• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Small computer speakers for my office

Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
1,237 (0.30/day)
Location
California, unfortunately.
System Name Sierra ~ Server
Processor Core i5-11600K ~ Core i3-12100
Motherboard Asus Prime B560M-A AC ~ MSI PRO B760M-P
Cooling CM 212 Black RGB Edition ~ Intel Stock Cooler
Memory 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR4-3600 ~ 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon RX 6950 XT ~ EVGA GeForce GTX 970
Storage 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink NVMe SSD ~ 2TB Kingston NV1 NVMe SSD + 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD
Display(s) 2x Dell S2721QS 4K 60Hz ~ N/A
Case Asus Prime AP201 - Open Frame Chassis
Power Supply Thermaltake GF1 850W ~ Thermaltake Smart 500W
Software Windows 11 Pro ~ Proxmox VE
Benchmark Scores Laptops: Dell Latitude E7270, Dell Latitude 14 Rugged 5420.
Currently I have Bose Companion 2 Series II but these I have to put sideways to put underneath my tripe monitors and these will stay at home.

I'm looking for some not entirely horrible, inexpensive computer speakers that can fit in the space under my triple monitor setup without having to be put sideways.
I wouldn't be listening very loud but I'm a bit spoiled and cheap speakers bother me so the speakers need to be not absolutely horrible.

I've heard these in real life and they are very lacking in bass. I'll buy them if there are no other better options:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025VKUPW/?tag=tec06d-20

I'm leaning towards these ones... but again they are USB powered which means it can only use 5W - I'd rather it run off a wall wart:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XE3X8Q/?tag=tec06d-20

Or I could use my spare Lepai amplifier for something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MCGF1O/?tag=tec06d-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C2P61FO/?tag=tec06d-20



Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
-Michael
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
10,881 (1.63/day)
Location
Manchester, NH
System Name Senile
Processor I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory 16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s) 34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (3440*1440) *FREE_SYNC*
Case Rosewill
Audio Device(s) Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply Corsair HX750
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software Win 10
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
1,237 (0.30/day)
Location
California, unfortunately.
System Name Sierra ~ Server
Processor Core i5-11600K ~ Core i3-12100
Motherboard Asus Prime B560M-A AC ~ MSI PRO B760M-P
Cooling CM 212 Black RGB Edition ~ Intel Stock Cooler
Memory 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR4-3600 ~ 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon RX 6950 XT ~ EVGA GeForce GTX 970
Storage 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink NVMe SSD ~ 2TB Kingston NV1 NVMe SSD + 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD
Display(s) 2x Dell S2721QS 4K 60Hz ~ N/A
Case Asus Prime AP201 - Open Frame Chassis
Power Supply Thermaltake GF1 850W ~ Thermaltake Smart 500W
Software Windows 11 Pro ~ Proxmox VE
Benchmark Scores Laptops: Dell Latitude E7270, Dell Latitude 14 Rugged 5420.
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
10,881 (1.63/day)
Location
Manchester, NH
System Name Senile
Processor I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory 16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s) 34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (3440*1440) *FREE_SYNC*
Case Rosewill
Audio Device(s) Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply Corsair HX750
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software Win 10
Hi,
Thanks for the suggestion. However, they are more than 3.9" high. They will not fit under my monitors.

Rest them on their sides? How much space do you have?
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
1,237 (0.30/day)
Location
California, unfortunately.
System Name Sierra ~ Server
Processor Core i5-11600K ~ Core i3-12100
Motherboard Asus Prime B560M-A AC ~ MSI PRO B760M-P
Cooling CM 212 Black RGB Edition ~ Intel Stock Cooler
Memory 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR4-3600 ~ 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon RX 6950 XT ~ EVGA GeForce GTX 970
Storage 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink NVMe SSD ~ 2TB Kingston NV1 NVMe SSD + 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD
Display(s) 2x Dell S2721QS 4K 60Hz ~ N/A
Case Asus Prime AP201 - Open Frame Chassis
Power Supply Thermaltake GF1 850W ~ Thermaltake Smart 500W
Software Windows 11 Pro ~ Proxmox VE
Benchmark Scores Laptops: Dell Latitude E7270, Dell Latitude 14 Rugged 5420.
Rest them on their sides? How much space do you have?
i don't want to put them sideways its what i do now and it doesn't look professional. i have plenty of width just 3.9" height under my monitors.
 
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
10,881 (1.63/day)
Location
Manchester, NH
System Name Senile
Processor I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory 16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s) 34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (3440*1440) *FREE_SYNC*
Case Rosewill
Audio Device(s) Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply Corsair HX750
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software Win 10
i don't want to put them sideways its what i do now and it doesn't look professional. i have plenty of width just 3.9" height under my monitors.

