Understand your purpose
It is absolutely essential to know what you intend to use your speakers for. A standard set of satellite speakers is good enough if you are an average user. For basic sounds like mail or instant message alerts, the most ordinary speaker can suffice. An average quality speaker can be your choice if you do not attach much importance to the sonic quality when you play music files.
You should install surround sound quality speakers to heighten your computer experience if you are looking to play games, music or movie files. Playing advanced games with 7.1 Dolby Digital surround sound can be quite an amazing sensory feel if you have speakers can match the corresponding quality to you!
Generally, woofers can be avoided for speakers in office cubicles. Woofers, installed for enhanced sound effects, usually vibrate floors or walls and cause disturbance.
Quality of and compatibility with sound cards on your computer
Installing the best quality speakers will not fulfill your purpose if the sound card on your computer is of inferior quality or it does not support the necessary features. Not only do sound cards affect the quality of sound emitted from the speakers but also determine the number of surround sound speakers they can support.
Unless you are in to audio production or sound editing, a sound card that caters to 5.1 3D surround sound is more than a good choice.
Compatibility of speakers with the sound cards on your computer is a must because not all multi-channel speakers can connect to multi-channel sound cards.
Check for space restrictions
Before deciding on a large set of speakers with woofer or subwoofer capabilities, you must ensure if you can provide proper space for them so that the arrangement has a neat appearance. Cluttering huge speakers in a small space, with their connections tangled up, is undesirable!
Space is not a constraint for a simple set of two small speakers that easily fit in on either side of your monitor, for instance Altec Lansing 120i 2.0 Computer Speakers. However, you should survey for space requirements if you plan to install large surround sound speakers with varied woofer capabilities in your computer area, for example, Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Computer Speakers or Logitech X530 Computer Speaker.
Look for branded varieties
In most cases, branded speakers have an unsaid edge over the non-branded ones in terms of quality. Despite instances when the stamp of being branded does not necessarily ensure you the best in quality, it nevertheless increases your chances of acquiring a well performing product.
Let us also look at some of the technical specifications you should understand before you zero in on your set of computer speakers.
Drivers
A speaker, as we see from the exterior, is a plastic box that comprises of drivers and electronics that produce sound such as an amplifier and crossover networks.
The number of drivers installed in a speaker reflects its nature. When a set has more number of speakers, each of it is tailor made to take care of a part of the frequency range. For example, in a three way system, a sub woofer, woofer and tweeter handle the lowest, average and highest frequencies respectively.
In a multi speaker set, a crossover network plays the role of splitting the sound spectrum and routing each part to the appropriate speaker. It also provides for a control mechanism on the overall output to balance sound across the network.
Frequency response
Frequency response is indicative of how fast and how accurately a set of speakers can reproduce the sound range. Human hearing spans frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz and your speaker should reproduce all frequencies that lie in this range.
S/N Ratio
S/N ratio is the difference between the speaker volume and noise i.e. the hiss and static sound in the electronic circuit. Higher the ratio better is the speaker quality, with cleaner playbacks and minimal hissing noise.
Power
Correct wattage of power supply is very important for your speaker to function efficiently. An underpowered amplifier cannot give its best output. For a 2.1 two-way speaker configuration, a continuous power supply of 15 watts is enough. High-end 6.1 speaker systems require 40-50 watts per satellite channel.
Controls
A set of utility controls is necessary to have in one of your speakers. Basic controls are useful for adjusting volume and bass. High-end speakers may also include controls for central channel volume level, surround volume control, left/right balance and mute options.
Headphone jacks
This feature is a must have in situations when you wish to mute your speakers for sound to be audible only to you and not others. Plugging headphones into the jack mutes speakers and directs sound only to your ears.
A careful co-relation of the points above with what you are looking for in your computer speaker set will help you make the right pick at Getprice!
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