Recommend some good 2.1 PC speakers?

hornetstinger · 27 Feb 2022 at 19:54

You can get desktop speaker stands to raise them, it'll sound better and take very little desk space.

I'm using ruark etude on these
https://www.gear4music.com/Recordin...onitor-Speaker-Stands-by-Gear4music-Pair/1DP7

With Yamaha avr and wharfedale sw-150 sub with bipole rears on stands (4.1) it'll outclass any ready made pc speaker system.

If you do use a t amp check it's safe wiring sub via high level some class d amps don't take well to rel/bk type cabling (three cables )

JasonM · 2 Mar 2022 at 01:59

hornetstinger said:
You can get desktop speaker stands to raise them, it'll sound better and take very little desk space.

I'm using ruark etude on these
https://www.gear4music.com/Recordin...onitor-Speaker-Stands-by-Gear4music-Pair/1DP7

I have these stands, great functional stands. Isolation foam between speaker and stand also very important, do this next if not already done.

Webzta · 3 Mar 2022 at 13:29

Using Edifier S350db, couldn't be happier with the setup.

NeilF · 3 Mar 2022 at 13:30

Webzta said:
Using Edifier S350db, couldn't be happier with the setup.

They do appear to be (very) good, but a tad too large and expensive for my needs

Webzta · 3 Mar 2022 at 13:32

They do a large range of speakers I believe, have a look what they do for your budget. I would definitely buy the brand again.

jaybee · 3 Mar 2022 at 13:53

If you want the smallest possible speakers on the actual desk, then yes a 2.1 setup would be ideal. If you just want cheap plug and play stuff then the Logitech stuff is decent enough, although I believe in recent years has gone up in price and down in quality. I have a 2.1 setup probably about 10+ years old and it still works well. I bought a modern day equivalent of it back in 2019 for my son, and it broke after a couple of months. Just one experience though.

Otherwise look at the creative stuff. They seem to be a big competitor to Logitech. We have a set of their £25 ish pebble speakers (without sub so just stereo 2.0) and for the tiny size, the sound is surprisingly very good clarity. Really depends how big a sound you want. I use an overkill setup as I had some old hifi speakers lying around like you describe of the ones in your loft OP. I would consider hooking these up. It's great to reuse old "proper" kit and the sound will be really good. Get one of those mini class D amps and you are away.

NeilF · 7 Mar 2022 at 10:38

Just a bit of info incase it helps anyone else.

Seems a lot of these cheaper Logitech units (without power buttons) auto-sleep after 10-20mins of no sounds. So then it takes them 2-3 seconds to power back up.

JasonM · 7 Mar 2022 at 14:01

I've written a few times about this, but the vast majority of 2.1 systems, the satellite speakers are to small to handle mid-range, certainly compared to say a 5" or 6" studio monitor, slight exception is the Edifier S350db that have reasonable size satellite speakers, but still won't match the mids of a good studio monitor.

NeilF · 7 Mar 2022 at 14:52

JasonM said:
I've written a few times about this, but the vast majority of 2.1 systems, the satellite speakers are to small to handle mid-range, certainly compared to say a 5" or 6" studio monitor, slight exception is the Edifier S350db that have reasonable size satellite speakers, but still won't match the mids of a good studio monitor.

All understood. But I'm not going for uber audio quality as the speakers are only used for YouTube and a bit of dance/trance music here and there in my study. As such I'd like to keep them fairly small (on my desk) and not too expensive.

Seems Wavemaster Moody 2.1's are top of my list a the moment, given the issues I've discovered with Logitech, and the lack of other aternativers around the pricepoint I'm comfortable with.

hornetstinger · 8 Mar 2022 at 02:32

NeilF said:
All understood. But I'm not going for uber audio quality as the speakers are only used for YouTube and a bit of dance/trance music here and there in my study. As such I'd like to keep them fairly small (on my desk) and not too expensive.

Seems Wavemaster Moody 2.1's are top of my list a the moment, given the issues I've discovered with Logitech, and the lack of other aternativers around the pricepoint I'm comfortable with.

3" drivers in satellites and 6.5" in subwoofer, a tiny little ported box

Absolute rubbish

JasonM · 8 Mar 2022 at 03:50

hornetstinger said:
You can get desktop speaker stands to raise them, it'll sound better and take very little desk space.

I'm using ruark etude on these
https://www.gear4music.com/Recordin...onitor-Speaker-Stands-by-Gear4music-Pair/1DP7

With Yamaha avr and wharfedale sw-150 sub with bipole rears on stands (4.1) it'll outclass any ready made pc speaker system.

If you do use a t amp check it's safe wiring sub via high level some class d amps don't take well to rel/bk type cabling (three cables )

In my home office I use these Prodipe Pro V5's, previous I use to run an Edifier S530 with upgraded Yamaha speakers that was ok, before this I ran some Edifier R1600T's 2.0's.

The Prodipes are better to the Edifier setups above, they are genuine entry level studio grade speakers and i'm not missing the sub woofer. Some studio monitors can be tiring to listen to for long periods, however these Prodipes are a little laid back that I prefer.

I run them upside down, as this allows the speaker to be raised even more from the desk (reducing resonance), but keeps the tweeter at ear level. Front ported so more option to place closer to rear wall.

