Advice on new PC speakers

For 150 bucks the only speakers I can recommend are second hand JBL305's, Pioneer SP-BS22-LR or Micca PB42X. Even the last two hifi bookshelfs have the problem that they're not designed for near field listening. Practically no speaker is, outside of studio monitors so their spectral balance is totally off when listened to close. The imbalance gets even worse if the listener sits above the tweeter and the passive speaker has a 6-12db/oct butterworth crossover. This creates a phase issue at listening position and messing up the response on the crossover frequency. That's why studio monitors use 24db/oct Linkwitz-Riley crossovers as a norm.

The Klipsch promedias are probably better than most Logitechs if that's the route you want to take.

You can probably find a preowned pair of JBL LSR305's for 150 bucks. That's what I would most likely pick. They are not overbright, dry or mega analytical. Of course like with any speaker, try before you buy.
 
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Haven't checked here for a while, and I had no idea this thread had gotten so many new replies. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. Unfortunately we didn't see a lot of them until after we already bought. We went with the Edifier R1700BT. Managed to find them for around 150$ USD (In local currency)
 
Edifier is solid. I recently went with the S360DB 2.1 system for my PC and it's fantastic. The S350DB also has excellent reviews and is a bit cheaper. Overall they seem to be a great value brand for the money spent, with sound quality that rivals much more expensive systems.
 
criccio said:
These things are mighty impressive for their size and price as well.

https://www.jbl.com/studio-monitors/JBL-104-BT.html
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I have the JBL One Series 104 and I would say they're better than cheaper speakers. However, it's true they have a low type of sound that gives you the impression you always want to crank them up higher. There's a nice advantage to this in the sense that you can listen to them all day at 5 without having ringing in your ears.
There's also an almost eerie feeling to them when watching movies compared to cheap speakers. Some scenes like listening to someone walking in the snow makes you think there's no background noise, like total silence.
 
Ayoralyn said:
My wife has her eyes set on the Edifier R1280T. She's had bookshelf speakers before, and really liked it.
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I have the bluetooth versions of those. They're great and your wife has good taste. :)

If not those I'd second the JBL LSR305. I also have them and they're also great. A little more neutral I'd say.
 
The OP solved their problem, but let's carry on and provide others with more data points to over saturate their selection process.

I recently had some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket and picked up the JBL Studio A130's on the Harman sale. I found an audiophile forum that did some instrumented testing of these before I purchased them that said they punch way above their price point, and for half off I figured it was worth a shot. They replaced a pair of Promedia satellites running off a Micca Origain amp, and it was a huge sound upgrade. I'm quite happy with the upgrade (same amp for now).

I've read tons of good reviews on Edifier and I was really close to picking up a pair!
 
Philharmonic AA+ monitors or you've wasted your money ($1000+ speakers for under $300). You're welcome.
 
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