Ask HN: Recommend me a good set of 2.1 desktop speakers?

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Soo I found first of what they wanted (2.1, not "kludge 2.1 yourself from existing product) around ~50th

Utterly useless "advice"...

https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/ is your friend.

I have the vanatoo transparent 0s with a subwoofer. Great sound. They're bit pricey ($600 CAD) but great for desk use as they're small. The additional subwoofer wasn't really needed.

My unit's amp stopped working properly after a few years and after some emails and troubleshooting they shipped me a replacement amp for free, so that was nice of them. I heard the newer vanatoo models are even better too so I'd check those out.

I have the same ones (without sub) and am really happy with them. The remote can be a bit obtuse, but that doesn't really apply if you're using it for a desktop.

I have the Vantoo T0's as well and would highly recommend. I don't feel like I need a subwoofer either, which saves some room under my desk.

Audioengine. Variety of price points. There is a separate sub. Quality is very good.

N22 and S8 owner here, I chose to use my own passive bookshelves, but it all sounds incredible.

Another point on the N22, I've gone through all the nicest class D/T amps (topping, dayton One) and they sound faaar too bright and tinny. The N22 is a classic AB amp in a compact size and sounds great.

-Pair of Polk T15 passive bookshelf speakers ~50-80 for pair

-Fosi Q4 DAC amp for connection to PC via usb cable ~60

-Fosi TB10A analog amp, connect via RCA plugs to speakers ~60

I like this flexibility because I can swap any of those 3 components out for budget but worthy upgrades if I so desire without a major hit to the wallet.

you could skip the dac but I wanted to get away from mobo sounds that were hard to eliminate. and i like the desktop available headphone port.

I find this to be superior to the Edifier pair I had before which were already a great budget experience.

Quick note for any old schoolers, I still to this day miss my Logitech Z400 system. For the price I have yet to see a system produce that kind of sound from 4 satellites and a sub. I still have the satellites for small portable setups, but the sub started crackling and the volume knob ate it at some point.

I own and love some KRK V6 monitors and would recommend! https://www.krkmusic.com/Studio-Monitors/V6

Do they have some amount of bass atleast?

Yes. I use them as 2.0 and don't have a subwoofer.

I have an SMSL Amp/DAC combo and a pair of Kef Q150s that I love. It's perfect for filling an office with sound, and the speakers sound amazing! Definitely a bit more pricey, but well worth it. I highly recommend the SMSL AS300 though. It's a DAC/Amp combo with Bluetooth, so it covers all of the different inputs you might want. I would also highly recommend also looking for speakers on Craigslist as well. You can find a lot of really nice speakers at amazing prices if you are vigilant at looking, especially in larger metro areas.

The most important question when upgrading audio, "What's your price range?" There are lots of options.

For example:

Sony SSCS5 Bookshelf Pair $100

JBL Stage A130 Pair $300

ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 Bookshelf Speakers $340

And on up!

If this is what you currently own (https://www.logitech.com/assets/52567/3/z333-multimedia-spea...) you're likely going to need to purchase an AMP as well to drive your new speakers.

You might be able keep your current setup, remove the existing Logitech speakers, and use the L/R RCA out from your sub to the new AMP (depending on what the sub is outputting to the existing speakers) and then wire your new speakers into the new AMP (you'd need to figure out how to convert the output correctly to do this however). That should keep your handy volume control knob still functioning.

That said, a simpler approach if you're willing to give up your control knob and headphone port, you can just run the input to the new AMP and then run the sub out to your z333 subwoofer.

I recently picked up a Fosi Audio BT30D Bluetooth 5.0 Stereo Audio Amplifier 2.1 for my office. You won't get wall rattling volume levels with it due to the wattage output but (in my opinion) most people don't need that for a desk setup. It's not expensive ($90) and is nice and compact.

I'm no audiophile but loved my Harmon Kardon SoundSticks when I had them. The design is pretty dated at this point however. Also, there didn't seem to be an easy path to repairing when one of the speakers got knocked on the floor and one of the drivers popped out of its clips.

The only reason I no longer have them, I lived upstairs from my landlord who was intolerant of any noise.

I second the SoundSticks, my gen2 are still rocking over 10 years later.

I had a set of those with the subwoofer, but they went with my first iMac. the second iMac had the lovely, bassy L/R spheres, but they too went away...

There are a wide variety and price points of near field active studio monitors available. Here are few options that are a great value: https://artproaudio.com/product/rm5-monitors/ https://yorkville.com/studio_monitors/product/ysm6-2/

Moving up market: https://www.rcf.it/en/products/product-detail/ayra-pro6 https://www.rcf.it/en/products/product-detail/ayra-pro10-sub

Sky is the limit above that depending upon your tastes and budget.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Jeff

You ain't going to find any sensible equalization in anything cheap. It would be way easier to find something if you are willing to split to 2.0+sub but yeah, cabling is PITA, I have that setup but I'm not exactly loving it. I don't think I even saw that much higher end stuff 2.1 space aside from the usual Creative/Logitech stuff.

