Pebble Plus 2.1 USB-Powered Desktop Speakers with Powerful Down-Firing Subwoofer and Far-Field Drivers, Up to 8W RMS Total Power for Computer PCs and Laptops (Black)

I wrote a pretty positive review a few days after getting these, but as I've lived with them a little longer and really thought about it, I'm not as happy with my purchase. If you're looking for speakers that are clear and just want something with good volume and clarity, these are great. They are decent enough and have *some* bass to them. Read below if you plan to listen to music and care what that experience is like. I do suggest scrolling down to the bottom where I've added pros and cons. Every review you see of these sings their praises. Don't get me wrong, they sound "good". Certainly better than the extra-tinny, clearly "there-so-they-could-put-another-feature-on-the-box", sad excuse for speakers that came built into my monitor. But they aren't great. Just good. For $50, I think I could have found better. Speakers have come a long way in the past decade. Your run of the mills bluetooth speaker in the flavor-of-the-week isle at Aldi has passive base reflex and have good bass response. These do not. The little woofer is more of a mid-range speaker with the two satellite speakers acting as tweeters. The sub does not thump or boom. It does a decent job filling out the sound, but there's no wow factor and deeper notes are lost completely. And I'm not even talking about edge cases. I like a song called "Daylight" by Watchhouse. It's a folky countryish song. So it has that classic BUMM bumm BUMM bumm bass line that many folky and country songs have. While these speakers play it, it's subtle to the point that you notice and miss it. Another thing that annoys me more than I thought it would, is that there is a good 4 second delay between the moment you turn on the speakers to the time any sound comes out. This seems minor, but I work from home and listen to music while I work. I get frequent work calls and since I'm logged into a remote computer, cannot easily mute the music with the computer, so I turn the speakers off. Maybe I'm being a bit nit-picky, but waiting for the music to start playing so I can set the volume drives me nuts. PROS * Look good * Clear sound * Good volume * Not "fake bassy" like many cheaper speakers (not muffled or muddy sounding) CONS * Utter lack of real low end * 4 second delay from the time they are turned on to the time they start playing audio * Wires are *just* long enough to reach from the top of a desk to a computer on the floor directly below. If you have a non-standard setup, you may need to get a headphone extension cable

The sound quality is very, very good for the price. The subwoofer cable was long enough to run to the floor when my standing desk was at full height, even above what I stand at. Some reviews state issues with volume, and I found them to be quite loud. A few important notes about volume: check 3 places, your computer's volume control, the volume knob, and the volume setting on the media you are playing. Also, because they are USB powered, a underpowered USB port will make them quieter. If all of your computer ports are making them sound quiet, maybe try a 10w (sometimes called 5v 2a) USB a power adapter that plugs into the wall as that was the recommended power input from what I read.

