If you were going to buy a decent sounding/performing pair of 'computer speakers'...

mhardy6647

what would you buy?

My son is shoppin' for a pair of "traditional" plug in (not Bluetooth) speakers (amplified) for his girlfriend to use with her phone and/or computer.

We have only realized how little we know about such products at this late date! :-P

Oh, trying to stay in the sub $100 region.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

cnh

You want something self-powered that sounds pretty good at less than $100? What about SIZE? Because the M-Audio AV 42s are currently on sale (Amazon) and are OK for anything in this price range for desktop applications. But may be too big for you?

Take a look:

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-AV42-Professional-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B00X741TB0/ref=sr_1_2/185-2218359-8906642?ie=UTF8&qid=1448650543&sr=8-2&keywords=m+audio+av-40

You can also try to find the previous model on sale if its still available, the AV-40. Not really a true studio monitor but as good or better than most computer speakers, but a tad bigger.

mhardy6647

They look great to me! Thanks!

hochpt21

Audioengine A2's are amazing. I think on sale for around $200 right now. Not sure if a used pair would fall down in your budget or not.

Nightfall

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $109

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448662301&sr=8-1&keywords=klipsch+pro+media

mrbiron

Ima go witt two 5/4" x6"x 24" pine boards with a hole cut into them and a raw driver super glued to the backside. THEN!, use a large NH stone to stabilize the base. Maine stones will not work here.

Dump finds put you out about $0.78!

Zinga!

sarnella

Check these out: http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-t-amp-and-b652-portable-speaker-system-bundle--300-650

mhardy6647

mrbiron wrote: »

Ima go witt two 5/4" x6"x 24" pine boards with a hole cut into them and a raw driver super glued to the backside. THEN!, use a large NH stone to stabilize the base. Maine stones will not work here.

Dump finds put you out about $0.78!

Zinga!

his GF'd love that... ;- )

sarnella wrote: »

Check these out: http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-t-amp-and-b652-portable-speaker-system-bundle--300-650

Good suggestion. I did think about a T-amp and the AMT-equipped little two-ways from PartsExpress, but I think powered speakers a little more practical in this particular case.

EndersShadow

AudioEngine A2, A2+, A5, A5+. All are powered and of good quality.

Also dont forget the Polk Camden speakers which have a USB Dac in them as well as being powered...

I'm looking for the A5+ since they have a remote.

All have RCA inputs OR 3.5mm input. So a DAC could be added later, or not, but its an option.

rooftop59

I have these in my home office and like them: http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Technology-Incline-Audiophile-Desktop/dp/B00G5CKH6O/ref=sr_1_1?s=fiona-hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1448722702&sr=8-1&keywords=Definitive+technology+incline

I guess that's out of your budget, but if you're looking for powered and decent sounding it's gonna be tough me thinks...

rooftop59

nbrowser wrote: »

Nightfall wrote: »

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $109

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448662301&sr=8-1&keywords=klipsch+pro+media

Nightfall, I couldn't agree more, bang for the buck is amazing with these...I do own a set and it'll rock the house for what it is. Sounds quite nice too.

Yep I ran these in our small master bedroom in our old house. Definitely typical klipsch signature with great bass, sizzling highs, and no mids, but for tv, movies/games, and non critical listening, they are pretty fun. If they had remote volume control I would have kept them longer...

Emlyn

I use the Creative Gigaworks T20 at work and find them to be very good and well below $100 at $59 a pair:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-GigaWorks-Multimedia-BasXPort-Technology/dp/B001RNOHDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448722971&sr=8-1&keywords=creative+gigaworks

I also have a pair of the larger T40 speakers at home and find the bass can be over pronounced on those but they have bass and treble controls to control for placement issues. Either pair is good for desktop nearfield use or use in a small room with a computer as a source, and they aren't overly large. They sound larger than they are and produce an excellent stereo image up close with a cloth dome tweeter. They can also be used as a pair of speakers for a TV set in a smaller room. Another plus is the front panel auxiliary input, so it's easy to have the speakers permanently hooked to a computer while also accepting a temporary connection from a phone or tablet.

Another speaker in the price range is the Bose Companion 2, but those lack built in tone controls and are expensive for what they are.

gudnoyez

I Bought these Bose companion 20 for the wife's laptop a few years ago, at the same time we bought the Klipsch pro media home along with them needless to say the klipsch were brought back the next day. I guess the Bose haters will hate but these companion 20 get loud and sound good doing so. However the Audio engines would be the ones to get they don't sell them at best buy but the wife likes these Bose and that ls what matters.

Kurt300

Nightfall wrote: »

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $109

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448662301&sr=8-1&keywords=klipsch+pro+media

+1 on this - I had this setup prior to my current one for my PC, and the sound for the value was off the charts.

Rich502

Nightfall wrote: »

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $109

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448662301&sr=8-1&keywords=klipsch+pro+media

Another vote for the pro media. Although not a Klipsch fan in general, these do get insanely loud for its size and sound pretty good on games and MP3 type compressed music. For the price very hard to beat.

Polkaguy58

I'll give a third endorsement for the Klipsch Pro Media 2.0's .
If you get bored with the stock satellite speakers, you can remove the little volume control unti from them and run a different pair.
I added a couple of those old Mirage Omni egg shaped speakers to my rig and it sounded awesome !
In fact, I sold that system to my neighbor, who uses it to power his electric keyboard. (he's a church organist) and I can feel the floors rumble when he's playing the pipe organ settings over there. (heh heh)

Polkie2009

Running LSi9's at the moment, sounds great. I could use a little sub though for the low end. May look into a used little Sunfire sub in the 8" or 10" .

nguyendot

I run a pair of M-Audio Studiophile DX4s. They're probably the most accurate 2 channel computer speakers I've had in the price range. I've had the Promedia 2.1 system and personally I find it really harsh. They do get insanely loud and will rock out like no other pre-assembled computer speaker system however.

I also have used a pair of vintage Minimus 7 Realistic speakers on random amps and love them - not a simple setup however like you're asking.

11tsteve

Out of all I ever tried, the Klipsch Pro Media were the best. The last computer speaks I owned were the Bose, and my reaction to their sound was what lead directly to where I am today with a McCormack and Lsi9.