Premium Two-Channel PC Speaker Roundup
It’s time to focus on basic PC audio with a two-channel speaker roundup. We look at the Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022, Bowers & Wilkins MM-1, Creative Gigaworks T40 Series II, and M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 to see what these systems can offer.
Test Setup And Benchmarks
Most PC speaker reviews are limited to subjective opinions. While those are quite useful, this is Tom’s Hardware. We’re going to try to go a little deeper than that with some objective measurements, too.
Our measurements are taken with a calibrated Apex 220 measurement microphone, with phantom power supplied by TubeMP preamp. The measurement software we’re using is TrueRTA audio spectrum analyzer level 4, found at www.trueaudio.com. Testing is done in a 25’x15’ room with the microphone pointed upward 25” from the speaker satellites. Only one satellite is used for testing to minimize phase cancellation.
Header Cell - Column 0 | Mini-ITX Half-Height Build |
---|---|
CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 705e2.5 GHz, 6 MB L3 Cache, 65 W TDP |
Motherboard | Asus M4A88T-I Deluxe Socket AM3 Chipset: AMD 880G, BIOS 0410 |
Networking | Onboard Gigabit LAN controller |
Memory | Mushkin PC3 10700 SO-DIMM 2 x 2048 MB, 1333 MT/s, CL 9-9-9-24-1T |
Graphics | Radeon HD 5570 Reference650 MHz GPU, 512 MB DDR3 at 900 MHz |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3.0Gb/s |
Power | In-Win IP-AD120-2 160 W (included with case) |
Audio | Realtek ALC889High-Definition Audio Codec |
Software and Drivers | |
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 x64 |
DirectX version | DirectX 11 |
Graphics Drivers | AMD Catalyst 10.11 |
Current page: Test Setup And Benchmarks
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Has the reviewer heard of Audioengine A2 speakers? They are outstanding 2 channel speakers for $199.Reply
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Harby jdmiHas the reviewer heard of Audioengine A2 speakers? They are outstanding 2 channel speakers for $199.Reply
Indeed, A2s are really good, though a bit on the weak side with 30 watts. But since you went with B&W you could have tested Audioengine A5s which are insanely awesome and cheaper than B&W's at ~$325. -
sparky2010 I'm really happy with my 4 year old creative soundworks 7.1 system... until now it still offers great sound, and having true 7.1 really rocks, especially in FPS... although i'm considering the logitech z5500.. hat sounds amazing and looks even better...Reply -
icehot Nice review, I bought the Creative Gigaworks T40 Series II about 4 months ago, and have loved them, the sound is superb.Reply -
titaniumsquirrel The AV 40s were the first speakers I've ever owned that failed on me. I don't care how good they sound if reliability is an issue. I'm never purchasing another M-Audio product. Decided to go with a pair of Gigaworks refurbs for a fraction of the price afterward and have been very pleased.Reply -
megatron46 Nice Speakers but i like my Monitor Audio RX8 teamed with Definitive Technology Supercube I sub and Cambridge Audio Azur 840A Amp.......Reply