EDIT 1/15: I have done some more experimenting with listening to the original sound and I am unimpressed. The two speakers fall over each other when listening to any music using complex instrumentation. Introduction updated. TL;DR: Too boomy in the upper bass range with recessed treble. Lower bass needs a big boost to bring out the subwoofer's potential. Pretty minimalist, durable (speakers have survived for 2 years through many drops), look good, easy to use. If you listen to FLAC files, you'll notice a steep roll off of treble and absence of air, as Creative claims they can reach 20kHz but it really is 16kHz.. EQ settings posted below. NOTE: Place the two speakers as far apart as possible to maximize its soundstage. A wide soundstage increases depth, fullness and separation of the left and right channels for an engaging experience. Sound: 5/10→8.5/10 w/ tuning Durability: 9/10 Look: 8/10 Value: 6/10→9/10 w/ tuning Let's get into it. INTRODUCTION: I love to tinker with technology. I built a PC as a kid, grew up messing with my parents' internet and computers, and have my own NAS for storing movies and photos. More recently, I took an interest in audio gear. Usually when I want to find a good deal on something I'll use Reddit to see what actual people say; mainstream review sites are bought and paid for. Many on Reddit recommended this system, and I'm a bit puzzled why. While they look fine and still work like new, the sound really isn't great. I suspect people thought of this system AFTER tuning it, like I did. As I said before: if you can't tune these for whatever reason, you will end up disappointed with the sound. However, if you can/have the ability to, you can make this $50 system sound like a $300 system easily. SOUND: The most prominent sound is an unfortunate boom around 130Hz. This is mostly mitigated through equalizer settings as posted below. The lower and upper midrange are well represented without sounding too shouty or causing ear fatigue, but need a slight decibel decrease. However, the treble may be the most disappointing part of this system sound-wise. In the first picture you can see a steep drop after 16kHz, crippling any genre of music that utilizes high frequencies (e.g., EDM or metal). Read the last section for more info. DURABILITY: I have a few siblings who are clumsy and have made these speakers fall a few times, yet they still look and perform good as new. No sound, power or cable issues. Take care of them, and they'll take care of you. LOOK: This is a bit more subjective. I personally am a fan of things that take up less space so I don't have to worry about making room for them. From that end, this system likely beats all others in that category. They are TINY! If you are looking to add some speakers that will complement your $1000 desk made from locally-sourced wood and your $2000 Herman Miller Aeron, I doubt you were ever considering these in the first place. VALUE: I bought these, with tax, for $42. They cost a bit more now at $52 (~$55 w/ tax) as I write this, but I would still recommend them conditionally. They do have a lot of potential, especially in the subwoofer. Just needs to be brought out. SOLVING ITS CONS (the fun stuff): For my fellow audiophiles and anyone who knows how to use an equalizer (or just copy settings) this part is for you. Attached in the photos is a visual spectrum of the frequencies this system puts out. The first photo is with my tuning, the second is without. Parametric equalizers work great, but a graphic equalizer (more popular with many equalizer applications and easier to understand) will work fine. You can still copy my settings into whatever program you use and it should work well enough. I have tested a few genres including progressive metal, EDM, classical, pop, and rock. The frequency response graphs posted is of Echoes in Eternity by Notaker. FLAC audio file, the way music was meant to be heard - lossless. When comparing the frequency responses side-by-side, the 130Hz peak is mitigated (to the extent it can); the 300Hz slight peak is neutralized; the lower bass is pronounced to give the system fuller sound (due to bass enhancement); and the upper treble is boosted to give some much-needed air to the sound. These are my settings — copy them as you see fit. One more thing... the program I use is called Easy Effects, only available on Linux. If you have an Android, Wavelet is quite good though Poweramp has a parametric equalizer. If you're still rocking Windows and are at all tech savvy, what on Earth are you still using that trash heap for? If you need Windows, just dual boot with it and some form of Linux. I'm on Debian and have loved it for years. Hope this helps! Cheers. Also, for those curious, I have since removed the "Crossfeed" effect. I didn't know what it did and when I looked into it I felt like a fool lol (it's for headphones and actively neuters stereo separation intentionally)

I researched before buying so I shouldn't be surprised... but I am. Fabulous sound, especially for the price. Nice, compact, and full/bright sound. Great value. A+++

Easy set up, clear sound, no fuss, just works. Cable length between the left & right speakers could be a little longer, but I am using across 2 monitors. This hit the right spot between cost, sound, 2.1 speakers and a known brand. I'm using with a Mac mini and port expansion base. Connects via audio jack and USB cable (for power) so does not require a separate power cable/plug.

Hätte nicht gedacht, dass so kleine Boxen und der kompakte Subwoofer so einen guten Sound erzeugen. Richtig platziert (z.B. auf/in Holzregalen) kann die Resonanz nochmal verstärkt werden. Ich habe für sehr wenig Geld dank ein Mini-Sound-Studio am PC eingerichtet, das für mein Hobby mehr als ausreichen ist. Abbey Road Studio ist das natürlich keines ;)

Nice little unit. Great sound. Easy to set up.

Tal cual, buen sonido i buen valor.

They are so good and perfect for pc setups usage , the sound is too clear and loud the bass box adds a very beautiful touch to the sound distribution and the experience , I wouldn’t suggest another brand i guess, there are newer bluetooth models this model works with aux , the only thing u should be careful for is when u clean it don’t touch the golden circles directly it will cause some problems(it will disappear in a while) but for safety just don’t hurt them anyhow