Desktop Concert

Thanks to the digital revolution, computer speakers have gone from beep-booping afterthoughts to breeding grounds for innovation, with companies working hard to pull big sound from small packages. We hit play on iTunes and tested five of the newest systems.

By Mike Kobrin

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Logitech Z-5
With speakers facing front and rear, each Z-5 puts out 360-
degree sound — a bonus if your computer’s not in a corner. Dialogue and guitars are crisp, but piano distorts at high volumes, and the bass won’t rattle bones. But what do you want from $99 subwooferless speakers? The remote is handy, and the Z-5s are powered by a USB port, making them perfect for mobile presentations. [$99; logitech.com]
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Bose Computer MusicMonitor
“Big bass, small package” is the Bose way, and these follow suit. Inside each aluminum speaker are two face-to-face woofers that push bass out of the side slots. The thump is surprisingly powerful for boxes only 2.5 inches wide, but it distorts quickly. Complex rock gets muddy, too. (Sorry, Rush fans.) At $400, you’re paying more for the tech than sound quality. [$399; bose.com]
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Focal XS 2.1
Built into one of the two sexy, stunningly clear satellites is an iPod dock, so you can toggle between computer tunes and syncing your Apple music box by pressing a button. The most rounded sound made them best-in-class for music, which helped us overlook some static on solo piano tracks and a low hum when the system’s not playing anything. [$599; focal-america.com]
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Creative Gigaworks T3
The triple-driver subwoofer (most use one or two) makes the bassy T3 great for movies and gaming. With 80 watts on tap, the tiny satellites can scream, too, and they stay clear when pushed hard. Instead of a remote, the T3 has a wired volume knob. We’re only slightly ashamed to admit that we fell in love with its silky-smooth spinning mechanism. [$199; creative.com]
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M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
They won’t win a beauty pageant, and their 6-by-7.25-inch footprint eats up desk space. No matter: M-Audio is known for making reference speakers used by audio professionals, and with big bass and accurate sound that distorts only at max volume, the AV 40s don’t disappoint. That ties them with the Creative T3 for best choice to power a party. [$200; m-audio.com]
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