The 10 Best Multimedia Speakers

This system has been the desk audio reference for years, and the reasons are structural rather than fashionable. It is a genuine 2.1 design where the subwoofer handles low frequencies and the satellites are built to hand off to it, instead of two small boxes pretending to cover everything.

The horn loaded tweeter is the signature. It projects high frequencies efficiently and directionally, which at desk distance produces speech and detail that sound noticeably clearer than a conventional dome in a plastic box.

THX certification is worth more than the usual marketing vocabulary because it is a standard applied by someone else. In a category where peak wattage claims are unregulated, an external assessment is one of the few checkable signals available.

The costs are practical. There is a subwoofer to house, a mains socket to find, and neighbours to consider, since bass passes through building structure in a way midrange does not.

Bottom line: the best sounding desk system here by a clear margin, and the right buy if films and games are part of the job.

• Configuration: 2.1 with separate subwoofer
• Certification: THX
• Tweeter: horn loaded
• Power: mains
• Inputs: 3.5 mm analogue
• Controls: desktop volume

Buy this if your desk doubles as a cinema or a gaming rig and you have floor space for a subwoofer. Skip it if you mainly take calls and play background music, where a clean stereo pair is tidier, or if you share thin walls where bass will be a problem.

Keep the subwoofer on the floor rather than the desk, since vibration transmitted into the desk surface reaches your keyboard and monitor. Leave a little clearance behind the satellites, as a boundary immediately behind a speaker exaggerates bass and blurs detail. Turn the volume down before switching the computer on to avoid a startup thump through the drivers.

The specification that matters here is the small word RMS. Sixty six watts sustained is a different claim from sixty something watts peak, and it puts this pair among the more capable stereo systems on the list rather than in the marketing arms race.

Bluetooth 5.3 is the practical convenience. Keep a cable to the computer for anything with picture, where latency would be visible, and use wireless for a phone. That combination is what most people actually want from desk speakers.

Hi-res support is real but easily oversold. It matters if your source material and playback chain are both high resolution, and it does nothing for compressed streaming, which is what most listening is.

The honest limit is physics. Without a subwoofer, deep bass is bounded by how much air the drivers can move, so film and game low end will not have the weight a 2.1 system produces.

Bottom line: the best stereo pair here for a desk with no room for a subwoofer.

• Configuration: 2.0 stereo
• Power: 66 W RMS as stated
• Wireless: Bluetooth 5.3
• Audio: hi-res capable
• Inputs: wired plus Bluetooth
• Power source: mains

For someone upgrading from basic desk speakers who wants real power and modern wireless without a subwoofer on the floor. Less suitable if bass weight for films and games is the priority, where a 2.1 system is the honest answer.

When comparing stereo pairs, insist on RMS figures and treat peak numbers as unusable for comparison. Then check whether Bluetooth and wired inputs can both stay connected, since switching cables daily is what makes people stop using a feature. Cabinet material is the last check: dense cabinets resonate less than thin plastic.

The genuinely useful design decision here is the angle. The cabinets tilt upward, which puts the drivers closer to pointing at a seated listener's ears rather than their chest, and that does more for perceived clarity than most specification differences.

Bluetooth alongside a wired input is the right combination for a gaming desk: cable for the machine where latency matters, wireless for a phone.

The lighting is styling. It looks right on a desk built around lit components and it contributes nothing acoustically, so it should not be weighed against driver quality when comparing options.

Thirty two watts is enough for a desk but modest against the larger systems here, and without a subwoofer the low end is bounded by driver size. For games with heavy bass, that ceiling is audible.

Bottom line: a well judged gaming stereo pair, with the angled cabinets as the feature worth paying for.

• Configuration: 2.0 stereo
• Power: 32 W as stated
• Wireless: Bluetooth
• Lighting: RGB
• Cabinet: angled for desk placement
• Inputs: wired plus Bluetooth

For a gaming desk where the speakers sit either side of a monitor and looks are part of the point. Not the pick if you need bass weight for films, or if you would rather put the money into drivers instead of lighting.

Use the wired input for the computer and keep Bluetooth for a phone, because wireless latency is visible on anything with picture. Place the speakers so the angled faces point toward your head and keep them slightly clear of the wall behind. If the lighting runs from a second USB port, plug it into a powered hub rather than daisy chaining off a keyboard.

This is the cheapest honest route to desk bass. It is a true 2.1 system, so the subwoofer is doing the low frequency work rather than a pair of small boxes straining, and that is audible immediately on films and music with a bass line.

