A5 and the Audioengine S8/AS8 subwoofer. That combination would move some serious air, and would make a great all round stereo system.

Still, the B&W MM1 does have some nice features, for example USB input which implies that it has its own built-in DAC converter. It apparently also has a connection for an iPod/MP3 player, and a remote control.

While the B&W seems good value, it is a near-field system. Meaning it will sound fine while you are sitting at your computer, but if you move away from the computer I suspect the sound will drop away very quickly. Of course, that is true of a majority of computer speakers. They are just too small to fill a room or make a party.

If this is just for solo listening at your computer, they should work fine.

AGAIN, YOU NEED TO GIVE US A CLEARER INDICATION OF YOUR BUDGET.

In a earlier post you sort of implied £500, but it is not really clear, and budget is important in making our recommendations. As you can see the existing recommendations range from £125 to £550. The more you can narrow the budget down, the better our recommendations can be.

Also, if you can afford £500, do consider a separate amp & speakers combination. No, it is not as compact, but it is far more versatile, and will kick out some serious sounds; enough to make a party.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[filbert42]

The Audioengine A2 and A5 are HiFi grade computer speakers. The A2 are very small, but sound great, and cost £125/pr, the much better A5 with 5" woofers cost £250/pr.

Steve/bluewizard

I have a pair of the A2's and am very pleased with them - they are very small but put out a surprisingly good sound for their size. They can pump out quite a bit of sound too.

They fit nicely on the desk either side of the monitor. If you are any where near Worcester, UK, you can hear a demo at the place I got mine (Mann Audio)

Rgrds

Peter/Filbert42