Good PC speakers without a subwoofer

[Dave3000]

Last week I purchased a pair of $15 Insignia PC speakers, just to hold me over until I can find some good PC speakers that don't have a subwoofer. I tried Bose Companion 2 Series III and to my ears they sounded like sound was coming out of a closet. I tried Bose Companion 20 and to my ears the bass was too overwhelming which was strange to me because I returned a defective set last week and they didn't sound too bassy, in fact they sounded good to my ears considering they don't come with a subwoofer, however I rearranged my room and had to move my computer desk to another area in the room, in the corner, due to getting a wider bed. Does speaker location in a room really make a big difference in the bass output of speakers? Unfortunately this is the best spot I got put my computer area in my room for space reasons and that also means I don't have room for a subwoofer. I won't have room for my legs under my desk if I put a subwoofer under my desk and my PC and bed are at each side of my desk.

The speakers I'm looking for can't be wider than 4 inches and I don't want a subwoofer. I tried Creative T40's but they have an auto standby feature which I don't want and I didn't like the way they sound. I tried the Creative T20's and I didn't like the way they sounded either. My Insignia speakers that I recently bought have no bass whatsoever, they sound like speakers from an LCD TV to my ears, but they only costed me $15 and I'm keeping them while I continue to search for a good compact 2.0 PC speaker set so that I can have good sound without using headphones as I don't like wearing headphones for more than 1 hour straight.

So any suggestions for a good 2.0 PC speaker set that fits my criteria?

 

[Cerb]

Does speaker location in a room really make a big difference in the bass output of speakers?

Tons. Those waves reflect off the walls. Multiple wavefronts one after the over are part of what give it that boomy and hollow sound, on top of being louder at your ears due to that, if put near a corner.

Last I had speakers for my computer in my room, they were on the opposite side of the room (on a bookshelf, actually, stereotypical as that may be).

 

[fralexandr]

maybe try the swan lx2 (~$200)
hard to find a good place to buy them though
http://hiviusa.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087549538689

or audioengine A2+ (~$250)
http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Premium-Powered-Speakers/dp/B00FE9XGVM

There aren't that many speakers with acceptable bass given the no subwoofer and 4" width limitation. This typically means you're stuck with smaller than 3" drivers.

Would wall mounting be possible at roughly ear level? If yes, it might increase your options (i.e. normal width speakers, 2.1 setups, or T-amp + near-field bookshelf speaker setup, etc). The seperate amp would be helpful, since it allows for adjustment of bass/treble levels, similar to the knobs on the creative T20/40.

 

[fuzzymath10]

If they fit I'd second the A2+. They sound great and are impressively small for the sound they produce. I'm perfectly happy even unfairly comparing against my KEF 2005s. They're a bit deep so keep that in mind depending on what space restrictions other than width you may have, since a bunch of cables come out of the back. I also use banana clips, which adds even more depth.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm no expert on speaker acoustics, but I've integrated my AVR and JBL 5.1 speakers together with onboard audio and an old Logitech (740Z ??) 5.1 set. That is, I can choose which outputs to use for various system and software sound requirements, like Media Center or system sounds. Personally, I'd say the only reason to completely avoid a subwoofer (the "[dot] .1") is its use of floor-space.

With an AVR like my Onkyo, there is a bundled device used to tune speakers in their chosen room location. With the Logitech set, I can simply lower the volume of the sub-woofer, or proceed to play with the controls of the center-speaker. But lowering subwoofer volume at the subwoofer itself seems to get the job done.