The control pod is the underrated part. Having volume and a headphone socket on the desk, on a wire, is far more convenient than reaching behind a speaker or fishing for a socket on the back of a tower.

Satellites are small and unremarkable, which is fine because their job in a 2.1 system is the midrange and treble. What you are buying is the configuration rather than the drivers.

Amplification is modest, so this will not fill a room or match the premium systems for headroom. At desk distance that matters much less than people expect.

Bottom line: the value pick if you specifically want a subwoofer without paying for a reference system.

• Configuration: 2.1 with subwoofer
• Controls: wired desktop pod
• Headphone output: on control pod
• Input: 3.5 mm
• Power: mains
• Satellites: compact full range

For anyone who wants bass on a desk without spending reference money, and for setups where a wired volume pod is genuinely useful. Not the pick if you need room filling volume or the cleanest possible midrange for speech.

At this level, buy configuration rather than wattage: a 2.1 system with modest power will out-bass a more powerful stereo pair every time. Check cable lengths against your desk width before ordering, since fixed cables on budget systems are often shorter than a wide monitor setup needs.

This is the value pick because it is honest about what it is. A USB powered stereo pair for calls, podcasts, video and background music, doing that job for one cable and no adapter.

The five volt power budget is the whole story. It sets a ceiling on volume and bass that no amount of engineering gets around, and within that ceiling the result is perfectly acceptable at desk distance.

Practical details are right. A volume knob you can reach beats adjusting a slider in software, and the aux input means it works with anything that has a headphone socket, including a games console or a tablet.

What you give up is everything to do with scale: no subwoofer, no Bluetooth, and cabinets that are thin plastic rather than dense enclosures. For the money that is the correct set of compromises.

Bottom line: the right choice for a laptop or a work desk, and the wrong one if you want films to have weight.

• Configuration: 2.0 stereo
• Power: USB, 5 V
• Input: 3.5 mm aux
• Controls: volume on speaker
• Cabinet: compact plastic
• Wireless: none

For a work desk, a laptop that travels, or a second machine where audio just needs to be better than built in speakers. Not for gaming or film watching where bass is part of the experience.

Plug the USB into the computer rather than a monitor hub if you hear hiss, since some monitor ports supply noisier power. Keep the speakers off the desk surface on small stands or a couple of books to reduce resonance, and set the software volume high while using the physical knob for control, which keeps the noise floor low.

These are not desk speakers with a studio badge, they are actual monitors, and the difference is the tuning philosophy. Consumer speakers lift bass and treble to sound pleasing. Monitors aim for flat, so what you hear is what is in the file, including the unflattering parts.

If you record, mix or edit anything, that is the entire point. Mixing on speakers that flatter means your work sounds wrong on every other system, and this is the cheapest reliable way out of that trap.

They also expect to be used properly: near field, tweeters at ear height, angled toward your head, a little away from the wall. Placed badly, an accurate speaker sounds worse than a forgiving one, which is why monitors get an unfair reputation on casual desks.

For pure enjoyment listening, be honest with yourself. A flat three and a half inch pair will sound leaner than a lifted consumer tuning, and that is by design rather than a fault.

Bottom line: the pick if you make audio rather than only consume it.

• Type: powered near field studio monitors
• Configuration: pair, two way
• Woofer: 3.5 in
• Tuning: flat response
• Inputs: studio standard analogue
• Controls: front panel volume

For anyone producing music, editing video or podcasting who needs to hear problems rather than have them hidden. Not the choice if you want music to sound bigger than it is while you work, where a consumer tuning is more enjoyable.

Set them up as an equilateral triangle with your head, tweeters at ear height, angled inward. Use stands or foam pads rather than sitting them flat on the desk, since desk coupling adds a boom around the low midrange. Leave some distance behind them if you can, because a wall immediately behind a rear ported monitor inflates the bass and misleads your mixing decisions.

This is a straightforward 2.1 alternative for a desk that needs bass. The subwoofer does the work its name implies, and having a bass level control on the pod lets you dial the low end back for speech rather than living with one voicing.

Read the power figure carefully. Sixty two watts is quoted as peak, which is the unregulated number, so the sustained output is well below that. It is enough for a desk, but it does not compare with a system quoting a similar figure as RMS.

The control pod is the practical strength, as it is on most 2.1 systems at this level: volume and tone within reach instead of behind a speaker.

