Speaker(s) for an Acer Aspire PC

[seahermit]

I wondered if anyone had strong views on this? I am not an audio fanatic nor am I keen on speakers/wires everywhere but, with the virus lock-down, I am finding some very good classic films, documentaries etc. on the streaming sites. I also watch videos of jazz and classical music, so I think I should get a better sound system.

I have been making do with an embarrassingly basic bluetooth speaker from Tesco, it's meant to be used with a smartphone but does the job surprisingly well!

But I'm thinking of getting a much more powerful Bluetooth speaker, dozens out there but for example there is the Anker Soundcore Boost portable speaker, output 20 watts, or the Tronsmart Force bluetooth speaker, output 40 watts, both around £40/50. I’m not trying to blast the neighbours but I would like something louder, so I can potter about at times, still listening to music in the other room and so on.

Should I still go for a pair/trio of plug-in speakers, the kind you are meant to use with a PC? Would I really notice a big difference in sound quality? I have never been interested in tweeters and woofers .. in any case I prefer cats.

[Richard]

seahermit, why not consider buying a speaker for the TV (called a soundbar) that can also be connected to the computer?
Some people buy external TV speakers to get a better sound for films without thinking of doubling up.
Your TV is not 'smart' so possibly connection via cable and/or USB is the way ahead.

Some soundbar products do mention 'subwoofer', which means you kind of get to go around saying:
'So you think you loud?'

[seahermit]

Sorry, I didn't understand some of the technical comments. I assumed a soundbar was just a superior kind of speaker, but maybe not!

I think I could have connected the TV to the PC by cable, but I now have a Firestick (with Alexa which I don't use) and that relays Amazon Prime Video and a lot of other stuff from the PC. Strangely YouTube doesn't work well that way - I have a number of videos and some films bookmarked in YouTube but if I try to watch them on the TV (with the Firestick plugged in), I often get a message that says "Preview only".

I suppose that if I got a better speaker/speakers for the PC, they could also be used with the TV, but my initial concern was to improve the loudness and sound quality on the PC. Despite getting the Firestick, I still hover around the PC mainly, because much of what is on the TV seems abysmal and on the PC I can browse widely and find interesting stuff on a number of sites. Also, I find the Amazon Prime Video interface impossibly crammed, it's hard to find specific things you want and it's much harder to navigate it on the TV than on the PC with a mouse.

Hope that all makes sense. I am surprised - I posted things on a couple of websites, since I have no idea what set-ups other people have, thought some technophiles would tell me how to get wonderful cinema sound for my films on the PC. Although in fact I don't want a complicated array of speakers around the room .. But the central question remains, whether a single but good bluetooth speaker would serve my limited purposes or would be just a poor substitute for some decent quality plug-ins.

[Richard]

Wireless technology effectively now matches wired connections in the vast majority of use scenarios. What is far more important for sound quality is the quality of the speakers themselves.
You can buy speakers with both wired and wireless options.

Creative Pebble Plus are budget computer speakers.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Pebbl ... 423&sr=8-1


Logitech is fairly cheap and Bose is a step up.

Too many to advise on.

[seahermit]

Thanks Richard, I know there are some very good speakers out there and you don't have to spend a fortune. The two speakers I mentioned are both much more powerful than the Pebble Plus.
But it still doesn't answer the central question as to whether single bluetooth speakers are a match for wired pairs/trios of speakers - in short, are they as good on sound quality.

I could of course proceed by trial and error but, as I am proposing to spend from £40 up to possibly £100 (if I could identify something really worth that price), it would be rather an expensive way of going about things!

[Richard]

seahermit

1. You absolutely don't need 40-watt powered speakers, that would be massive overkill in a small room.
2. Sound quality does not relate to Bluetooth versus wired connectivity these days, at one time the compression rates meant data loss for Bluetooth, but not with recent advances.

Consider also Wi-Fi speakers, these are another alternative to wired speakers. They connect to your already established internet system and can handle higher amounts of data transfer. This can give you a more stable signal over a broader range!

[seahermit]

I have decided to go for overkill! The Tronsmart Force it is. The 40-watt output does not actually mean the volume will be twice as loud as on a 20-watt device, the sound you hear is likely to be about ten per cent louder. The speaker is highly recommended on a number of websites, not just because of the sound quality but because of a host of handy features (USB port, aux-in port, NFC, micro-SD port etc.) which surprisingly many expensive devices do not have.

It's a minefield in fact, there are dozens of speakers but no device is a perfect solution and it was very difficult to wade through it.

Thanks for your comments. I mainly want better sound for my music and films but who knows, at my next beach party, I might be glad of really obtrusive sound-waves as we dance about in our Hawaian shorts!

[seahermit]

If I'm really unhappy with the sound quality whilst listening to Beethoven (or the Stones), I can always try a different set-up - it's only a "few" quid spent!

[Richard]

A reasonable choice and it has a subwoofer too!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Tron ... 480&sr=8-9

[seahermit]

Thanks very much for all your comments.

But please tell me what a sub-woofer is! I'm not keen on woofers, especially small snappy ones.