10 Best Powered Speakers in 2024 Review - Music Critic (2024)

Powered Speakers Buyer's Guide

From reading our reviews, you can probably tell there are a few different types of powered speakers better suited to specific tasks than others. You may also notice some products are incredibly similar. It can be hard to differentiate between speakers and choose the right one for you.

Or, you may be completely new to the speaker scene, and you might be pulling your hair out trying to work out which speaker features you need. From powered stereo speakers to passive speakers, you might have no idea which one is best for your space. Jargon such as "dual-angle design", "built-in amplifiers" and "silk dome tweeter" might look like an entirely different language to you.

So to help discern the differences between all the speakers on the market and find the right speakers for you, here's our handy guide. We'll answer some of your frequently asked questions, translate all the confusing jargon, and ultimately give you the low down on powered speakers.

What to Look For in Powered Speakers

When shopping for powered speakers, there's plenty to consider. Before you press the purchase button, you might want to think about what you're going to use your sound system for. Do you need a pair of great powered speakers for home parties, or are you looking for the best sound quality for a professional setting? Keep in mind most new models have a diverse range of uses with a range of speaker features.

When it comes to speakers, we usually crave better volume than a personal audio device (such as headphones) gives us, so we need to consider a good output level that ideally doesn't guzzle power and doesn't distort at loud levels.

Things that contribute to this are endless: good reflex enclosures, quality components, dampening measures, cooling measures, modern circuitry, low impedance, quality cables, and sufficient space to reverberate, to highlight but a few.

You need to consider how much space you have for your speaker system and find a set with a suitable footprint. The last thing you need is a huge speaker system dominating a tiny space when you can get a much smaller option for half the price that will still sound amazing.

In essence, what you really need from your speakers is a good mix of drivers to cover highs, mids, and lows. A good frequency range is essential to achieve the best sound. The wider the frequency range, the more capable it will be.

What are Powered Speakers?

Put in the simplest of terms, a speaker is a device which produces audio to listen to. Powered speakers are active speakers that have their own power source.

In this modern era, a number of speakers are built-in or bus-powered, but to play audio at higher volume and maintain great quality, you're going to need a top powered speaker.

All speakers function in a similar manner, but their designs vary from product to product. In essence, the humble speaker has not changed very much in its lifetime. The most commonly used and best active speaker design is the dynamic speaker, which was invented in the early '50s.

How Speakers Work

A speaker is a form of transducer. Technically speaking, it converts the electromagnetic waves it receives into sound-waves. Speakers are comprised of a stiff cone (driven by a voice coil attached to it), which is sat inside of a magnetic field. When a current is introduced, the coil pushes and pulls the cone in a piston-like fashion and this is what creates the waves.

In order to accurately reproduce output audio authentic to the input, speaker systems will usually comprise of multiple kinds of drivers - those for high pressures and those for lower pressures, and those better suited to higher or low frequencies. These components are typically all housed in a tuned box called an enclosure. The enclosure size, design and the materials used to construct it all dramatically affect the performance of the drivers.

Speaker enclosures have to successfully separate the sound waves projected forwards from those at the rear. Otherwise, the two cancel one another or they will be out of phase. This causes a bad bass response. So, for producing and coping with low-end sounds, most speaker enclosures popularly have a bass reflex design over a closed box design.

Bass reflex enclosures are sometimes referred to as ported or vented boxes or sometimes even reflex ports. They feature a hole, where a section of tubing or pipe is threaded through to draw in fresh air sort of like a pipe organ. If they are built with accurate volume calculations they can be louder than a sealed enclosure.

The equation used to calculate the optimal size for the speaker is based on the Thiele/Small parameters and also takes into account Hoffman's Iron Law. Together they consider the size of the diaphragm of the driver, the weight of the parts, compliance of the driver's suspension, its mechanical resistance, voice inductance, and the volume of air, to mention just a few of the parameters that need consideration.

Uses of Powered Speakers

The list of powered speaker uses is pretty much endless, but let's cover a few of the more typical ones.

Small powered speakers are commonly used as an output device for PC systems. The majority of modern speaker systems can be connected to other, if not multiple, sources simultaneously. Some speaker systems connect directly to your television set for improved TV sound. Sometimes they are called "monitor speakers" or "bookshelf speakers." The best bookshelf speakers on the market offer multimedia input/output options.

Many speakers support wireless connectivity or connecting via a USB, so you can effortlessly hook up your music production laptop, tablet, or mobile phone for digital audio.

DJs and karaoke hosts will use powered speakers (public address systems). Bands will also use powered speakers for live performances, though they typically require something with far higher power and output levels than those we have reviewed here. For DJ use, you will need powered speakers with RCA inputs.

Conclusion

The most important thing to think about is whether you need a speaker for home requirements or entertaining outside of your home. If you intend to perform, you'll want a public address system, a PA speaker, or a stage monitor.

For listening at home, you'll probably get away with a decent set of bookshelf speakers.

If you are shopping primarily for your PC, look for monitor speakers. There are plenty of products available at an affordable price, which pretty much guarantees any new speakers will be better than your old stock versions.

If you plan to entertain in the home and need something a bit louder, you might want something a little more high-power with a readily available volume reserve. This will ensure better, high-resolution audio.

For home cinema surround sound setups, make sure you choose a speaker set with plenty of I/O options. This way, you can combine them how you like. If you're never without your phone or tablet and are sick of turning up a low-quality viral video only to suffer through further distortion, or you're simply looking to boost your volume level capabilities for sharing with friends, look for a set with Bluetooth and other modern connections. These will be the best speakers for you.

Once you know what you're looking for, buying powered speakers doesn't have to be a headache. Whatever your needs, the range of top-rated powered speakers we have reviewed today will help you find a fantastic deal.

Expert Tip

If you're looking for speakers capable of dealing with sub-bass frequencies, you may find our The 10 best subwoofers for cars article buyer's guide of interest.

Did You Know?

The first speakers were created for telephone calls. Thomas Edison was the first to try moving the air to create sound and many followed, but they had an inability to produce clear audio at low volume. The technology was quickly refocused toward producing public address systems instead.

If you've enjoyed this review by Music Critic, please leave a positive rating: