Small and compact speakers?

[Zonus]

I've been wanting to get a pair of stylish, yet good speakers for a while now. Mainly because I'm tired of being bound by a cord, when watching a movie with my headphones, but also to relieve my head of the clamping.

Requirements wise, I just want them to be small, compact, and preferably 2.0. And of course, like every speaker, you'd want them to sound good/decent.
 

This is what I've looked at so far:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-Speakers-Design-Neil-Poulton/dp/B001FA0FZE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00544XKK4/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d9_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0EZKVY18A3ZANP2XNR76&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455344027&pf_rd_i=468294

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Inspire-T10-Multimedia-Speakers/dp/B000WQIKJ0/ref=lp_429889031_1_15?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552112&sr=1-15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-A60-2-0-Desktop-Speakers/dp/B003829J68/ref=sr_1_79?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552203&sr=1-79

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-A100-USB-Powered-Computer-Speakers/dp/B00GHY5F3K/ref=sr_1_83?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552203&sr=1-83

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-Sound-Plus-Portable-Speaker/dp/B00812MKU2/ref=sr_1_120?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552232&sr=1-120

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Remo-USB-2-0-Speaker/dp/B005625WR8/ref=sr_1_149?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552315&sr=1-149

[Lutkeveld]

I'd go with the Creative A60 as my primary choice, the A100's as my secondary.

[olback]

Here:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-Companion-Multimedia-Speaker-System/dp/B000OCXFJ2/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1417553153&sr=8-11&keywords=bose

 

^ Its Bose... the pwn all others... no jk

[ZetZet]

Small speakers can not physically produce good sound. Sad, but true.

[Lutkeveld]

Small speakers can not physically produce good sound. Sad, but true.

 

What do you mean with physically?

 

Designers often choose to give up bass in such small enclosures to remain somewhat loud.

Other than the lack of bass, the sound is pretty do-able keeping the price in mind.

[ZetZet]

What do you mean with physically?

 

Designers often choose to give up bass in such small enclosures to remain somewhat loud.

Other than the lack of bass, the sound is pretty do-able keeping the price in mind.

They don't choose to give it up it just can't be done. Need big speakers to have some loud rumbles and decent sound. Everything small sounds like crap.

[Lutkeveld]

They don't choose to give it up it just can't be done. Need big speakers to have some loud rumbles and decent sound. Everything small sounds like crap.

 

It's possible to some extent -> Hoffman's Iron Law.

Sure you won't get deep rumbling bass, but 40-50hz is possible. Just got to give up efficiency (loudness).

But then you got problems with the low sensitivity of human hearing on low SPL (equal loudness contour)

[ZetZet]

It's possible to some extent -> Hoffman's Iron Law.

Sure you won't get deep rumbling bass, but 40-50hz is possible. Just got to give up efficiency (loudness).

But then you got problems with the low sensitivity of human hearing on low SPL (equal loudness contour)

Well I mean yeah, in-ears can produce low frequencies too. You just can't hear any of it until you stuff them inside your ear.

It can't be done aplies to the balance between hearable sound and low frequencies. To produce low frequencies that you could listen too you need big speakers.

So it can't be done.

[ShearMe]

 

I've been wanting to get a pair of stylish, yet good speakers for a while now. Mainly because I'm tired of being bound by a cord, when watching a movie with my headphones, but also to relieve my head of the clamping.

Requirements wise, I just want them to be small, compact, and preferably 2.0. And of course, like every speaker, you'd want them to sound good/decent.
 

This is what I've looked at so far:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-Speakers-Design-Neil-Poulton/dp/B001FA0FZE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00544XKK4/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d9_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0EZKVY18A3ZANP2XNR76&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455344027&pf_rd_i=468294

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Inspire-T10-Multimedia-Speakers/dp/B000WQIKJ0/ref=lp_429889031_1_15?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552112&sr=1-15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-A60-2-0-Desktop-Speakers/dp/B003829J68/ref=sr_1_79?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552203&sr=1-79

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-A100-USB-Powered-Computer-Speakers/dp/B00GHY5F3K/ref=sr_1_83?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552203&sr=1-83

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-Sound-Plus-Portable-Speaker/dp/B00812MKU2/ref=sr_1_120?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552232&sr=1-120

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Remo-USB-2-0-Speaker/dp/B005625WR8/ref=sr_1_149?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1417552315&sr=1-149

 

Get the Creative T10 you linked if your budget is really so low. 

 

Small speakers can not physically produce good sound. Sad, but true.

 

Not true. 

[ZetZet]

Get the Creative T10 you linked above if your budget is really so low. 

 

 

Not true. 

Prove me and physics of our universe wrong.

[ShearMe]

Prove me and physics of our universe wrong.

 

Why should I bear the burden of proof when you're the one putting forth vague, easily disproven statements? 

[ZetZet]

Why should I bear the burden of proof when you're the one putting forth vague, easily disproven statements? 

uhm, what? i personally have never seen such magic, so if you could show me this, i would even buy a pair of those magical things.

[ShearMe]

uhm, what? i personally have never seen such magic, so if you could show me this, i would even buy a pair of those magical things.

