Compact (Portable?) Speaker for PC

Finner on 26/09/2021 - 11:56

I have been looking at portable bluetooth speakers as a more compact option to use as PC speakers via AUX in and interested to see if anyone else might be doing similar or have any recommendations.

Trying to find something compact with respectable sound for music and games (I have headphones if I want better sound). I've seen there are some PC soundbars available, but these can be long and don't always seem to rate well for sound quality vs price. Obviously I'm not expecting amazing immersive sound that you'd get with some 2.1+ PC speaker sets.

For this purpose, the speakers will need AUX in and the option to disable auto-off. AUX seems to be ditched from some newer models of bluetooth speakers, so it's starting to limit my options.

I've been looking at Bose SoundLink Color II, Anker Soundcore Flare 1, JBL Charge or Flip Essential, maybe even the IKEA Eneby (it's not clear if these have AUX in and might be a bit large).

Does anyone have experience with any of these speakers? Any recommendations for which might be viable as a PC speaker?

The Anker Soundcore Flare 1 looks great for the price, but not sure how it stacks up against the others for sound quality, if it's better paying the extra for the Bose SoundLink Color II?

Electrical & Electronics Speakers

Comments

  • MiniMad on 26/09/2021 - 12:43

    If you can jump to the Bose Revolve (either series 1 or 2) they have aux in but more uniquely they have a usb audio mode for pc/mac without drivers.

    • Finner on 26/09/2021 - 12:57

      These are quite the price jump, but is the audio quality that much better? I don't need to go loud to fill a room, just don't want muffled or tinny sounds that you can get with some small speakers (PC speakers included).

      Interesting about the audio mode, though I can't seem to find anything about this only that it's USB power input. I have audio outputs though, including the standard 3.5mm.

  • Beks8 on 26/09/2021 - 12:51

    I use Tronsmart Element T2 Plus, got it for $38 from Alibaba. Has Bluetooth, AUX and SD card input. Sound quality is quite good for a small speaker and it's price. You can link 2 of these speakers if you want but I'm not sure if it will work on PC using AUX.

    If you want quality sound then I would recommend the Tribit Maxsound Plus but costs a little more. Amazon has it for around $61 atm.

    • Finner on 26/09/2021 - 13:07

      Thanks! Will have a look at both of these.

      Happy to stretch the budget to about $200, but it's always that consideration of whether the $100 extra will actually have a noticeable sound improvement… sometimes yes, sometimes no.

      • Beks8 on 26/09/2021 - 13:25

        If you're happy to stretch your budget then JBL usually has great sound quality and will cost much more but don't think there is AUX.

        Good luck!

  • Hybroid on 26/09/2021 - 12:52

    You would be much better off getting some proper dedicated PC speakers and a separate Bluetooth speaker, than trying to combine the two and getting half the experience each.

    Headphones should not be regarded as "better sound" than speakers (unless you go audiophile route with expensive DACs etc).

    • Beks8 on 26/09/2021 - 13:01
      +1

      I have a similar setup where my headphones are actually better and immersive compared to my small speaker

    • Finner on 26/09/2021 - 13:04

      Not looking to combine bluetooth + PC speakers - looking at bluetooth/portable/compact speakers as an alternative to PC speakers.

      Compared to my Sony MDR-1000X headphones, I don't expect amazing sound from the PC speakers (which most of the time only needs to allow for Windows alert sounds etc), just something decent.

  • scrimshaw on 26/09/2021 - 13:46

    I have both the Bose SoundLink Color and the Soundlink Mini 1st generation. Both are good speakers, plenty of bass for doof-doof music and somewhat okay mids and highs. The somewhat inaccurate bass responses tend to mask the mids, but vocals are clear enough.

    the Soundlink color II is currently on sale $149 on Amazon, but the Mini can't be found anywhere but the Bose website for $279.

    there's not a lot of stereo separation with either speaker, so you can't really tell from left to right audio channels. That's about the only downside.

    They both charge via Micro USB and has aux jack.

    • Finner on 26/09/2021 - 17:09

      Thanks for the feedback, it really helps. Are you happy with the sound generally for the price? I saw the Color II is currently a good price on Amazon but haven't been wowed with the review of it - most seem to say 'it's good, but this is better', or 'this is about the same but cheaper'.

  • freefall101 on 26/09/2021 - 15:56

    How about something like the Creative T40/T60? Great sound, pretty compact (two speakers, no sub). Will blow the pants off any bluetooth speaker at the same price (mostly because you're not paying for a battery/electronics for bluetooth).

    I had a pair for years, great sound. They've been around so long picking up a cheap second hand pair isn't too difficult either.

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