2. pc-audio
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What are the best pc speakers?

The title pretty much says it all. What are the best 2.0 or 2.1 speakers for pc audio (preferably active, though I could use a t-amp for the right passive speakers)?

Computer wise, I haven't yet decided to go with a mac, in which case white speakers would be good, or a pc, in which case black would be the order of the day. I'll be using digital output from the computer to a Lite Dac Ah, then to the speakers.

The other thing is that the speakers need to be fairly compact, to fit on a desktop and... dare I say it... a little funky looking. Given that the speakers do need to be small, I'm thinking a 2.1 setup may be best, but I'm willing to be swayed. Budget wise I guess I'd be looking at up to $500, though could go higher for the right product.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
baileyincanberra
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
You will be one step closer to buying good speakers if you eliminate "PC" from the description.

There are a number of active monitors including the Swans mentioned above.

You could also look into powered nearfield "pro audio" monitors including Genelecs. If you bought used you could probably get those pretty close to your budget, despite retail prices closer to $1000.

Good luck.
nodaker's avatar
nodaker
17 posts
 
I second the Swans. I've had mine a few years and would buy another pair if I had it to do over. Nice sound for the price. They look good too.
entrope
482 posts
 
Here is a link to an M200 review and some other PC speaker options

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SwanM200/
slikric3000
638 posts
 
The non exotic Altec Lansing I found to be quite satisfying. Athough I have seen ribbon PC speakers also.
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