You're building your brand new PC. When you realize you made a rookie mistake,
you forgot the speakers. So you figure that you should go and buy some unless you want to spend
all your time wearing an uncomfortable pair of headclamps. It's not exactly hard to find a set
of cheap speakers specifically designed for PC that have great ratings on Amazon. Some of them
even throw in a subwoofer or allow you to power them by a USB instead of running another cable
to a power strip that lives in a tangled jungle behind your desk. But hold on a second, despite
the name, PC speakers aren't necessarily the best way to get sound out of your PC. A popular
alternative is to buy speakers that look a little more something like what you'd find in a home
theater or a dedicated stereo system, the kind commonly referred to as studio monitors, bookshelf
speakers, or satellite speakers. You see, although computer speakers and these other speaker types
look fairly similar, they were designed with different groups of people in mind,
and there are two aspects in particular where PC speakers differ. Number one, convenience.
Setting up computer speakers is typically as easy as just plugging them into that weird little green
port on the back of your motherboard and then turning the volume knob that's built into the
speaker itself. No other setup required unless you're setting up a subwoofer. Two, PC speakers
tend to be tuned a specific way. In order to sound impressive, they often emphasize the base
and sometimes also the treble. It's similar to the V-shaped sound signature you commonly get
with mainstream headphones as exaggerated bass and treble can make music sound richer and crispier.
And who doesn't like hard hitting bass when an explosion goes off during a game?
Thor was throwing grenades at me. But the problem is that designing your speakers this way means
you're sacrificing the accuracy of the sound. Not to mention that some of the cheaper PC speakers
simply aren't built well enough to sound clear in the first place. And while there are definitely
some very good PC speakers out there, a set of bookshelf or studio speakers could possibly give
you clearer, more accurate audio that reflects what the artist or game developer wanted their
creation to sound like, thanks to larger drivers and generally better build quality.
But you still have to be careful when choosing a pair. Make sure you're paying attention to
whether the speakers you're considering are active or passive. Active speakers simply mean
they have a built-in amplifier to power them. So you'll plug them straight into the wall socket,
kind of like you would with regular PC speakers. Passive speakers on the other hand,
they require an external amp for power. You connect the speakers to the amp with speaker
wire and then the amp to your computer to get a signal. So yeah, there's another thing you gotta
buy. Although active speakers can be a bit more convenient, passive speakers allow you to upgrade
later at a lower cost as passive speakers are usually cheaper than the equivalent active
speakers since you're not paying for a built-in amp. Opting for a good quality external amp
can also allow your speakers to get louder without much distortion and even prevent that annoying
hissing sound when you turn them up. But remember, you can't just pair any passive speaker with any
amp. You need to make sure your amp can put enough power into your preferred speakers without
blowing them up. We'll link a calculator in the description that can tell you how powerful an amp
you need by entering the speaker specifications. But the good news is that for an average desktop
PC setup, where you're sitting just a few feet away from the speakers, an inexpensive 20 or 31
amp is likely all you need. Also remember that most studio and bookshelf speakers and amps use
RCA connectors for audio rather than the 3.5 millimeter jack common on computers. So there's
a good chance you'll need to pick up one of these Y adapters. But aside from speaker wire,
that's really all you need in terms of extra equipment. So don't be afraid to experiment
when picking out your next audio setup unless you really need that extra RGB. You don't.
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