> I added a passive mixer to one of the inputs so I could have an Alexa Echo Listen, another PC, a synth and a Pi that is my combo Airplay/PlexAmp speaker all go through the same speakers - Added a noise/hum filter after that, since some inputs are noisy

I ended up just getting a small mixer and use it both for that (PC, Switch, synth) and master volume control. It's a bit overkill (I don't need mono channels nor tone control or panning) and now there are much smaller options available, but that I'd imagine is best bet to have full volume control of everything in smallest package.

I used a number of 2.0 and 2.1 desktop speakers but have now settled on the Soundcore Motion+. I might even get another one to use as separate left and right units. Even the single unit has more than enough bass using BassUp or Custom EQ. In addition to the pretty deep for a small speaker, I really appreciate the clear vocals and treble.

Before that I used Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 which are also great but not so reliable--I've gone through a few sets over the years. The 6.5" woofer version sounds much better than the larger (8"?) woofer.

I've used much higher fidelity audio setups but can't justify it when my sources are Spotify, YouTube, video games, etc. Note I'm using the analog 3.5mm jack rather than Bluetooth (though it is AptX). An external USB DAC might be worth it, depending on how good your laptop/pc audio out is to start with.

Get a pair of decent passive bookshelf speakers, according to your budget. I have Q Acoustics 3020 (around $300) because they fit my budget, and I could try them and liked the way they sounded. But you can find much cheaper and better than the usual desktop speaker kit, or more expensive. That's the most important piece of equipment.

For the amplifier, you can get Chinese "full digital amplifiers" (FDA) for ~$150, for example the SMSL AD18. These things are really impressive for the price and size, that one is 2x70W, which is good enough for bookshelf speakers (enough to be uncomfortably loud without distorsion). There is no need for a "control puck" because the amp itself with its volume knob is not that much bigger than a control puck. If you want to go cheaper, there are good enough chip-based analog amps in the same form factor, you can go down to ~$50 with the power supply. It is impressive how good these cheap class D amps can get.

A common hack if you don't mind spending some time with a soldering iron is to buy a cheap amp with a good chip on AliExpress or similar and then replace shitty knockoff/underspecced components (ex: capacitors) with good ones. This is often enough to get you to audiophile level quality for a fraction of the price. You don't really need to, the knockoffs components are bad but not that bad, that's only if you are considering $1000+ equipment. Amps are rarely the weakest link nowadays. Speakers and how they are set up are.

As for the subwoofer, with good bookshelf speakers, you may not even need one for your desktop. But if you do, you can buy one separately and either connect it to the subwoofer output if you have one on your amp (FDAs normally have one), or, if you go for analog stereo, put the subwoofer between the amp and speakers, most subwoofers have dedicated connections for that (and it is perfectly fine).

Edit: ah, yes, cables, in case it wasn't clear, it doesn't matter. For speaker cables, the thicker the better, but with the distances involved, even that is not a big deal. Power cord (ex: romex) is perfect. For interconnects, especially if it is digital, anything goes.

It does not seem you are searching for an audiophile experience (like a lot of suggestions here)

If you are, then your max price is something you need to specify.

Also, you need a lot of inputs so you will have to stick with a mixer whatever you choose.

I've had a pair of Audio engine speakers for almost 8 years now and have no reason to change them. They're great!

Been enjoying my HD3 for a couple years. Great pair of speakers.

My A5+, D1 and S8 combo are still going strong.

Find yourself a clean set of Minimus-7 speakers (yes, from Radio Shack) and optionally upgrade the crossovers. They have a die cast enclosure and actually sound pretty great compared to the various plastic speakers I have used. You could certainly add a subwoofer to that setup but it's worth listening without one first.

You left the most important piece of data. What's your budget? Also are you open to used stuff?

Warning: This is expensive.

Get a pair of Genelec 8320A's and a Genelec GLM SAM. If you still need bass, get a Genelec 7350A.

I am currently using this very setup in my living room. I will move them to my desk when I replace them with some Genelec 8341As or 8351Bs in my living room.

I have logitechs X230 since forever and tried to upgrade. went with a pair of active monitors but ended up hating them and sent them back. the logitechs are actually very good, make sure your new ones make you happy before committing.

Personally I have great experience with Edifier. Midrange brand with typical “everything in a box”-set ups for desktop use. Very impressive audio (for the price and size). They have a variety of 2.1 options.

Dali Oberon 1, Audio engine N22, and Kanto SE6 speaker stand.

Edifier has nice budget options if Dali is too much.

i can vouch for klipsch the fives. very solid.