Cabinets are plastic and resonate more than dense enclosures, which shows as a thickening in the low midrange on busy material. At the price and with a subwoofer present, that is a reasonable trade.

Bottom line: a competent budget 2.1 option, best considered against the Logitech alternative on cable lengths and pod layout.

• Configuration: 2.1 with subwoofer
• Power: 62 W peak as stated
• Controls: wired pod with volume and bass
• Input: 3.5 mm
• Power source: mains
• Cabinets: plastic

For a desk that wants bass on a budget and values a bass control on the pod. Less suitable if you need wireless input, or if you want an RMS rated system where the power claim is directly comparable.

Put the subwoofer on the floor rather than the desk so vibration does not reach the keyboard, and keep the bass control at a moderate setting for speech work, since heavy bass masks the midrange voices sit in. Turn volume down before waking the computer to avoid a thump through the drivers.

The point of this pair is the combination of simplicity and wireless. It is a basic stereo set that will also take a Bluetooth connection from a phone, which covers the two ways people actually feed desk speakers.

Power is quoted as ten watts peak, so the sustained figure is small. At desk distance that is genuinely enough for speech, video calls and background music, and it is not enough for filling a room.

Physical size is an advantage on a crowded desk. These fit where larger cabinets do not, and they do not demand a floor unit.

Use the wired input for the computer. Bluetooth latency is fine for music and wrong for anything with picture, so the wireless side is best kept for a phone.

Bottom line: a tidy simple pair whose Bluetooth is the reason to choose it over the cheapest wired options.

• Configuration: 2.0 stereo
• Wireless: Bluetooth
• Power: 10 W peak as stated
• Inputs: wired plus Bluetooth
• Cabinets: compact
• Controls: volume on speaker

Decide whether you need Bluetooth at all before paying for it, since a wired pair with the same drivers usually costs less. If you do want it, check that the wired input stays available while paired, because switching sources by unplugging cables is how a feature ends up unused.

Connect the computer by cable and reserve Bluetooth for a phone, which sidesteps the latency problem entirely. Keep the volume knob mid range and raise the computer's own output instead, which keeps hiss down on low power systems. On a crowded desk, angle both speakers inward toward your head rather than leaving them facing straight forward.

The honest description is styling first. This is an inexpensive wired stereo pair with lighting, aimed at a desk where the build has a visual theme, and it succeeds at that.

Sound is what you expect at this level: adequate for speech, games and background music at desk distance, with no low frequency weight because there is no subwoofer and the drivers are small.

Wired connection is a virtue here rather than a limitation, since there is no latency and nothing to pair. Plug it in and it works with any source that has a headphone socket.

Be clear that the lighting draws power, often from a USB port, and that it does nothing acoustically. If the choice is between lighting and better drivers at the same money, the drivers are the better purchase.

Bottom line: buy it for the look on a budget lit desk, not for the audio.

• Configuration: 2.0 wired stereo
• Lighting: RGB
• Input: 3.5 mm
• Power: USB for lighting
• Cabinets: compact upright
• Controls: in line volume

For a lit gaming desk where matching the aesthetic matters and the budget is small. Not the choice if audio quality is the priority, where a plain pair with better drivers is the same money.

Treat lighting as trim rather than a feature when comparing options at this level. Check where the volume control sits and how long the cable is, because on a cheap pair those two practical details affect daily use far more than any specification on the box.

This is the plain option, and there is a genuine place for it. A basic stereo pair for a second computer, a work machine or a shelf, where the requirement is simply better than built in laptop speakers.

The headphone socket on the speaker is the practical touch worth noting. If your computer's own socket is awkward to reach, having one on the desk is a daily convenience.

Output is modest with no meaningful bass, which is the expected result from small drivers in a small plastic cabinet. For speech, calls and background music that is enough.

Nothing here is wireless and nothing is adjustable beyond volume. Whether that is a shortcoming or the appeal depends on why you are buying.

Bottom line: a fine basic pair for a secondary desk, and the least ambitious choice on this list.

• Configuration: 2.0 stereo
• Input: 3.5 mm
• Controls: volume on right speaker
• Headphone output: on speaker
• Cabinets: compact plastic
• Wireless: none

For a secondary machine, a work desk with modest needs, or anyone who wants audio to just work. Not the choice for gaming, films or music listening where scale and bass matter.

At the basic end, buy on practical details rather than specification: where the volume knob sits, whether there is a headphone socket, and how long the cable is. Those decide daily satisfaction, while the quoted wattage at this level tells you almost nothing useful.