Spoil your ears and annoy your roommates with the best PC speakers.
The best PC speakers bring impeccable sound to your gaming. Sure the best gaming headsets (opens in new tab) will give you a more intimate audio experience, but the top PC speakers break free from the confines of the earcup. Whether it’s the thrum of your engine in F1 22 (opens in new tab) or the crack of the Kraber unleashing hell in Apex Legends (opens in new tab), the best PC speakers will fill the entire room with your favourite game’s resonant goodness.
Deciding on the best PC speakers can be difficult, but we’ll break it down. First figure out how much space there is on your desk. It’ll give you an idea of the kind of speaker footprint you can afford, or whether you need to get tidying in anticipation. If you have the space under your desk then you should go for the typical 2.1, left/right speaker setup with a sub-woofer on the floor.
Then there’s PC soundbars, which have made a punchy comeback recently that puts excellent depth of sound and positional audio on your desk, but stays neatly tucked under your monitor. Some even come with a sub-woofer to really get the bass going. Even Razer has gotten into the PC soundbar game (opens in new tab).
Be warned, though; good speakers for your PC are likely to set you back money-wise. Thankfully, I earmarked a couple of decent budget options during my extensive testing, since we’ve not all loaded. These are my recommendations for loud, reliable PC speakers.Best PC speakers
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(Image credit: Future)
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(Image credit: Logitech)
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(Image credit: Logitech)
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(Image credit: Logitech)
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1. Logitech G560
The best gaming PC speakers
Specifications
Weight: 3.9lbs (satellites), 12.1lb (sub)
Size: 5.8 x 6.5 x 4.6-inches (sats), 15.9 x 10 x 8.1-inches (sub)
Drivers: 6.5-inch subwoofer, 2-inch tweeters
Connectivity: USB, 3.5mm, Bluetooth
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Reasons to buy
+
Immersive Lightsync RGB lighting+
Built in DTS:X Virtual Surround+
Solid bass response from subwoofer
Reasons to avoid
–
RGB LEDs don’t turn off in standby mode unless manually disabled-
Quite loud, even at low volume
I couldn’t recommend any computer speakers any more than these, and that’s because these ended up being my long-time speakers at my desk at home. The G560s not only sound great, but they also look great too. It’s ideal if you want to ditch the gaming headset for a while and play it fast and loose with your volume dial.
Chances are you either love or hate RGB lighting. The PC Gamer office is generally divided on this topic too, but there’s one thing we can agree on: Logitech’s G560 Lightsync feature is anything but gimmicky. If there’s one RGB product I can recommend that will impact your PC gaming experience, this one.
The audio quality and clean-cut design have these speakers stand out among the crowd.
Logitech’s software allows you to choose between two control modes for the speakers. Hardware control ditches the software and uses Bluetooth or AUX input for lighting. You get a gentle rainbow color cycle that acts as an audio visualizer, which flashes and brightens to the music’s beat. The software control allows you to choose between fixed color, color cycle, breathing, audio visualizer, and screen sampler lighting modes.
The screen sampler, however, is where the G560 shines. Like ambient TV backlighting products (opens in new tab), the software takes user-defined screen areas. It extends the colors outwards to create an immersive lighting experience like Philips‘ Ambilight tech on TVs. Since a good portion of this effect relies on the rear-facing LEDs, the speakers need to be positioned beside your display with their back against a wall to get the best result. Get it right, though, and the effect is incredible.
Fundamentally, though, the audio quality and clean-cut design have these speakers stand out among the crowd. I love how they sound out of the box, but you can also tweak them within the Logitech G Hub app. There’s a lot of bass on offer, but the tweeters are just as capable of throwing out excellent audio.
Even when set to low volume on your PC, these speakers may struggle to keep the noise down, but I didn’t pick them for calm and quiet gaming. No, we love the Logitech G560’s powerful audio and surprisingly refined RGB lighting. If both of those sound good to you, look no further.
Please read our full Logitech G560 review (opens in new tab).
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(Image credit: Creative)
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(Image credit: Creative)
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(Image credit: Creative)
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2. Creative Pebble Plus
The best budget computer speakers
Specifications
Weight: 5.5lbs
Size: 4.5 x 4.8 x 4.5-inches (sats), 5.9 x 7.7 x 8-inches (sub)
Drivers: 4-inch subwoofer, 2-inch tweeters
Connectivity: 3.5mm
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Reasons to buy
+
Affordable+
Small footprint+
Excellent clarity
Reasons to avoid
–
Tangle of cables-
Bass is a little lacking
When you’re out shopping for budget PC speakers below $50, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by choice. It doesn’t help that reliable brands have multiple options in the same price range. The low-end differences can be minimal, but the Creative Pebble Plus speakers stand apart from the competition with their big sound despite the compact size.
With a total power output of 8W, I found that these speakers pump out crisper audio more than competitors using two to three times the power amount. While they won’t produce the loudest sound around, I heard little distortion even with the volume maxed out. The only complaint here is a lack of bass control to complement the convenient volume knob located on the right speaker.
The Pebble Plus speakers may lack some raw oomph, but they make up for it in clarity. This is why we highly recommend these speakers for students and those who move around a lot, as the speakers are small enough to fit on any cramped desk surface. They’re easily the most portable system I tried and performed best in a smaller bedroom or office.
Like any other pair of speakers below $50, the Creative Pebble Plus speakers are easily shamed by a mid-range set. You are missing out on wireless connectivity, and there are lots of fiddly, easily tangled wires to deal with if you’re moving around a lot. However, these speakers are the clear winner for gamers on a tight budget, and for under $50, these get the job done well.
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(Image credit: Logitech)
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(Image credit: LOGITECH)
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3. Logitech Z407
Best speaker and subwoofer combo for around $100
Specifications
Weight: 8.8lbs
Size: 13.5 x 10.7 x 8.4-inches
Drivers: 2.3-inch tweeters, 5 inch subwoofer
Connectivity: 3.5mm, Bluetooth, micro usb
Today’s Best Deals
View at Box (opens in new tab)
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View at John Lewis (opens in new tab)
Reasons to buy
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Great Price+
Wireless control knob+
Easy to set up+
Booming sound
Reasons to avoid
–
Short cable runs-
Subwoofer needs a little more oomph
If you don’t want to stretch your budget to the flashier Logitech G560 speaker set, the company’s much more tame Z407 set offers a great alternative for less money.
