What speakers/monitors for a desktop computer setup?

[ambuletz]

I'm looking to get myself some for my bedroom computer desk as an improvement over using the crap speakers coming out of my laptop that I've always put up with. I did a search for some threads on the topic over the past few years and everyone seems to have a different idea/suggestion, no general trend. Ontop of that some suggestions are discontinued or (in the case of soundsticks) doubled or trebled in price.

After looking around everything seems to point to possibly purchasing the Edifier R1700BT or possibly the PerSonus Eris 3.5.

However i'm purely going on what reviews say, i've no idea where to start in terms of what to buy. I initially really wanted to get the kanto yu2 based on everyone who seems to be praising it, and also it's asthetics, smaller size, and wood... but at £230 i'm not sure i can justify that much. I don't need to fill a room, just something to enjoy watching youtube videos, live streams, live radio and music while I'm at my desk. If i want loudness I already have a mini hifi that I've owned for 20years hooked up to my TV for gaming/movies..sometimes i'll plug my phone into it. However this at a complete right angle to where i'm sitting.


Criteria

£100-150

I figure this is around a good mark for something to enjoy, whilst not being overkill/unecessiarily expensive for what I need it for. I can go a little higher for something that really stands out.

no taller than about 22cm/9inches

This is the distance between the top of my desk and the top of my window ledge. I figure maybe not having something taller than this would ok, as in the future I want to put blinds in, so don't want it smacking against it if the weather gets windy. I might dismiss this for the right pair. I genearally don't want something too big that dominates my desk

nothing too large

My desk is a Hilver from ikea. Measures 140x65cm.I don't want something too large.

ideally wood, just nothing too showy

bamboo desk, so I'deally something wood, but it doesn't have to be. Just nothing showy/standout or weird. I love the look of the walnut kanto yu2 but I feel this is just a ridiculous price for what it is.. I welcome anyone to persuade me otherwise.


Any thoughts PH?

Edited by ambuletz on Friday 20th August 19:39

[SeanyD]

I was in a similar boat a few weeks back, desk space limited, and couldn't be hassled with wires overload for surround/subs etc, just wanted something quick and easy but sounding pretty good.

Tried a pair of these, at the low end of the budget, which lasted around two weeks before dying on me (maybe i was just unlucky)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Minimalistic-Enh...

Then ended up with a pair of these, mid range for the budget:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Razer-2-0-Gaming-Speakers...

Not wood, but fairly unintrusive, smallish footprint, sound more than adequate for remote working video/voice calls, the odd bit of youtube, background music etc. Also a handy volume knob on the base of the right hand speakers for discreetly turning up/down without the need to be faffing with desktop icons, wires or in-line wired volume controls etc.

I'm sure there'll be more professional setups, and I'm sure more highly qualified audiophiles within our midst who'll tell me they're rubbish, but they're perfectly fine to me, and they look superb.

[CorradoTDI]

Not exactly what you're after but a cheap quality setup that I'm pretty pleased with...

JBL Control One Pro speakers (Under £100) - these are exactly 9" high

(These wedge nicely under my 24" screens - I have a triple stand but the side ones were sagging slightly so the extra support works well!)

These are 4 Ohm so are being driven by this little Fosi 160W Class D amp (£45)- I bought this direct from Fosi though, much cheaper than Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TDA7498E-Channel-Audio-Am...

[Crackie]

These may possibly be a little showy if you've got your heart set on something with a wooden finish...............and they're also slightly over budget. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-Bookshelf-Bluetoo...

The size is close to ideal, they are fairly discreet and the reviews I've seen say they sound pretty special too. The cabinets appear to be be very well engineered; the cabinet shape is far better, from an acoustic point of view, than a conventional wooden box. They are also pretty heavy bearing in mind their size / volume.

Here are couple of reviews..............the comments on Amazon are very complimentary too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WzjmLtz-mg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC6yyZOK0rs

[Digger]

I have these . . . they are great . . . Presonus Eris E3.5

www.amazon.co.uk/PreSonus-3-5-inch-High-Definition...

& a pair of Philips SHP9500 headphones.

I run both through an iFi Zen DAC thingy.

I also have a pair of iLoud Micro Monitors as an alternative, but personally I would go with the Presonus plus a suitable DAC imo . . .

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C5RZWCQ

Edited by Digger on Wednesday 11th August 21:03

[ambuletz]

I appreciate the first 3 suggestions however they're the very opposite of what I'm after, personally I really dislike the look of them.

Digger said:

I have these . . . they are great . . . Presonus Eris E3.5

www.amazon.co.uk/PreSonus-3-5-inch-High-Definition...

& a pair of Philips SHP9500 headphones.

I run both through an iFi Zen DAC thingy.

I also have a pair of iLoud Micro Monitors as an alternative, but personally I would go with the Presonus plus a suitable DAC imo . . .

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C5RZWCQ

Edited by Digger on Wednesday 11th August 21:03

What would be the purpose of getting a DAC? I'm not clued up on this stuff. would the presonus and edifier both need DACs? Are there any that have built in DACs? Trying to find something seems like a minefield, so many different types of speakers, active, passive, with or without a dac. Everyone seems to have a different opinion or suggest a speaker that isn't well known, making finding reviews difficult. I can't seem to understand why some other speakers (like the kantos) are so much more expensive when they're smaller and have lower rms/watts

At least with the presonus and edifier they are both very well known models.

