Accessory SFF and Audio setups?

[JosephEK]

Currently I use some 50 dollar 2:1 speaker system from Best Buy with a pair of 20 dollar Sennheiser headphones. I also use a 15 dollar "Rerii" microphone from Amazon.

The speaker system itself takes up more room than I would like on my small desk. I know this is not audiophile level stuff, but the quality is pretty nice to me who has only ever used little pairs of even cheaper tweeters up till this point.

I'm thinking in the future I want to get speakers that are a bit more minimalist as far as size is concerned while investing more into my headphone experience by jumping up to a ~50 dollar or even ~100 dollar price point.

So what I'm asking I guess is:
What is good quality computer speakers that are of a smaller form factor?

 

[confusis]

The problem with smaller speakers is an inability to fill an area with the lower tones. Also, are you looking for a 2 channel, 2.1.., 4.., etc set of speakers?

 

[GreatestUnKnown]

Audio can get exponentially complicated the more you research but I would start with identifying your intended use and (most) preferred music type.

You have the right idea of starting to look into headphones first because they eliminate some of the major setup issues with speaker setups, the cost of entry threshold is lower, and you aren't limited to one room/position.

My current audio consists of a 5.1w/BluRay from a big box store that cost nearly $200 when new and has served its purpose for nearly 7 years. After investing in my headphones the 5.1 system is no longer adequate, so a proper setup will replace it and then it will live out its years as a garage stereo. I used to install car audio and to use a car adage, "there is no replacement for displacement." The bigger the speaker the bigger the sound, so using a small speaker and small housing will generally not sound as good as its larger counterpart.

 

[Thehack]

Best SFF sound is headphones...

That said it is pretty much impossible to have SFF speakers. This is you need the proper air displacement for the box and that it takes big woofers to move low tones. You can't beat physics. You can cheat like Bose does but the quality is not the same.

 

[EdZ]

The easy-but-just-OK way to get at least half decent sound from small speakers would be to track down some Distributed Mode speakers. NXT used to be the main brand making these, but have been defunct for a few years, so they can be tricky to find.

The expensive way would be to get a pair of compact studio monitors (e.g. Genelec 8010 or G-One). Generally self-powered, plug and play with excellent sound, but you pay out the nose for it.

The DIY way would be to find the highest output power compact speakers you can find regardless of quality, then use a good microphone to characterise and EQ them into an excellent effective response. Lots of fiddling, requires a calibrated microphone, only works for a PC running the EQ software (i.e. if you plug another audio device in without its own EQ, it will sound awful).