I have 2 old (10 years?) pairs of computer speakers. HK and Yamaha - both have tone and volume knobs. 3.5mm to connect to PC or external monitor (fed by HDMI from PC).

The PC (laptop) is fairly near (2 years old), just the speakers are old (just lying around).

The HK suffered terribly from electrical hum, even when no sound was being emitted from the PC (ie - music). Didn't matter if the 3.5mm was connected directly to the PC or to the monitor. Hum present even when playing music.

The Yamaha suffered the hum when connected to the monitor. Luckily, it's quiet when connected directly to the PC. But the sound isn't all that great. A little muffled sounding - would like a little more accuracy and brightness.

I don't remember the price, but I don't think the speakers were particular expensive nor cheap. I think they were supposed to be somewhat decent speakers.

If I wanted to buy a new pair of better sounding speakers, what do I look for to avoid the hum? I see that Logitech and Creative seem to be popular in the $50-75 range. What do I look for: 1) no hum, 2) reasonable sound (background music, u-tube; nothing really demanding like movies or music), 3) small-ish and not too expensive (< $75)? Hard to buy speakers online....

Creative Pebble is what I use

No specific suggestions as I haven't been in the market for a long time.
Logitech is the elephant in the room, but I've always been underwhelmed by their speaker offerings.
Klipsch has been good sound/money.
It's always a crapshoot with cheap speakers, easy to get wrong.

The hum is likely from crappy PC electronics, not the speakers themselves. On PCs (desktops), I almost always get hum when I'm plugging/unplugging the 3.5mm jack. Something isn't grounded right & it's happened on many MFGs from Pentium 1 to a core i7 that I'm using now. USB-connected speakers can get past that, but a USB DAC will get rid of the hum on what you have now & they are probably in the same quality range as your budget. On my UnRaid Server / PC at home, I use a 5-10$ USB 'soundcard' that doesn't hum, but if I plug into the motherboard jacks, I get hum until it's connected fully (I can't use the on-board with a windows VM. It was easier to get USB vs try & get the iGPU/sound working in windows).

In all candor, you’re likely fighting a dichotomy between inexpensive and small size characteristics versus transducer quality.

Computers themselves (especially windowed), are notorious for generating just crap tons of EMI. Spews all over the room. Monitors too.

I also suggest a USB DAC... hum from analog PC audio sources has always been a thing. I have two $10k special built Dell at work for video production and they both hum badly when using the analog audio feeds.

I can do sound over usb? I’ll look into that.

PC is a new MacBook. Direct plug in is okay for Yamaha but bad with the HK. So I assumed the issue was speakers. But perhaps both sides can be problematic?

I was looking at BT (no noise?) but they are more expensive and concerned about lag - lip sync issues with video.

Sorry. USB speakers vs usb dac vs usb sound card are all different solutions?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Sorry. USB speakers vs usb dac vs usb sound card are all different solutions?

I'm sure there are speakers that interface directly with USB... that'll probably get around the hum just fine but is self-limiting.

A standalone active (read: needs external power) DAC interface will be of higher quality and let you change out speakers in the future... it'll also let you use any traditional speaker system you want.

As far as compact speakers in the closer to entry level arena I've liked the KRK's in the past... Probably a bit over budget, though.

USB carries four channels of stereo audio.

Typical consumer products like Windows use channels 7/8 for USB audio, while Mac tend to use 1/2. You really don’t need to know this; just for clarity and understanding.

This is digital audio and therefore you just can’t plug it directly into an analog system without going through a DAC… Digital audio converter. These are often already in your computer but you can buy separate, single use units as well.

Bluetooth equally is a transmission protocol which can carry digital audio. But the latency is noticeable. It’s perfectly fine if you’re not syncing to something/video.

I have a pair of portable indoor/outdoor JBL Bluetooth speakers that sound great for their size. Hundred dollars each, so 200 for the pair. Great little speakers that far outperform their size. You can add as many as you want to fill out a party or a backyard.

Try a 3.5mm ground loop noise isolator. Worked for my powered JBL 308P studio monitors connected directly through the PC 3.5mm sound output. You can get them for $6-11 bucks on Amazon.

Here's an explanation of what is likely going on:
Ground Loop Isolator

If you are getting hum it is due to an improper ground.

On many motherboards the 3.5mm ports can support different things and you may or may not be able to change ports (plug).

It could be in the speaker itself as well.

I have use a lot Creative Labs Pebble speakers in low cost installs - pretty decent and low footprint.

Larger speakers will sound better especially 2.1 (sub) units.

A hum may still exist if the issue is on the motherboard.

USB DAC's can replace the built-in sound card and sound great.
I use AudioQuest Dragonfly.

You still have to plug in amplified speakers to the DAC.

Bluetooth versions of all speakers are prevalent in all sizes.
I don't deploy many BT but they are good if you have to use that type of connection.

Find something on Amazon and if you don't like it - return it.

Good Luck

I have these and have been very happy. No hum but as smschulz says, you might have a bad ground.
Logitech Z207 Speakers

JP

Thanks guys!

I’m looking at the Creative Play 4 usb dac. Get rid of any possible hum. Then see about speakers next.

as a side note, computer speakers are one of the most disappointing consumer products I've experienced.

I've tried cheap, I've tried expensive. I've tried good sound cards, I've tried USB interfaces.
I've tried solid name brands.

But I never really attained the same quality of sound as I get out of my 90's era stereo and speakers.

But that said, the closest for me is Sonos. FWIW.

I agree. Generally avoid it but need it for corp webcasts, training videos, some u-tube, and maybe bgm while working.

I use receivers and other devices for music and movies.

If you are interested in DIY audio check out parts-express.com

I built a pretty bangin 2.1 system for my home office.

I have an old Yamaha iPod docking station that is super old but the sound is incredible when I have the 3.5mm Jack in just the right spot.
It gets bumped or moved and hum, snap, crackle, and pop. It’s been getting far worse lately so I have been eyeballing these.

Not sure if the cubes of the bar are right for me. They have multiple options for connecting to a computer.
https://mackie.com/en/products...ktop/cr2xbarpro.html

https://mackie.com/en/products...sktop/cr2x_cube.html

If you have not heard the sound quality Mackie provides you are missing out!

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Sorry. USB speakers vs usb dac vs usb sound card are all different solutions?

For most cases, No, there is no difference in basic 'solution'. Quality, price & features are where the difference will be.
Anything that takes audio from the computer, over USB & outputs it at speaker level power is a DAC.
'USB DAC' generally implies higher-quality analog-side and/or amplification is used.
'USB soundcard' is a more generic version of the above. $15 is more than I'd pay for one.
'USB Speakers' are a USB soundcard + speakers

The creative you mentioned is somewhere between USB soundcard & USB DAC, I'd expect. It will likely do what you are looking for.