Best Computer Speakers! - All have USB!

If you have ever tried to watch a YouTube video on your desktop or laptop, you probably figured out pretty quickly the sound from the speakers in your computer are just terrible! They usually sound incredibly tinny with no bass at all. Of course, that is to be expected from speakers that are usually smaller in size than a dime!

Most of us spend hours every day in front of our computer both for work and entertainment. Working can be a lot more fun if we have some good music playing in the background and obviously watching a movie or YouTube video is a lot better experience with great sound.

If your computer hangs out in the same area where you like to kick back and listen to music, adding a pair of decent speakers may be just the ticket for getting some good sound into your living space. With computer speakers, the connections are very easy as the speakers have the amplifier and switching built into the speaker. All you have to do is get sound from your computer to them and provide them with power and you are up and running.

There are over 1,000 models of computer speakers on the market today. Most of them are an upgrade from the tiny speakers in your computer, but we decided to focus on the ones that sound as good as speakers you would want to put in a home audio system.

To make the cut, these needed to have a very easy way to connect up to your computer and be simple to control. We felt like the speaker system needed to have a USB connection, which makes connecting them super simple. The USB connection also lets you turn up the speaker’s volume control then simply use the volume level on your computer to adjust the output level. All of the models we suggest have a USB DAC built-in for an easy connection.

They also needed to sound great with music and not tire us out if we had them playing for 4-6 hours continuously. We’ve found a lot of inexpensive speakers start to grate on our ears after 30 minutes or so due to some kind of distortion in their cheap speaker components. We wanted them to be able to fit pretty easily on a desk, although we made a couple of exceptions for some models that can really rock the house when you want them to!

Finally, we gave out bonus points if the speakers included Bluetooth so your friends could easily connect to them when they came over.

Our Best Computer Speakers List:

At Audio Advice, we love bringing home technology to life and we have been doing so for over 40 years. We were named Best Specialty A/V Retailer in the United States by TWICE Magazine and have won the Bravo award from Metro magazine for “Best Place to Buy a Home Media System” each year since its creation.

[augustus]

1:38 Kanto YU2
2:31 Audioengine A2+ Wireless
3:28 Peachtree M24
4:19 Audioengine HD3
5:17 Peachtree M25
6:20 Klipsch R-41PM

[tf]

Good good. Now do a list of ones I can afford.

[RacsoBackwards]

I wish I had speakers to listen to the video.

[neuzdost]

*Paid 30 bucks for my Creative T3100 speakers back in 2008....Still sounds better than 100% of all "gaming" PC speakers*

[AmazingChinaToday]

These are all good speakers, but all too large for most desktops. Max dimensions should be 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide for a computer speaker on a desk.

[philipcooper]

Just buy the pair with the widest range. Ideally 20Hz to 20kHz. Many speakers start at 65 Hz some even higher, which means you lose all the bass, you actually miss a lot of instruments when listening to music.

[THE-MAD-TECHIE]

What I and many people likely want to know is how do they compare model to model on the issue of noise, I have the Original Kanto Yumi and they hiss even with all inputs disabled as the original DAC had issues (Kanto has told me they fixed the issue and even offered to exchange them past the warranty, mind you I am too lazy to mail them in). I am looking for clean sounding speakers and for some reason most reviews spend so much time on features they forget what really matters the nuances of sound like noise, USB is notorious for introducing line noise and DACs without proper filters will end up with tons of noise coming through the speakers from either the USB or the Wall power.

[amaxamon]

Still using my 1998 Gateway speakers that came with the PC.

[efstathioszavvos]

'Audioengine pretty much invented the computer speaker decades ago' What? For Christ's sake, the company was set up in 2005!

[alwaysradical]

I'm still rockin the Gateway 2000s I got with my first computer. Best I've ever had.

[carewser]

2:36 "Audioengine pretty much invented the computer speaker decades ago"
Huh?
Altec Lansing created the first computer speaker in 1990
Audioengine wasn't even founded until 2005

[albertmanzo]

Great review The most detailed i have seen on any channel!! !! Much appreciated Audio Advice

[Isthare]

I have the Klipsch R-41PM as my candidate, sound quality has to be pretty similar than 51PM except for power, or does really change the sound?
And more important how is the integrated DAC? Can't find any info on the DAC, and had on mind to add a Fiio K5 Pro, Topping DX3 or external DAC with volume control+headphones upfront and better sound if there's really a difference between those external DACs and the 41pm's integrated one.

[shivakumarpatil]

What is your opinion on buying used Speakers. Thank you :)

[JetskiDex]

The HD3 are perfection with the volume knob an jack at the front

[pc]

I have the old Gateway 2000 speakers. When I finally replace them this review will be helpful, thanks!

[NickyByloo]

I ended up going with the Edifier S350DB as they were discounted at 35% less. I'm very happy with the performance of this amazing set.

[rmccorma]

Surprised Vanatoo T0’s arent on this list

[carlsitler]

My Klipsch R-41PM were on sale for $200 and rock. Small, 70 watts, USB input as well as optical, phono, 1/8", RCA and has sub out.

[MaZEEZaM]

I'm surprised the Edifier 1000 and 2000 models were not mentioned nor was the Kef x300a which both sound great however I would not recommend the Kef as not only do they only have USB and 3.5mm connections making them very limited use but mine developed a high pitch hum when put in standby mode about a month outside the 1 year warranty and Kef would not fix them under warranty despite them being $1, 300 speakers :( The Edifier 1000 model I bought to replace them are great and only cost around $500 but don't have a subwoofer connection.