Is Soundbar better than speakers for PCs? Listen, soundbars and speakers for PCs are fast becoming the obvious choice for many home use, including desktop pc sound setups. And that’s because modern PCs and laptop monitors are becoming thinner and thinner by the day, making computer audio peripherals get smaller and lighter too, which compromises the quality of sound.
So, if you have found yourself looking for ways to boost sound quality for your PC or laptop, there are two options… Either you get desktop computer speakers or a soundbar for PC. But, are soundbars any better than desktop speakers?
Soundbars have proven to stand out as the best choice for PC sound setup than desktop PC speakers after comparing Sound Bars for PCs vs. Desktop PCs speakers, here’s why Soundbars are more superior compared to desktop PC speakers:
- Portability: So, if your goal is portability, quality sound, and ease of installation along with clutter-free workspace, getting the soundbar vs desktop PC speakers makes sense.
- Sound Quality And Clarity: Soundbars delivers far superior sound quality than most desktop PC speakers. Especially if you are looking for a soundbar or speaker to use for both listen to music and for movie watching, the soundbar is a perfect fit for an amazing surround sound system.
- Clutter-free Workstation: Cable management is a common source of bain for most people. With Soundbars offering wireless connectivity, you can easily keep your workstation free from cables and clutter-free by using a soundbar that connects to your computer peripherals using Bluetooth.
Soundbars’s sleek design and wireless connectivity provide a better option than desktop PC speakers with a subwoofer. If your goal is for your PC speaker set up is to simulate what you get from a slightly larger bookshelf speaker.
Setups like the Leviathan and Logitech z623 speakers, provides an enormous ability to produce thumping bass sound when paired up with a PC. Their only challenge is that they are too big and add on to your workstation clutter.
On the other hand, soundbars are an excellent choice for a clutter-free workstation; whether you have a small or large room, soundbars are perfect smaller speaker systems capable of producing quality sound.
Can You Use A Soundbar With A Computer?
Soundbars offer a unique opportunity to keep things nice and tidy on the desk where you work. And that’s because connecting soundbars with your computer can either be done wirelessly(Bluetooth technology), using an HDMI or a 3.5 jack cable.
Using a soundbar with your computer is certainly the best sound setup you can. Heck! Soundbars feature Bluetooth technology that allows a plug-and-play sound setup for novices as it uses universal connectivity while also delivering quality sound with clarity for incredible gaming or music listening time.
How To Connect Soundbar With Your PC
Soundbars sound setups with your computer are a plug and play that most novices new to setting up gaming rigs or a home office workstation find helpful.
All you have to do is connect the soundbar to your PC with a standard 3.5 mm Jack to pair up your soundbar with your computer’s peripherals.
Suppose you want to keep your workstations free from any cables. In that case, to eliminate cables cluttering your workstations completely, I recommend that you connect the soundbar to your PC using a wireless connection.
By harnessing Bluetooth technology instead of the traditional cable plugs with the 3.5 mm jack that goes into your PC’s 3.5 mm port, an inexpensive small USB Bluetooth adapter like this one is here, Amazon simply makes the connection for your PC and Soundbar.
Once you plug that USB and pair up your gear up, your soundbar can now not only use the PC to output quality audio, but you can also addon external speakers with Bluetooth connectivity to create an ultimate surround sound system.
There’s alot to gain when you choose to use soundbars for your PC’s audio as soundbars are synonymous for sound quality, which is better than the tv speakers. even pc speakers were better than tv speakers.
Many companies manufacture soundbars and speakers; some include Sony, JBL, Klipsch, etc. As we all know, the Televisions, PCs, and Laptops made nowadays are thin, and they continue becoming thinner.
This has an impact on the audio quality that these screens produce. Because of their thinness, they do not have a lot of space to store large sound drivers making the sound quality to be a little bit low.
Therefore, you need a soundbar to improve your PC or laptop’s audio quality in your home. If you have a laptop, the most convenient way to place your speakers is to mount it on top of your monitor. If you are using a desktop, you can place it on your desk beside your monitor.
You may have a PC and the sound quality is not that pleasing to you and you probably want to enhance your sound quality, but you don’t know whether to get a speaker or a soundbar.
Speakers can make a great option, but most speakers need an AV receiver, and they can be pricey if not outright expensive for your liking.
Compared to getting a soundbar, it is more expensive to get speakers because of the extra cost when you need to buy a receiver.
Alittle About Soundbars
A soundbar is a speaker that is used to project audio and includes drivers that point towards the listener. These speaker bars have a short height and are generally wide. They mostly have an acoustic design. The soundbars can be used to enhance the audio quality of your laptop, PC as well as TV. how they are placed on the PC generally depends on what kind of design that the soundbar has.
The soundbars’ sound quality depends on the kind of soundbar that one purchases as there are different soundbars and manufactured by different brands.
The soundbar is also a very easy option and can be more affordable than PC speakers. But when buying the soundbar, you may need to consider many things. like where your soundbar will be. Below your pc, next to your pc or above, you need to consider all that.
Soundbars also has a functionality that is called Virtual sound.
This functionality is there to ensure that listeners do not have to buy many speakers to have surround sound. Though in most soundbars, the surround sound quality provides by this functionality is not that great.
Most soundbars also come with subwoofers that help in enhancing the sounds. Many soundbars being manufactured nowadays contain many features such as Dolby Atmos support and produce a very effective sound.
Most soundbars also support Bluetooth technology and you can use this to connect the soundbar to your phones or laptop. With this, you can play music wirelessly.
The sound produced by soundbars
Soundbars come with multiple drivers. These drivers help to ensure that these soundbars produce the surround sound. Although they produce surround sound that most people want, surround systems’ surround sound is much better.