AM-JKLVGfwBgO-eZobza1weiPZ-7PLcHEg7b4Ic6etNikAHCvWVG6IxWLW5nAV-LOw0BMxkTV31k0dDFF2UweD3DfJ8mvo22o5o5F9bQdb4jAL60QEpPJ0zelOVOTYcMsdpOkU_l4hA2h0wy7wTOKUU1GwoQ=w686-h914-no (686×914) (googleusercontent.com)

Here is someone testing the Prodipes.

https://youtu.be/JpS80KNG3pE?t=137

hornetstinger · 8 Mar 2022 at 10:57

Look into q acoustic 3010i and a t amp plus sw-150 sub. Better than those wavemaster. Goes lower than 150hz for the main speakers lol

NeilF · 8 Mar 2022 at 13:49

hornetstinger said:
3" drivers in satellites and 6.5" in subwoofer, a tiny little ported box

Absolute rubbish

LOL! I've had my Cambridge Soundworks for over 20yrs, with technically a lower spec than that. So those must be total absolute rubbish!

But given I've been more than happy with that total absolute rubbish, I suspect then I could be fine with what you describe as absolute rubbish

NeilF · 8 Mar 2022 at 13:53

hornetstinger said:
Look into q acoustic 3010i and a t amp plus sw-150 sub. Better than those wavemaster. Goes lower than 150hz for the main speakers lol

Undoubtably better, but also basically 4x the price, a more convoluted setup, and also more imposing (larger) on the desk.

I absolutely understand the audio fidelity the kind of solution you propose will be better than what I'm currently looking at, but it's beyond the spec I need. ie: I don't feel I need to shell out that sort of cost for speakers on a PC in a small study for use primarily listening to YouTube articles, and periodically a bit of music.

hornetstinger · 8 Mar 2022 at 14:45

FPS 2000 were rubbish too I had them. Guess you're used to crap sound.

Just buy whatever cheap crap is on clearance

NeilF · 8 Mar 2022 at 15:53

hornetstinger said:
FPS 2000 were rubbish too I had them. Guess you're used to crap sound.

Just buy whatever cheap crap is on clearance

Lol! Touchy!

I apologise if my lack of desire to spend as much as you'd like, or commit as much desktop space as you'd like, upsets you.

I've had at least a reasonable amount of audio exposure, and again to my ears the FPS 1000 - which if I recall were somewhat different to the digital capable FPS 2000s - sound pretty good.

But ultimately, we're talking about a small study, where just "good sound" will suffice for the modicum of usage they will get.

JasonM · 8 Mar 2022 at 15:56

NeilF said:
Undoubtably better, but also basically 4x the price, a more convoluted setup, and also more imposing (larger) on the desk.

Can you put some floor stands at the side of the desk?

From myself and hornetstinger we would never touch these level lower level speakers. Personally I would rather go second hand on gear, or search the clearance section of websites.

If you want those speakers then it's perfectly fine, but there are far better options for not that much more money. Also quality and reliability, the better components may even last longer before they break.

Another point worth mentioning. When you start getting better gear, you learn more, you start moving speakers around the room, you discover what raising them up higher. does When you buy these cheap setups, you tend to place them on the desk and that's it.

NeilF · 8 Mar 2022 at 16:01

JasonM said:
Can you put some floor stands at the side of the desk?

From myself and hornetstinger we would never touch these level lower level speakers. Personally I would rather go second hand on gear, or search the clearance section of websites.

OCUK forum is a little strange when it comes to audio. People will spend a small fortune on the latest monitors, or pay a premium on thermal paste, yet I suggest some speaker isolation foam and desk stands to improve audio vast majority take no notice of you.

Understood... Different people, different drivers/values etc.

My study is basically 6ft square, so space and 'tidiness' is at a premium. Hence why smaller, tidy, user friendly speakers rate so highly for me, while they wouldn't obviously for others...

As you suggest, it is likely my little thread here asking for small, cheapish speakers probably offends some of the posters here

JasonM · 8 Mar 2022 at 16:06

NeilF said:
My study is basically 6ft square, so space and 'tidiness' is at a premium. Hence why smaller, tidy, user friendly speakers rate so highly for me, while they wouldn't obviously for others...

I did not realise this, a room this small your very limited on speaker size - speakers have to be proportional to the space they are in. Even a pair of 2.0 speakers with 5" drivers could be to large for that room. You might even find you have to reduce the output of even a small sub.

NeilF · 8 Mar 2022 at 16:38

JasonM said:
I did not realise this, a room this small your very limited on speaker size - speakers have to be proportional to the space they are in. Even a pair of 2.0 speakers with 5" drivers could be to large for that room. You might even find you have to reduce the output of even a small sub.

Well, all I can say as a reference, is my little (now dead) 2.1 (actually 4.1) unit sounds fine in the room to my ear, for its purpose

At the moment the only unit that seems sensible pricewise/spec wise is that Wavemaster Moody. The more expensive Logitechs seems to offer no improvement in sound from what I can see and indeed seem to offer issues like unwanted autosleep modes and beeping.

The only other small dedicated unit seems to be the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, but at well over £200 not really worth it. Plus the Wavemaster as the stand alone volume controller you can put in a user friendly location.