[Digger]

You don't NEED a DAC. The theory being that onboard sound & amplification can often be improved by using a dedicated amp/DAC box as obviously there isn't too much room on a motherboard for some serious audio hardware & amplification so compromises are made. I am no expert by the way.

One other advantage of a DAC is you can connect a suitable DAC to speakers such as the Presonus via their Balanced sockets (look at an image of the back of the Eris 3.5) for, in theory, better sound quality.

Many people are perfectly happy with onboard sound, so give it a go. You can always buy a DAC online (Amazon) & return if you feel the improvements are not noticeable.

Edited by Digger on Friday 20th August 20:13

[superstreek]

I was also in the same situation, edifiers felt to bulky for the desk, YU2 are lovely (are my ears that good), ended up with these https://sg.creative.com/p/speakers/gigaworks-t40-s...

Sound is good with some volume but can struggle a little at lower volumes for clarity but that could be HDMI to monitor to speaker, need to test some other options.

Davie

[techguyone]

superstreek said:

I was also in the same situation, edifiers felt to bulky for the desk, YU2 are lovely (are my ears that good), ended up with these https://sg.creative.com/p/speakers/gigaworks-t40-s...

Sound is good with some volume but can struggle a little at lower volumes for clarity but that could be HDMI to monitor to speaker, need to test some other options.

Davie

I have their baby brother the T20 which is 23cm tall, never had any issue with sound be it spoken as in zoom call or music or video/games, nice and unobtrusive, and with vol/bass/treb/headphone jack on the r hand speaker too.

Can get em for around £ 60-70

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-GigaWorks-Multim...

[ambuletz]

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I had initially thought of getting the gigaworks. Although lots of reviews say it doesnt have much base, many saying the additional price of the t40 doesnt really add much to it and you're better off getting other speakers (such as the presonus e3.5).

in terms of height its not much different to the other speakers in terms of height, just a little slimmer. I'm fine with the size of the edifier, presonus e3.5 and e4.5.

However ideally the minimalist wood look of the kanto would be perfect...i'm just not sure on how good they sound.compared to say the edifier r1700bts (which is currently the one that's top of my list).


however i really don't know! I don't want to get something which objectively is worst than something else at the same price. or something that's 90% good, while ticking 100% of the boxes. it's proving difficult to weigh up or even find enough products/reviews/information out there

[Digger]

Try this channel & search for your choice of speaker (1700BT included in the link below)

https://www.youtube.com/user/skubny/search?query=e...

[ambuletz]

Side question... i don't have a desktop PC, a laptop, (its entry level, 3 years old, but ill be upgrading soon).

is there anything worth considering if I'd like to plug some headphones into any of these? will i in anyway be able to benifit from pluging some headphones into these vs just plugging them normally into a laptop?

[anonymoususer]

ambuletz said:

I (in the case of soundsticks) doubled or trebled in price.

?

Christ on a bike your not wrong on those price increases. I got mine ages ago at £120 ish and that price stuck for yonks. Even going down to around £90 on Currys deals at various times
Gobsmacked when I just checked

Anyway I love the soundsticks but at work I used to have these

https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/support/products/bose...

Bose Companioin 2 mine were a few years ago and were a dark grey with a brushed aluminium (ish) finish to the front
They were stylish had some oomph and were just generally a delight. I dis have some creative TR20's I think at one point but the Bose were much more impressive and natural sounding.
The only reason I don't have them on my work desk now is that my office manager has them on hers. They have been replaced with a newer version but I did hear the newer ones about a year ago and they still sounded good. They didn't look as good though IMO

https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/products/speakers/ste...

They aren't (or look like) wood though - sorry

Edited by anonymoususer on Wednesday 18th August 09:02

[Jinx]

I have one of these and whilst not normally a sound bar fan it does fit on my desk nicely.

[anonymoususer]

Jinx said:

I have one of these and whilst not normally a sound bar fan it does fit on my desk nicely.

Is it like your post and practically invisible ?

[Digger]

anonymoususer said:

Jinx said:

I have one of these and whilst not normally a sound bar fan it does fit on my desk nicely.

Is it like your post and practically invisible ?

Click on “these” . . .

[anonymoususer]

Digger said:

Click on “these” . . .

You know on my tablet it looks the same text
On the laptop its coloured
Thanks for that

[popeyewhite]

I've used this Logitech system for the last few years. When it eventually broke I bought the same again. Unless you're in a huge room this will blow your socks off, and a total bargain. It's not hi-fidelity (particularly) but you'll need to spend a LOT more to beat it's all-round practicality/sound IMO.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessorie...

[Digger]

ambuletz said:

Side question... i don't have a desktop PC, a laptop, (its entry level, 3 years old, but ill be upgrading soon).

is there anything worth considering if I'd like to plug some headphones into any of these? will i in anyway be able to benifit from pluging some headphones into these vs just plugging them normally into a laptop?

That is exactly why I purchased the DAC that I did as in theory it also has an improved power/headphone amp & I can plug both the speakers & my headphones in to its little unit sitting on my desk.

[Gluggy]

Sorry the possible thread hi-jack.... In a similar situation as the OP but with even less of a budget (£75), been considering picking up a set of Wharfedale Diamond 9s for £50 and pairing them with either one of those mini amp things or a second-hand Hi-Fi amp - realistically is this going to be any better than something like the Presonus Eris E3.5 linked above?