Looking for some compact 2.0/2.1 speakers

[Neil Chan]

Any recommendation?

What do you guys think of razer leveiathan and bose companion 20?

[ebobde]

microlabs if you want best bang for buck but if you like the razer logo and dont like money then go for that

[Neil Chan]

 

microlabs if you want best bang for buck but if you like the razer logo and dont like money then go for that

 

razer supports optical audio, that's worth something right?

[Mistersprinkles]

   

razer supports optical audio, that's worth something right?

 

No, it's not. Optical out of a PC has all sorts of noise to it. Even worse than USB. Also, there is no such thing as "digital audio". There is digital audio transport, but you can't hear a digital signal. You can only hear an analog signal. All the Razer thingy is doing is taking the sound in digitally and using an internal digital-analog converter to make the sound audible. And I can guarantee you that the internal DAC is going to be crap.

 

Compact speakers sound... well.. compact. You want a larger tweeter and woofer for optimal sound. Stay away from Bose like you'd stay away from Ebola. Nothing good comes from that company. It's all hype. There are massive gaps in the frequency response of their products. Their computer speakers don't have tweeters. Just a foam surround paper woofer with a wave guide. That's garbage. You don't want it.

 

I've been through a lot of computer speakers. If you want good sound from your PC you need to spend $150+. For $150-180 US you can pick up a Klipsch Promedia 2.1 system. It sounds very good with very good bass. If anything I would say that vocals sound just a tiny bit weak on those speakers but they are pretty much impossible to beat at their price point.

 

Just above that at $180 to $200 you can get a pair of Presonus Eris 4.5's. These are 2.0 speakers and they are probably a bit larger than what you are looking for, but that size makes for much fuller sound. They take a while to break in and start really sounding good, but once they do they really shine. They are punchy and refined at the same time. They have kevlar woofers with a quality rubber surround and nice silk dome tweeters. They really do sound good. In some music they sound almost as good as my $700 KEF Q300's that I have hooked up to my amp.

 

I would suggest that you get the Presonus, unless you are a bass head, in which case you should get the promedias. Any small speaker is going to be severely lacking in midrange and is going to sound hollow and tinny. If you can put up with that, buy small speakers, but if you do buy small speakers, don't buy crappy ones. A very good small speaker is the Audioengine A2. They are tiny but they don't sound like garbage. They are expensive for what they are though, and the Presonus or Klipsch are both better bang for the buck. 

 

Consider upgrading your audio output to a DAC such as an Audioquest Dragonfly ($150). It sounds much better than any soundcard and will really improve your listening situation. Especially if you use the Dragonfly's ASIO with an ASIO bridge and Fidelizer. 

[Neil Chan]

 

No, it's not. Optical out of a PC has all sorts of noise to it. Even worse than USB. Also, there is no such thing as "digital audio". There is digital audio transport, but you can't hear a digital signal. You can only hear an analog signal. All the Razer thingy is doing is taking the sound in digitally and using an internal digital-analog converter to make the sound audible. And I can guarantee you that the internal DAC is going to be crap.

 

Compact speakers sound... well.. compact. You want a larger tweeter and woofer for optimal sound. Stay away from Bose like you'd stay away from Ebola. Nothing good comes from that company. It's all hype. There are massive gaps in the frequency response of their products. Their computer speakers don't have tweeters. Just a foam surround paper woofer with a wave guide. That's garbage. You don't want it.

 

I've been through a lot of computer speakers. If you want good sound from your PC you need to spend $150+. For $150-180 US you can pick up a Klipsch Promedia 2.1 system. It sounds very good with very good bass. If anything I would say that vocals sound just a tiny bit weak on those speakers but they are pretty much impossible to beat at their price point.

 

Just above that at $180 to $200 you can get a pair of Presonus Eris 4.5's. These are 2.0 speakers and they are probably a bit larger than what you are looking for, but that size makes for much fuller sound. They take a while to break in and start really sounding good, but once they do they really shine. They are punchy and refined at the same time. They have kevlar woofers with a quality rubber surround and nice silk dome tweeters. They really do sound good. In some music they sound almost as good as my $700 KEF Q300's that I have hooked up to my amp.

 

I would suggest that you get the Presonus, unless you are a bass head, in which case you should get the promedias. Any small speaker is going to be severely lacking in midrange and is going to sound hollow and tinny. If you can put up with that, buy small speakers, but if you do buy small speakers, don't buy crappy ones. A very good small speaker is the Audioengine A2. They are tiny but they don't sound like garbage. They are expensive for what they are though, and the Presonus or Klipsch are both better bang for the buck. 

 

Consider upgrading your audio output to a DAC such as an Audioquest Dragonfly ($150). It sounds much better than any soundcard and will really improve your listening situation. Especially if you use the Dragonfly's ASIO with an ASIO bridge and Fidelizer. 

 

I know what optical audio is and I do want an internal DAC for my xbox one.

