Upgrade your sound without upgrading your
soundcard! James helps you pick out the best computer speakers
A lot of emphasis is placed on the visual
improvements you can make to your computer by upgrading it. Upgrades of all kinds
trumpet things like smoother scrolling, or sharper images, on more screens. For
that reason, many people overlook the strong impact that other elements of a
multimedia system can have on your computing experience.
How
To Buy…Speakers?
Better audio can eliminate minor
irritations, such as buzzing, rasping and the general interference that can
otherwise mar the experience of using your computer. If you’re using your PC to
play games or watch video, it’ll help bring out the nuance, detail and atmosphere
that bog-standard integrated speakers might miss, in the same way a higher
resolution screen will sharpen visuals. If you’re using a laptop, a decent pair
of speakers is the bare minimum you need to get a half-listenable sound out of
it!
Choosing a set of speakers for your PC is
the kind of thing that’s easy to do if you only know a little. Annoyingly, the
more you learn, the easier it becomes to obsess over the details, and the
harder it gets to actually choose. Unfortunately, that means we’re about to make
buying speakers very, very hard, before (hopefully) making it easier again by
explaining what you need to look for.
Basically, everything a speaker does comes
down to physics. The larger and more powerful a speaker is, the more air it can
move, and the better it can move it. That means louder sounds and a greater
range of frequencies covered. Remember, though, that terms like 'quality' are
ultimately subjective. What you think sounds 'clean', someone else might find
'sterile'. What you think is loud might still be too quiet for someone else.
Just make sure you get what you want – speakers are one area where it makes a
lot of sense to try before you buy, or at the very least, get the opinion of
people you trust.
How Much Should You Spend?
The price of speakers starts at the bottom
and goes all the way to the top. You can buy a pair for less than a tenner, or
you can remortgage your house for the best. Luckily, if you’re looking for a
fairly standard stereo setup, you can find some of the best, professional-quality
units out there for little more than $80, and certainly no more than $111. The
more you spend, the better the system will be in objective terms, but if you’re
spending more than $160 on a stereo setup you probably won’t notice until
they’re sitting in a acoustically treated room, like a recording studio.
How
Much Should You Spend?
It’s all different if you’re buying a
surround system. We wouldn’t spend less than $111 on a surround system for a
computer if we could help it, but there are far fewer options available if
you’re looking at PC-specific peripherals. Once you move into the home theatre
market, you can expect to spend something more like $238 for a decent 5.1
system. Again, spend any more than that and you’re probably not going to notice
the improvements, but don’t be tempted to go much cheaper either – at that
level, you’re not getting a good price for good speakers, you’re buying an
expensive pile of rubbish ones.
What Make/Model/Manufacturer Should You Look For?
There are currently only two names in PC
speakers worth mentioning: Logitech and Creative. Between the two of them,
they’ve stitched up the market at virtually every level with low-cost speakers
of reasonable quality and output. That’s a fairly pointed use of the word
”reasonable”, though - you’re unlikely to be massively impressed by either,
especially if you know what to listen for - but on the other hand, once you
cross the fence to serious home theatre or audio equipment, you can instantly
add half onto the price again, so don’t be hasty in dismissing them.
Logitech
S120
If you’re aiming for a low-end purchase,
the best you can get is actually one of the lowest-end available. The Logitech
S120 2-speaker system clocks in at a frankly meagre $16 – and yet it’s almost
unsurpassed in the world of low-price stereo speakers. By the time you find
anything substantially better, you’re spending the sort of money that should
really get you a 2.1 system with a subwoofer included. Don’t be put off by
cheapness – they’re well-made and practical.
If a 2.1 system is what you’re after, we
can recommend the Logitech Z313. The housing isn’t perfect, with integrated
cables and controls on the subwoofer alone, but the sound quality is excellent
and it’s got all the features you could want out of a 2.1 system. $55 isn’t so
steep it’ll put you off, but it’s also not so expensive as to be upsetting.
Again, it’s not likely to stun you with its quality or features, but the
price-to-performance ratio is as good as it gets.
If, on the other hand, you’re after a
surround sound setup, you’ve only got one real choice before you reach home
theatre prices, and that the Logitech X-530, which costs $111 and, like most of
Logitech’s systems, offers substantially better quality than you’d expect for
the price. Admittedly, it’s in a section of the market where price isn’t a
primary concern, but if you’re looking to upgrade from 2.1 and don’t feel ready
to enter enthusiast territory, this is the model to go for.