What is Considered A Good Soundbar?
There are different types of soundbars. There are active soundbars and passive soundbars. With passive soundbars, they require you to have an AV receiver for amplification. On the other hand, active soundbars do not require you to have an external receiver; they have an easy installation process as compared to passive soundbars.
All you have to do is plug it right to your pc or television for it to work.
When buying a soundbar, you should get the one that has at least 3.0 channels. This kind of soundbar has three drivers in it, which are placed at separate positions. You should also make sure that your soundbar supports HDMI ARC.
With HDMI ARC, you can use a single remote to change your TV/laptop and soundbar volume. This also ensures that you can easily connect the soundbar to your TV.
When buying a soundbar you should also take into consideration the brand that you purchase the soundbar from. This is because most soundbars are not compatible with many other speakers and this may have a negative impact when it comes to expanding your sound system.
pros and cons of soundbars
pros
- installation and setup process are not complicated
- they are affordable
cons
- they are not that flexible and hence expanding your system may not be easy
Quick Facts About speakers?
Speakers come in different types. Depending on the kind of monitor that you have, speakers can be placed on the same desk or on the floor and even on the Bookshelf. Some types of speakers are the floor standing speakers and bookshelf speakers. Floor standing speakers are good if you have a spacious and wide area that you want to put them in.
These speakers have an acoustic design, and they deliver great natural sounds with good bass. Bookshelf speakers are a good consideration if you have a small area you want to put them in, like a small bedroom.
These speakers also have good bass, and they include tweeter drivers. The main use of the tweeter is to produce high sounds. With bookshelf speakers, you can easily move them around, unlike floor standing speakers.
Sound quality for speakers
The sound quality that most floor standing speakers produce is very loud, and the quality is good. This is so because these speakers have many drivers and this makes them produce high-quality sound.
Some speakers also come with subwoofers that are great at controlling low sounds. Some speakers also come with tweeter drivers are that are good for handling high sounds.
What To Consider When Getting The Best Speakers
When buying speakers for PC you need to consider the space on where you will place your speakers. For example, you may have a single monitor, you may place your speakers next to your monitor on the sides, or behind the monitor, depending on the size of the speakers that you choose.
Ease Of Connectivity
How you connect the soundbar speakers and your PC is also something you need to consider. If you are a person who hates to deal with wires, then a soundbar which connects wireless to your PC and other addon speakers may be a good choice for you. Wireless connectivity using Bluetooth to your computer is seriously effortless.
Portability
Portability is also another important factor to consider why soundbars are the best option. If you like to travel around like Ido, you have the option to carry a small set of PC speakers or a plug and play sounbar which may be good so that you can easily fit them into your bag.
pros and cons of speakers
pros
- provide better audio quality
- they are more flexible
cons
- most speakers require spacious and wide areas
- they are costly
- setup and installation process are not that easy
Which is better Soundbars or Speakers?
Soundbars are far better than desktop PC Speakers. However, I know that when you are faced with a question of whether you want to get a soundbar or a speaker, there are good reasons to get confused about needs and wants, which makes choosing soundbars vs speakers trivia.
All thing s aside, if you simply want to enhance the sound of your television set for movie watching, then a soundbar is a good choice.
If you want it for music listening, then depending on how loud you want your sound, you may choose to consider different types of available speakers on the market.
It would be best if you also considered your home; soundbars may be good for small homes than loudspeakers. However, other speakers like bookshelf speakers are also a very good choice for small homes or rooms.
Does a soundbar replace TV speakers?
Once you decide to use soundbars for your PC or TV watching, you are choosing to replace inferior built-in speakers inside your TV or computer moniter as the soundbar is purposely designed to replace your TV speakers the moment you plugin the HDMI or the 3.5 mm jack cable into the PC or smart TV.
The most common misconceptions about soundbars and TV sound setup is the expectations that they are supposed to complement your standard speakers. Sadly, they are not meant to work in parallel with your television’s built-in speakers.
And, if you attempt to by-pass the normal setup where your soundabar becomes an ultimate sound output, expect the echo loop as the TV speakers and your soundbar use the same audio signal which is relayed to both.
The performance offered by speakers is generally better than that offered by soundbars. Speakers fill the room with a sound quite a lot more than soundbars can. This is because they have a larger sound stage.
Some soundbars are priced higher than most PC speakers. But the sound quality that some soundbars produce is lower than that produced by speakers. Soundbars are generally good for movie watching as they create a good movie sound experience.
When it comes to buying speakers, you may have to buy more things than you would for a soundbar. Some speakers require you to have a receiver, and you may need to buy this separately, and this may lead to higher costs.
Looking at speakers or soundbars’ functionality, the soundbar has a lot more functionality than most speakers have. Though they have more functionality, their performance is still lower than that of most traditional speakers.
For some people who like to use a PC, soundbars are more convenient than speakers because speakers may get in their way of whatever they are doing.
conclusion
We can see that for music listening, speakers are a better choice than soundbars. When it comes to movies or movie watching, soundbars are a much better choice than speakers. if your space or house is small, you may consider bookshelf speakers rather than floor standing speakers. Floor standing speakers are good for wide spaces.
In general, the following are the things to consider when choosing a soundbar or speaker for PC
- the space around your PC
- the installation processes
- the sound quality
- portability
While soundbars are a phenomenal option for PC audio setup, they are not for everyone. Many of you will NOT like the idea of hooking up your PC’s and soundbar.
Nonetheless, home theater sound setups are yet another way to be discreet when you route cables through walls and leverage a budget 5.1 surround sound system to completely overhaul your gaming rig and a home theater sound system to cut down clutter.
This sound setup also allows you to use what you already have in your home; if anything, I’d highly recommend that you stick to using a soundbar for your PC.