[Neil Chan]

 

No, it's not. Optical out of a PC has all sorts of noise to it. Even worse than USB. Also, there is no such thing as "digital audio". There is digital audio transport, but you can't hear a digital signal. You can only hear an analog signal. All the Razer thingy is doing is taking the sound in digitally and using an internal digital-analog converter to make the sound audible. And I can guarantee you that the internal DAC is going to be crap.

 

Compact speakers sound... well.. compact. You want a larger tweeter and woofer for optimal sound. Stay away from Bose like you'd stay away from Ebola. Nothing good comes from that company. It's all hype. There are massive gaps in the frequency response of their products. Their computer speakers don't have tweeters. Just a foam surround paper woofer with a wave guide. That's garbage. You don't want it.

 

I've been through a lot of computer speakers. If you want good sound from your PC you need to spend $150+. For $150-180 US you can pick up a Klipsch Promedia 2.1 system. It sounds very good with very good bass. If anything I would say that vocals sound just a tiny bit weak on those speakers but they are pretty much impossible to beat at their price point.

 

Just above that at $180 to $200 you can get a pair of Presonus Eris 4.5's. These are 2.0 speakers and they are probably a bit larger than what you are looking for, but that size makes for much fuller sound. They take a while to break in and start really sounding good, but once they do they really shine. They are punchy and refined at the same time. They have kevlar woofers with a quality rubber surround and nice silk dome tweeters. They really do sound good. In some music they sound almost as good as my $700 KEF Q300's that I have hooked up to my amp.

 

I would suggest that you get the Presonus, unless you are a bass head, in which case you should get the promedias. Any small speaker is going to be severely lacking in midrange and is going to sound hollow and tinny. If you can put up with that, buy small speakers, but if you do buy small speakers, don't buy crappy ones. A very good small speaker is the Audioengine A2. They are tiny but they don't sound like garbage. They are expensive for what they are though, and the Presonus or Klipsch are both better bang for the buck. 

 

Consider upgrading your audio output to a DAC such as an Audioquest Dragonfly ($150). It sounds much better than any soundcard and will really improve your listening situation. Especially if you use the Dragonfly's ASIO with an ASIO bridge and Fidelizer. 

Thank you very much for your opinion.

However, I'm in HK and couldn't find a store selling those.

Also, my main demand is not to get the best sound out of my PC but to get some speakers that can support all my devices including PC, laptop, Xbox one and iphone.

[Neil Chan]

 

No, it's not. Optical out of a PC has all sorts of noise to it. Even worse than USB. Also, there is no such thing as "digital audio". There is digital audio transport, but you can't hear a digital signal. You can only hear an analog signal. All the Razer thingy is doing is taking the sound in digitally and using an internal digital-analog converter to make the sound audible. And I can guarantee you that the internal DAC is going to be crap.

 

Compact speakers sound... well.. compact. You want a larger tweeter and woofer for optimal sound. Stay away from Bose like you'd stay away from Ebola. Nothing good comes from that company. It's all hype. There are massive gaps in the frequency response of their products. Their computer speakers don't have tweeters. Just a foam surround paper woofer with a wave guide. That's garbage. You don't want it.

 

I've been through a lot of computer speakers. If you want good sound from your PC you need to spend $150+. For $150-180 US you can pick up a Klipsch Promedia 2.1 system. It sounds very good with very good bass. If anything I would say that vocals sound just a tiny bit weak on those speakers but they are pretty much impossible to beat at their price point.

 

Just above that at $180 to $200 you can get a pair of Presonus Eris 4.5's. These are 2.0 speakers and they are probably a bit larger than what you are looking for, but that size makes for much fuller sound. They take a while to break in and start really sounding good, but once they do they really shine. They are punchy and refined at the same time. They have kevlar woofers with a quality rubber surround and nice silk dome tweeters. They really do sound good. In some music they sound almost as good as my $700 KEF Q300's that I have hooked up to my amp.

 

I would suggest that you get the Presonus, unless you are a bass head, in which case you should get the promedias. Any small speaker is going to be severely lacking in midrange and is going to sound hollow and tinny. If you can put up with that, buy small speakers, but if you do buy small speakers, don't buy crappy ones. A very good small speaker is the Audioengine A2. They are tiny but they don't sound like garbage. They are expensive for what they are though, and the Presonus or Klipsch are both better bang for the buck. 

 

Consider upgrading your audio output to a DAC such as an Audioquest Dragonfly ($150). It sounds much better than any soundcard and will really improve your listening situation. Especially if you use the Dragonfly's ASIO with an ASIO bridge and Fidelizer. 

 

I must ask: have you tried razer leviathan?

[Lutkeveld]

@Mistersprinkles You're exeggerating, Bose isn't that bad. Also why is a large tweeter good and a waveguide bad?

[Neil Chan]

Are there any other product that supports AUX, optical & bluetooth at the same time?