 

Just because you haven't seen it does not mean it does not exist.

 

I have seen such magic, though I don't know the product name specifically. My friends and I went out for some late night waffle house, and halfway through our meal some dude and his posse came in with something resembling a phone dock, blaring the loudest music I've heard from such a contraption. It was free of distortion and would have sounded quite good had my eardrums not been thrumming so hard. Annoyed the whole Waffle House, but he was rich and paid for everyone's meal.

[ZetZet]

Just because you haven't seen it does not mean it does not exist.

 

I have seen such magic, though I don't know the product name specifically. My friends and I went out for some late night waffle house, and halfway through our meal some dude and his posse came in with something resembling a phone dock, blaring the loudest music I've heard from such a contraption. It was free of distortion and would have sounded quite good had my eardrums not been thrumming so hard. Annoyed the whole Waffle House, but he was rich and paid for everyone's meal.

high frequencies sure. bass? no. for good sound you need the whole range or it's making compromises and it's not magical then. your story is worse than mine because you don't even have actual example.

[ShearMe]

high frequencies sure. bass? no. for good sound you need the whole range or it's making compromises and it's not magical then. your story is worse than mine because you don't even have actual example.

 

You didn't even tell a story, so, what exactly are you trying to say? I don't care if you don't believe my story just because I don't know the specific model or brand name of some stranger's speaker set.  :rolleyes:

 

There is more to the spectrum than highs and bass - leaving out a few hundred Hz is not the biggest thing in the world to worry about when there's still over 19 THOUSAND frequencies to listen to.

 

And now you've moved the goal post of the argument from good sound to magical no-compromises sound? Obviously that's not what OP is going for, plus he wouldn't even be able to get that with "big" speakers at this price range. Let's try to be realistic here, dearest ZetZet.

[ZetZet]

You didn't even tell a story, so, what exactly are you trying to say? I don't care if you don't believe my story just because I don't know the specific model or brand name of some stranger's speaker set.  :rolleyes:

 

There is more to the spectrum than highs and bass - leaving out a few hundred Hz is not the biggest thing in the world to worry about when there's still over 19 THOUSAND frequencies to listen to.

 

And now you've moved the goal post of the argument from good sound to magical no-compromises sound? Obviously that's not what OP is going for, plus he wouldn't even be able to get that with "big" speakers at this price range. Let's try to be realistic here, dearest ZetZet.

I personally do not like high frequency sound so without lows speakers would kill me. And they still can't sound good, they can make sound for like speech and stuff, but not good sound.

[Lutkeveld]

@ShearMe your story doesn't make any more sense than the story of @ZetZet.

 

Spending more money doesn't allow you to break physics laws, it does allow you to make smart compromises.
Example: a lot of the more expensive small speakers use the missing fundamentel principle, which tricks our mind in thinking there is bass.

Which is not the case, there is a lot of midbass but all the bass is cut away. So harmonics come trough, fundamentels are removed.

 

As said: small speakers with bass don't go loud. The human hearing is very insensitive to bass on low SPL's, so bass seems to be lacking.

We're talking about '1-2 liter' small, not 'bookshelve' small.calc

Bass only consists of 2-3 octaves, so your 'leaving out a few hundred hertz' doesn't make much sense.

There is as much information under 300hz as there is above it.

[Zonus]

Get the Creative T10 you linked if your budget is really so low. 

 

I'd go with the Creative A60 as my primary choice, the A100's as my secondary.

Which one is better? I can get the A60's for 20$ and the T10's for 30$.

[Zonus]

Here:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-Companion-Multimedia-Speaker-System/dp/B000OCXFJ2/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1417553153&sr=8-11&keywords=bose

 

^ Its Bose... the pwn all others... no jk

I know! Sadly, they're waaay out of my price range, but I guess that's what happens when I forgot to tell my price range.

[olback]

I know! Sadly, they're waaay out of my price range, but I guess that's what happens when I forgot to tell my price range.

 

And the whole small speakers dosnt sound good is a stupid myth... go to a store and listen to bose speakers.. if you have a bunch of money, you wont go out of that store without a pair of bose speakers

[Lutkeveld]

 

And the whole small speakers dosnt sound good is a stupid myth... go to a store and listen to bose speakers.. if you have a bunch of money, you wont go out of that store without a pair of bose speakers

 

The story goes: small speakers can't reproduce deep bass, so they don't sound good.

I agree that Bose is the king of small good sounding speakers.

The 2.0 sets meant for nearfield listening don't need to go very loud, so they can choose bass over efficiency (loudness).

Some smart DSP'ing and some more power than regular 2.0 desktop speakers makes them a very good (but expensive) option.

 

Doesn't take away that your example, a 2.1 set with small satellites, is a very bad example.

If you would listen to the satellites on their own, bass would be totally lacking.

[ShearMe]

Spending more money doesn't allow you to break physics laws, it does allow you to make smart compromises.

 

That's all I meant to say.  :rolleyes:

[Zonus]

I've decided to go with the A60's. They were a lot cheaper, and the only ones available.