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Thread: Desktop Speakers - £100

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    Desktop Speakers - £100

    Hey,

    I’m in the market for a reasonable set of desktop speakers for my PC, not looking for anything amazing (hence £100 budget), but would be nice to move away from my PC Monitors built in speaker to something that’s actually going to offer some depth and range.

    Anyone able to advise a nice set in my price range?

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    I'd advise a pair of studio monitors and a small amp. I picked up a second hand pair of monitors off ebay for 30 quid, and had an amp from amazon for 60. Far better sound than what dedicated pc speakers can offer. You might need a bigger desk though!

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    My friend bought a USB soundbar and I was quite impressed. Obviously not going to set the world alight but was much richer and clearer than monitor speakers.

    You can pick them up for less than £30 on Amazon and if you want a sub they come in for around £60

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    Quote Originally Posted by Rookie1986 View Post
    Hey,

    I’m in the market for a reasonable set of desktop speakers for my PC, not looking for anything amazing (hence £100 budget), but would be nice to move away from my PC Monitors built in speaker to something that’s actually going to offer some depth and range.

    Anyone able to advise a nice set in my price range?
    What sort of sounds are you listening to? Filmic/games? Music? For games/films you get good bang for the buck by going with a sub and satellite/soundbar type setup. For more neutral/detailed midrange for example music listening then a good 2.0 setup is sometimes better.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    For a 2 speaker setup I bought one of these Amps, attached it to my PCs line out then reused some old hifi speakers I had.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEPY-2024A-...gateway&sr=8-4

    Even if you don't have any speakers kicking around the likes of Richer Sounds tend to have sensible sized ( called bookshelf/standmount,) speakers for under £75 that in combo with the amp will beat any 2 speaker pc targeted solution in that price range, especially if they have any clearance bargains about.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    I was very impressed with my Creative Gigaworks T20s, far better sound than I expected from a 2.0 setup. They do T40s, which have 2 mid/bass cones as well

    T20s seems to be cheapest on Creative's own site:

    https://uk.creative.com/p/speakers/g...YaAmo3EALw_wcB

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    I have the Gigaworks T20's and they're great for general use. A good all-rounder, decent bass for their size, relatively compact and have handy aux in and headphone out ports within easy reach.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    Look at 2nd hand hifi rather than specifically PC speakers, a simple amp - like a class D Nobsound or SMSL and a pair of JPW Mini Monitors will outshine (and outlast) any PC specific system
    Cheers, David



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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr_Jon View Post
    I'd advise a pair of studio monitors and a small amp. I picked up a second hand pair of monitors off ebay for 30 quid, and had an amp from amazon for 60. Far better sound than what dedicated pc speakers can offer. You might need a bigger desk though!
    Quote Originally Posted by AGTDenton View Post
    My friend bought a USB soundbar and I was quite impressed. Obviously not going to set the world alight but was much richer and clearer than monitor speakers.

    You can pick them up for less than £30 on Amazon and if you want a sub they come in for around £60
    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    What sort of sounds are you listening to? Filmic/games? Music? For games/films you get good bang for the buck by going with a sub and satellite/soundbar type setup. For more neutral/detailed midrange for example music listening then a good 2.0 setup is sometimes better.
    Quote Originally Posted by spacein_vader View Post
    For a 2 speaker setup I bought one of these Amps, attached it to my PCs line out then reused some old hifi speakers I had.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEPY-2024A-...gateway&sr=8-4

    Even if you don't have any speakers kicking around the likes of Richer Sounds tend to have sensible sized ( called bookshelf/standmount,) speakers for under £75 that in combo with the amp will beat any 2 speaker pc targeted solution in that price range, especially if they have any clearance bargains about.
    Quote Originally Posted by Smudger View Post
    I was very impressed with my Creative Gigaworks T20s, far better sound than I expected from a 2.0 setup. They do T40s, which have 2 mid/bass cones as well

    T20s seems to be cheapest on Creative's own site:

    https://uk.creative.com/p/speakers/g...YaAmo3EALw_wcB
    Quote Originally Posted by cptwhite_uk View Post
    I have the Gigaworks T20's and they're great for general use. A good all-rounder, decent bass for their size, relatively compact and have handy aux in and headphone out ports within easy reach.
    Quote Originally Posted by g8ina View Post
    Look at 2nd hand hifi rather than specifically PC speakers, a simple amp - like a class D Nobsound or SMSL and a pair of JPW Mini Monitors will outshine (and outlast) any PC specific system
    Thanks everyone for the replies

    I have a small DAC/Amp (Syba USB 2.0), not sure if it would be enough to power a set of speakers though... I’m looking to build a new computer though so could always include a MOB//Soundcard to power them (ideally don’t want an extra Amp on my desk).

    As far as speakers go i’ll Take a look at the ones you’ve all recommended and see what’s available on Amazon. They will be used for gaming and music with some YouTube but no TV or movies if that narrows down what I should consider?

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-9-0-black.html good price for some decent speakers assuming they're big enough for your needs.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    Quote Originally Posted by spacein_vader View Post
    https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-9-0-black.html good price for some decent speakers assuming they're big enough for your needs.
    But they'll need an amp right?

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    But they'll need an amp right?
    He mentioned he has one, if that's not up to it I linked to one I use that's under £25. That still gives you a total of £65 which would be hard to beat IMO.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    The amp he has is a headphone one, it wouldn't work for speakers. I've got Creative GigaWorks T40 II speakers; move oomph than the T20 recommended on here, and still under £100.

    I spent a fair bit of time researching and I needed something with a small desktop footprint, built in amp, and no sub-woofer but with a decent bass response. These were the closest thing I could get at a reasonable price. My review is here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer...2NF1HXCMWBJK7/

    If you have room for a sub-woofer then I'd look for a 2.1 setup instead as that will give you more presence in your sound.

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    So I ended up getting a pair of Q Acoustic 3010's from Richer Sounds (ex-display - £60), so I guess I would just need an appropriate Amp to drive these and I should be good-to-go?

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    Grumpy and VERY old :( g8ina's Avatar
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  16. Received thanks from:

    Rookie1986 (16-08-2019)

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    Re: Desktop Speakers - £100

    They look perfect and are cheap enough too, thanks a lot

    Any advised cable type to use for this setup?
    Last edited by Rookie1986; 16-08-2019 at 12:38 PM.

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