Fair enough. My speakers at work are sitting right behind my monitor, certainly not perfect but it's ok.
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
1,237 (0.30/day)
Location
California, unfortunately.
System Name Sierra ~ Server
Processor Core i5-11600K ~ Core i3-12100
Motherboard Asus Prime B560M-A AC ~ MSI PRO B760M-P
Cooling CM 212 Black RGB Edition ~ Intel Stock Cooler
Memory 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR4-3600 ~ 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon RX 6950 XT ~ EVGA GeForce GTX 970
Storage 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink NVMe SSD ~ 2TB Kingston NV1 NVMe SSD + 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD
Display(s) 2x Dell S2721QS 4K 60Hz ~ N/A
Case Asus Prime AP201 - Open Frame Chassis
Power Supply Thermaltake GF1 850W ~ Thermaltake Smart 500W
Software Windows 11 Pro ~ Proxmox VE
Benchmark Scores Laptops: Dell Latitude E7270, Dell Latitude 14 Rugged 5420.
I got one of these as a gift and it sounds quite good, the bass is very good along with the rest of the sound: http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...s/bluetooth_speakers/soundlink_mini/index.jsp

Rather pricey though.

*It does have an input jack too.
A bit more than I wanted to spend, and it would not work as it would have to go in the middle on top of the monitor stand.

I am beginning to think I should just buy a pair of those cheap Pyle speakers I linked to above and hook them up to my spare Lepai amp and use that.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
5,976 (1.09/day)
Location
Cybertron aka Canada
Processor Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 8GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1600
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX 670
Storage Intel 520 60GB, Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
Display(s) BenQ 24" XL2420T
Case Corsair 550D
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser HD600, Audeze LCD-3F, Mytek Stereo 192 DSD, La Figaro 339, Burson HA-160, Geek Pulse X
Power Supply Corsair AX650
Mouse steelseries Sensei MLG edition
Keyboard Cooler Master QuickFire Pro
Software Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
none of these speakers probably have a good off-axis response which means if you don't place them at ear level you may not hear certain frequencies. all these speakers use small full range drivers and the cabinets have very low volume so don't expect any fidelity or bass. you get what you pay for..
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
204 (0.06/day)
Location
Finland
System Name WorstEVER
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-4770K
Motherboard MSI Z87-G45 GAMING
Cooling Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E
Memory G.Skill 8GB (2x4GB) Sniper, DDR3 1600MHz, 9-9-9-24, 1.35V
Video Card(s) 7970 Matrix Platinum
Storage Samsung 840EVO / Samsung F1
Display(s) Crossover Blacktune 2763 AMG "PP"
Case Fractal Design Define R3
Audio Device(s) integrated
Power Supply Corsair HX 750 Gold
Software Win7 x64 ultimate
Benchmark Scores over 9000
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
5,976 (1.09/day)
Location
Cybertron aka Canada
Processor Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 8GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1600
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX 670
Storage Intel 520 60GB, Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
Display(s) BenQ 24" XL2420T
Case Corsair 550D
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser HD600, Audeze LCD-3F, Mytek Stereo 192 DSD, La Figaro 339, Burson HA-160, Geek Pulse X
Power Supply Corsair AX650
Mouse steelseries Sensei MLG edition
Keyboard Cooler Master QuickFire Pro
Software Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
6,874 (1.02/day)
Location
USA
System Name Computer of Theseus
Processor Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce 3060 XC Black Gaming 12GB
Storage 1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data 1 and 2), ASUS BW-16D1HT
Display(s) Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s) Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White
Mouse Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software Win 10 LTSC 21H2
I run a Pyle 2x15w mini amplifier with two Cambridge Soundwork speakers I took from a 4.1 system from the early 2000s. It sounds really good for a computer speaker.
Here is the amp: http://www.pyleaudio.com/sku/PCA1/Mini-2X15-W-Stereo-Power-Amplifier

I took these speakers:


I have the rest of the set but its a hassle to use a 4.1 with all the wiring etc.

The Pyle 2x15 watt sounds way better anyway.

I have a good idea of what a real system sounds like as I have a bunch of full size infiniti rs and technics speakers and a 2x700 watt rack amplifier that drive them, these little cambridges fit under my 2x24" monitor set up as well as the amplifier.

I think you could assemble this setup (2x cambridge and a pyle mini amp) for as little as $40.
 

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,436 (2.43/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
I run a Pyle 2x15w mini amplifier with two Cambridge Soundwork speakers I took from a 4.1 system from the early 2000s. It sounds really good for a computer speaker.
Here is the amp: http://www.pyleaudio.com/sku/PCA1/Mini-2X15-W-Stereo-Power-Amplifier

I took these speakers:


I have the rest of the set but its a hassle to use a 4.1 with all the wiring etc.

The Pyle 2x15 watt sounds way better anyway.

I have a good idea of what a real system sounds like as I have a bunch of full size infiniti rs and technics speakers and a 2x700 watt rack amplifier that drive them, these little cambridges fit under my 2x24" monitor set up as well as the amplifier.

I think you could assemble this setup (2x cambridge and a pyle mini amp) for as little as $40.


oh man i used to have two of those satellites and a similiar powered sub from cambridge soundworks. they sounded incredible. i am still running with a set of ensemble IIs hooked up to an old amp connect to my PC. sounds better than ever.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAMBRIDGE-S...66?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item20d11f735e
 
Top