How to Buy Computer Speakers
If you play graphics-oriented games or use multimedia CDs on your computer, good external stereo speakers can greatly enhance your experience.
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Instructions
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Buy inexpensive, magnetically shielded, powered speakers if you want basic speakers for speech and computer sounds.
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Choose a three-piece system with a ported sub-woofer if you want lots of boom to accompany action games.
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Buy a two-way, two-piece, powered speaker system in sealed enclosures with no port if you want to use your CD drive as a boom box.
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Decide where you'll put speakers, especially a sub-woofer, to determine which size speakers to consider.
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Decide which external controls you want, such as on/off, volume, tone, mute and balance.
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Bring a favorite CD along when you audition the speakers. Make sure the CD includes a wide range of sounds, from bass to treble.
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Tips & Warnings
Speakers priced between $20 and $70 are usually about the same quality as the generic ones that come with computers.
Plan to spend at least $100 if you want to upgrade from stock speakers.
Avoid very inexpensive computer speakers that are battery powered.
Early-model speakers made to connect to a USB port are inferior to speakers that connect to the analog output on your sound card.
Your sound card, or the sound chip on your motherboard, will be a limiting factor for any speakers you buy. Check the specifications that came with your card or computer for its limitations.
You must buy magnetically shielded speakers, as unshielded speakers will cause interference on your monitor.
The inside of a computer is a very noisy environment with conflicting magnetic fields, which degrade sound quality.
Power and frequency-response specifications are extremely misleading and inaccurate. For example, a powered speaker system rated at 30 watts may exhibit severe distortion beyond 10 watts.
