The audio equipments market has evolved a lot in the past years, and today you can find very good quality speakers, some at low prices. First there were the integrated speakers, and they were placed on the main board of the computer. But now all of the computers are using external speakers, except for the laptops. But of course, if you want you can connect some external speakers to a laptop and benefit from a much better sound than the one your integrated laptop speakers. The speakers that usually come when buying a new computer are not so good and powerful so that’s why many people are choosing to buy some new ones. When talking about the number of speakers we can have 2.0 speakers (2 simple speakers), 2.1 systems (2 speakers and a subwoofer) and surround sound systems. These ones are having a center channel a subwoofer and 4 satellite speakers (for the 5.1 system) or 6 satellite speakers (for the 7.1 system). That means the sound is really complex and powerful.

When you want to get some new speakers, you have a wide variety of products to choose from, from many producers. Some of the biggest names on the audio market are Creative, JBL, Altec Lansing, Harman Kardon, Logitech, Boston Acoustics or Bose. They each give you the chance to buy a sound system, or to get each individual speaker (bookshelf speakers, subwoofers, center channels etc.)

When you are listening to some loud and powerful music on some stereo speakers, and then on a 2.1 or 5.1 system, you will notice a big difference in sound. The difference is made by one component, which is the subwoofer. This is the “basso profundo” of all speakers and it gives the deeper and lower sounds, which have frequencies below 80 hertz. A subwoofer can give you some great sensations: it can make the ground to vibrate when watching a movie, or it can give you the feeling of being in a night club even though you are just in your room. If you are living in an apartment you’ll have to be really careful with the volume of the subwoofer, because it can really disturb your neighbors. Even if you are listening to a song and you are enjoying all of its sounds, the neighbors will hear only the sound of a deep and continuous bass. And this will really annoy them :) So be careful with the volume! And of course if you are living in a house, you can enjoy all the power of the bass, without anyone else to be disturbed.

There are many computer speakers with subwoofer, and today we’ll talk about some of them. We will begin with some smaller ones, the Harman Kardon HK 695. It is a 2.1 audio system, this means it has two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. The design is pretty cool and unique: the 2 speakers are very small and thin and the subwoofer also has an interesting shape. The system has some good technologies integrated and it will bring a clear and rich sound, through all the sound ranges (the highs, the mids and  the lows). Because of their small sizes the speakers can be placed anywhere, even on a very crowded desk. Usually it is recommended to place the speaker under your desk to enjoy its best quality. This subwoofer is really small, so it will leave enough room for your legs, and also for other things you want to keep under your desk. The two speakers are magnetically shielded, that means you can place them really close to the monitor, without having image distortion. The speakers are easy to control and they have the overall volume button on top of the right satellite. Also the subwoofer has three knobs, and they are for the volume of the bass, treble and surround. The bass refers to the volume of the subwoofer, the treble to the volume of the center channel, and the surround controls the volume of the satellites.  The system has a total power of 40 watts RMS, divided into 6 watts for each satellite and 28 watts for the subwoofer). The frequency response is 20 – 35 Hz.

Some other computer speakers with subwoofer are the VS 2621 from Altec Lansing. This is also a 2.1 system, that means two speakers and a subwoofer. It can be connected to a computer but also to an MP3 player. They have a pretty cool design and the speakers are orientated slightly upwards to bring the sound straight to your ears. The sizes are small, so it can fit easily into a crowded room or office. The subwoofer is not so large and it will give you a cool bass, without taking a lot of space on or under your desk. The system has a total power of 28 watts (7.5 watts for each satellite and 13 for the subwoofer) and it has a system response of 45-18 Hz. The controls are easy to access and after all it is a good 2.1 audio system.

Now let’s talk about a 5.1 surround system. We’ll be choosing the Logitech X – 540 5.1.It is a very popular system, because of its good quality and small price. It has a price lower than 100 dollars (65 – 90 depending on where you buy it from) and brings a nice and powerful sound. The design is also pretty cool and the  satellite speakers can be mounted on the wall. It also features a control unit for volume, power, bass level and headphones jack.