No matter how good your gaming PC is, you'll be confronted with many ways peripherals can limit your experience. If you don't get a great gaming monitor, you may not be able to see all the pixels and frames your rig is capable of pushing. And, even if you get a great monitor, odds are good it won't have a strong set of speakers built in if it has any at all. That's where these great computer speakers come in.
A solid set of desktop speakers, whether they be a stereo pair or a soundbar, will deliver a much better sound experience than almost any built-in sound system you'd find in a monitor. Speakers that include a strong sub-woofer will also let you experience the bass in your games better than even a great gaming headset, because that headset can only hit your ears with the sound and not your whole body. So, don't settle for the tinny, two-watt speakers your monitor might offer. Check out what your gaming experience could be sound like with a set of proper computer speakers.
TL;DR – These are the Best Computer Speakers:
- Audioengine A2+
- Logitech Z407 Speaker System
- Creative Pebble V3
- Mackie CR5-XBT Multimedia Monitors
- Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System
- Sound BlasterX Katana RGB Soundbar
- Logitech G560
- PreSonus Eris 4.5BT
- JBL LSR305P MkII Studio Monitors
- Creative SBS E2900
1. Audioengine A2+
Best Computer Speakers
The Audioengine A2+ speakers are one of the slickest ways to give your desk a serious audio upgrade. The white finish on these stereo speakers will help them stand out without making them gaudy or distracting. Meanwhile, the exposed tweeters and woofers, not to mention the aramid fiber of the woofers, give them some extra appeal.
Then, of course, there’s the sound experience. The Audioengine A2+ speakers have a 60W output for some serious volume. And, thanks to the separate tweeters and woofers, they can provide a wide frequency response range and better accuracy. The system includes inputs for audio over a 3.5mm jack, RCA, and USB, plus it can support Bluetooth with the added benefit of aptX HD and AAC. You don’t need any extra hardware to power the Audioengine A2+ speakers either, as they have a built-in amplifier and DAC. Just plug them into power, connect them to your preferred audio sources, and get ready to jam.
2. Logitech Z407 Speaker System
Best Budget Computer Speakers
Logitech’s Z407 speaker setup will get you a lot of sound for not a lot of money. This kit comes with a pair of punchy 10W speakers that’ll easily help you fill a small room with your favorite tunes, game audio, or all the sounds coming from your favorite movies and TV shows. For some, a pair of 10W speakers would probably be enough, but Logitech helps you cover the low-end even better. This kit includes a 20W subwoofer to make the explosions in your games really boom.
There’s a good bit of convenience here too. The kit can wire up to your computer over USB, letting you get a clean audio signal to the speakers. There’s still a 3.5mm plug as well if you want to connect to an additional audio source. Bonus: there’s also Bluetooth on deck. Logitech even includes a handy little dial for making quick volume tweaks or handling playback controls wirelessly.
3. Creative Pebble V3
Best Ultra Cheap Computer Speakers
Creative has updated its compact, affordable computer speaker options with the Creative Pebble V3. These new, stylish little speakers don’t cost much more than their V2 predecessors while they actually bump up the speaker size and bring in support for Bluetooth audio.
The Creative Pebble V3 speakers still keep your desk setup simple by drawing power from the same USB-C connection that they can use as an audio source, letting you simply connect them over a single cable and call it good. You do get the option of connecting them to an additional device with a 3.5mm cable if you have an analog audio source. And, with the addition of Bluetooth 5.0, you can connect them to a ton of additional devices while enjoying stable connectivity. These aren’t speakers that are going to blow away your neighbors, as each speaker boasts just 4W of output power, but they’re likely going to outshine the kind of speakers that are occasionally built into computer monitors. For just $40, that’s not a bad upgrade.
4. Mackie CR5-XBT Multimedia Monitors
Best Stereo Speakers for PCs
If you want to partner your PC with a powerful pair of bookshelf speakers, this stereo set from Mackie is just the ticket. The Mackie CR5-XBT speakers are made for multimedia monitoring, so you'll get powerful and precise sound with a response range from 50Hz up to 20,000Hz. Whether you want to crank tunes or make your own tunes, you'll find plenty of oomph in these speakers on account of their 80W of power, although you won't be able to link them with a subwoofer to rumble at even lower frequencies.
This set of speakers features a 0.75-inch tweeter and a 5-inch woofer in each cabinet for more precise sound on the high and low ends than you'd get out of a basic, single-driver unit. These speakers have a 3.5mm jack you can use to connect directly to your PC or DAC, but they have an extra feature in store. The "BT" in the name is there to indicate Bluetooth support, so you'll be getting the option to play audio wirelessly from a wide variety of sources, whether that be your computer, a phone, or a media player.
5. Logitech Z906
Best Surround Sound Speakers for PCs
Subwoofers for PCs are one thing, but 5.1 surround sound systems designed for computers? As crazy as that might sound, they're real and the Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System is the best one around. This product is basically a home entertainment system in a box as all the speakers come in a set and they're all factory-tuned to create a dynamic soundstage. All you have to do is arrange the speakers, plug them in, and sit back as your PC games and movies come to life with truly directional audio.
6. Sound BlasterX Katana RGB Soundbar
Best Soundbar for PCs
Soundbars aren’t just for your home entertainment setup, they’re also making their way onto PC gaming desks. Creative calls its Sound BlasterX Katana RGB Soundbar (read our review) the first-ever “Under Monitor Audio System,” and it proves itself by generating an impressively massive soundstage despite being just two feet wide. Meanwhile, the included subwoofer ensures you won’t miss any of the bass or the low notes in your favorite music. Of course, there’s RGB, and this soundbar creates a visual feast thanks to its 49 programmable RGB lights. Unfortunately, it can’t create a Virtual 7.1 surround soundscape as well as a good gaming headset, but for most multimedia (gaming, music, and movies) there isn’t a better soundbar for PCs than this.
