What speakers do people use for Mac mini?

[ladodger5]

I'm currently using Mackie CR5BT but looking to upgrade to Kanto YU6.

 

[macdragonfl]

Denon HEOS HS2 soundbar and wireless sub connected through HDMI arc.

 

[Micky Do]

I'm still using the 2x 5 watt Sterno speakers I bought over 14 years ago, when I bought my first Mac Mini, the 2005 original.

 

[Sustainerplayer]

Those Equator D8 mkII's are nice looking speakers. I used to run a similar setup, until one of the amps blew. I take it your Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is low? Some of the cheaper active speakers come with 10%THD, which sounds like a 1980's car stereo cranked up all the way. I got frustrated not finding distortion numbers for enclosed amplifiers, so went with old style speakers and an old 0.01% THD amplifier. One of these days it'll blow an electrolytic capacitor, and I'll have to buy a nice new Amp on a chip.

Yes THD is very low. I use them in my music studio:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/post-your-mac-mini-setups.2157018/page-11#post-27057968

Strangely Equator took down their homepage some time ago and they don't seem to have an internet presence any longer. But they are still sold through sites like Thomann. I also got mine there.

I'll try and see if I can find the manual. The exact THD specs should be in there.

 

[Neodym]

Harman Kardon SoundSticks USB (1st gen., i.e. w/o Volume controls on one stick - looks cleaner 😉 ).

 

[Arcade]

I remember seeing the SoundSticks in 2002 and I thought they looked really nice. Last year when I decided to get myself a Mac I was surprised that HK still made them. Long story short I'm receiving mine tomorrow 🙂

 

[littlepud]

Last year I picked up a 2.0 set of Bose Companion 20 for 40% off on Black Friday. I have them hooked up to the audio-out of my monitor.

 

[EdwardC]

Klipsch R15PM with a R10SW sub. Nice sound for the cost of 2 home pods.

 

[mathemabeat]

I use an Aokeo external USB audio interface and a pair of JBL LSR305 studio monitors.

Dynamite setup for content creation.

 

[burgman]

I use my Mini as a computer not a media center so I use a set of AmazonBasic powered speakers plugged into my monitor. Sound is not bad for casual music and podcasts. If I want to rattle the walls I use Audirvana with Qobuz to my media room.

 

[MacWorld78]

I use Bose companion 50 multimedia speaker system. They are fantastic for me - connected via USB.

 

[tibas92013]

I use the excellent Bose Companion 5 Speaker System connected via the USB.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I use 2 sets of speakers with my Mini. Bluetooth mono speaker for podcast and a pair of old school 15 year old Sonigistix Monsoon MH-500 paired with an Audioengine D1 DAC for the ultimate HIFI experience.

 

[LiE_]

Kanto YU2 on the Kanto S2 stands.

 

[Partron22]

lifeisepic, you can do worse than those Bose headphones.
I hear some Beats models have active Noise cancellation now.
Review verdict on those was "not as good", but there's some argument over who makes the best nowadays.
Beware the cushions on the Bose models. Mine split along the inner seem the very day my warrantee expired.
I think the two sides are thermally fused. Bose sent me a new pair free. Nice, as the other side gave out about a week later. I'm painting the seam with liquid latex, and hoping it relieves strain. Using "Tear Mender" by Val "The Bish" Ciismoski. Weird stuff, but it dries clear, so the black shows through. Also useful for painting spots where the cushion surface delaminates. It's basically invisible, and has lasted me months so far, with no sign of wear. Look for it among glues in a decent hardware store. Amazon's got it too.

 

[gigatoaster]

I also use a Teac AI-503 with KEF R300. It is connected via USB and I use Roon for the music, which I really like:

Hello there

I use the Mac mini as a media center to play music with Roon (DSD128 upsampling) & Torrent. I bought also an Apple TV 4K with Infuse Pro to play 4K UHD HDR movies.

Here are the components:

Panasonic OLED TV Panasonic TH-55FZ950S
Speakers KEF R300
Integrated Amp/DAC Teac AI-503
Mac Mini 2018 i5/8GB/512GB + 2TB Seagate HDD
Apple TV 4K with Infuse Pro

I need to clean the cable mess and I might buy a Synology NAS 718+ next month.


View attachment 806551

 

[MarkosXT]

I use Klipsch Promedia 2.1 (the regular ones without the THX logo) and they sound great, nice tight bass. Used them for 6 months so far, no complaints.

 

[MCKLMT]

I use the Jabra 410 speakerphone, far superior hands free sound quality. Available on Amazon.

https://www.jabra.com/business/speakerphones/jabra-speak-series/jabra-speak-410#/#7410-109

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jabra+410&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Can you confirm that the buttons are working on macOS?

Thanks

 

[Meatsuit]

For a long time Sound Sticks and Sonos for really loud.

 

[weaztek]

Using Logitech Z623 2.1 THX, plugged into the headphone jack.

Great sound, and plenty of volume and bass when needed.

+1 for the Logitech Z623 2.1 THX speakers! They often get down to $100 US and it's an unbelievable system for that price. Literally one of the best values in electronics IMO.

 

[MiamiC70]

B&W MM1’s

 

[IngerMan]

I had the first version on a iMac 2007 and replaced them with the next version on my 2018 mini

Bose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers - for PC (with 3.5mm AUX & PC Input) Black

Do you love playing music, games and videos on your computer? Wait until you try it with the Bose Companion 2 Series III multimedia speaker system. You'll enjoy performance that's significantly better than, your original speakers, and it's the most affordable computer speaker system from Bose. Yo...

www.amazon.com

 

[MiamiC70]

No highs. No lows must be Bose or is thar BLOWS!

 

[Coolkiwi]

I just use USB speakers so the DAC is outside the Mini. There are a lot of good USB speakers out there, but I'm using Bowers and Wilkins.

Clearly you have taste AND money! 😉

 

[gmnygts]

Klipsch Focal XS 2.1 via USB. I think it beats the ProMedia.