7. Logitech G560
Best RGB Computer Speakers
RGB has made its way into your PC, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and even your mousepad, so it seems natural that they would eventually come to computer speakers. The Logitech G560 (read our review) is arguably the best RGB computer speaker system. You can program it to display the usual slew of lighting patterns or inform you of things – such as flashing whenever you take damage in-game or turning red when your PC is redlining. Alternatively, you could use Logitech G560’s lights to extend your screen and imitate the most dominant colors appearing on your display. In terms of sound quality, the Logitech G560 is a little bass-heavy, but you’ll hear clean highs and present mids.
8. PreSonus Eris 4.5BT
Best Bluetooth Computer Speakers
PreSonus has brought a new generation of great studio speakers that boast Bluetooth support with the Eris 4.5BT. These speakers offer up sizable 4.5-inch woofers to pump out serious sound while 1-inch, silk-dome tweeters handle the crisp, high-end audio. Each speaker in the pair can pump out 25 watts. As studio monitors, you can count on these speakers to deliver accurate sound.
You'll be able to connect a wide variety of sound sources to the Eris 4.5BT. For one, you get the option of a Bluetooth 5.0 connection, letting you easily pair computers, phones, and tablets without any wires to the speakers. You also can connect via a 3.5mm audio cable, RCA cables, or quarter-inch cables. And, if you later want to upgrade your setup, you can pair these speakers with a subwoofer for even more sound.
9. JBL LSR305P MkII Studio Monitors
Best Audio Editing Computer Speakers
Studio monitors designed for music and sound mixing can cost thousands of dollars, but a pair of JBL LSR305P MkII’s can do the same job for just $300. Each speaker has its own pair of built-in amps for both the tweeter and the woofer. Since they have five-inch woofers, they’re larger than your typical desktop stereo speakers. These monitors are highly customizable with separate volume dials on each speaker, a per-connection input sensitivity switch, a boundary EQ, and trim on high and low frequencies that can be adjusted independently by ±2 decibel intervals.
The only things you won’t find here are a headphone jack, an aux-in, or Bluetooth connectivity. Be careful when purchasing though, they're sold as single speaker units, so you'll want to pick up two to complete a stereo setup. If the price looks too good to be true, it might be because it’s for only one speaker.
10. Creative SBS E2900
Best Gaming Speakers
If you want speakers for your games, you probably want to get a good bit of oomph to drive home the sound effects, after all, feeling the rumble of an explosion is what immersion is all about, isn't it? The Creative SBS E2900 can deliver that with a 2.1-channel audio system that delivers 15 watts from its stereo speakers and 30 watts from its subwoofer. That's just the sustained power though, as this system can pump out up to 120 watts of peak power.
The Creative SBS E2900 delivers all that sound in a fairly affordable fashion, and it's topped off with red, blue, and purple lighting for the subwoofer to complement your gaming setup. You'll be able to connect the system to your PC or TV using a 3.5mm AUX cable, though you can also run the whole system over Bluetooth as well as with media on an SD card or USB drive.
What to Look for in a Computer Speaker
Below we explain why desktop speakers offer better sound than your monitor or gaming headset. We’ve also broken down a few of the finer points of how speakers actually work and how to set them up.
The speaker components that go into gaming laptops, monitors, and headsets are simply going to be smaller than any dedicated speaker. They have to fit into tighter spaces and be unobtrusive too. Those small speaker drivers – called tweeters – are only able to accurately reproduce higher sound frequencies, which is why they produce a sound that seems like it’s missing something. As drivers increase in size, they gain the ability to better play lower frequencies while losing the ability to better play higher frequencies.
Putting a larger driver – a woofer – together with a tweeter in one speaker is called a two-way design, and it's the most common configuration in computers speakers these days. That’s what we’re looking at here.
The two-way speaker design does a good job of covering the frequency range of human hearing, generally acknowledged as 20Hz-20kHz, but doesn’t get quite down to the very low end. With music, you don’t need to worry too much about hitting the 20Hz lower threshold, but if you’re watching movies or playing games with a lot of bass, you might want to consider speakers that include a subwoofer, although it will take up extra space under your desk.
You’ll also want your speakers to be powered, meaning they have an amplifier built-in (usually found inside one of the speakers) and will need to be plugged in. The audio signal coming from your computer needs to be amplified before it's sent out through the speaker drivers to your ears.
It's possible to buy an external amplifier and hook up a pair of passive speakers (these are speakers that do not have an integrated amplifier) – though, none of these speakers on the list are passive and they're becoming increasingly rare – but that ends up taking up more space. Some desktop speakers have a switch that allows you to change the channel output of the powered speaker to either left or right. Being able to assign this can help clean up cable clutter on your desk and lets you place the powered speaker closer to the outlet.
There are a few more options to keep an eye out for and they can make life a bit easier. Having a headphone jack on the front of the speaker can be very convenient when you want to quickly plug in your headphones and not deal with reassigning outputs in your OS. A front-mounted aux-in is an easy way to attach a music source like your phone. Bluetooth functionality is another way some speakers will allow you to attach additional sources.
Whew! With that crash-course out of the way, I hope you’ve gotten a better sense of the best computer speakers on the market and you’ve found the right one for your system
Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam
Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark
