Yamaha NX-B55 Premium Computer Speakers with Bluetooth,Black

Great sounding compact speakers for PC. They do have the (mandated) power saving standby mode, BUT there's a toggle switch on the back that allows you to turn it off! Also the standby is relatively quick to turn back on relative to other speakers I've tried. I got the bluetooth version, but it also has the standard 3.5mm stereo input jack as well. I wish there was a bass and treble knob to adjust because the speakers are definitely tuned for music. So a bit bass-heavy for listening to people talk on youtube/podcasts. I ended up downloading a free EQ app that works fine, so no big deal, but knobs would be better. Maybe a bit pricey, but I was so upset after trying the Creative Labs Gigaworks T20 that I just wanted something I knew I would like. These cost more, but produce better sound in a smaller footprint, and manage the standby mode so much better.

I use an 8-year old Dell Latitude laptop for music in the kitchen while cooking / eating, and for general listening around the house. Just the standard audio card and drivers, nothing extra or upmarket. And these speakers sound great with it! Nice full sound and crisp highs. Don’t need to turn it up much to get good volume, so haven’t run into the situation the other reviewers mention about distortion at loud levels. One caveat... certain bass tones can be over-emphasized, I suppose due to a combination of the speakers’ loudness boost, the bass port, and just their small size. So things like announcers / people with deep voices talking / some low instruments, can sound “box-y” depending on how they were originally recorded. Very easily fixed with an equalizer, though. I use the Equalizer APO and its related Peace UI front end (found on SourceForge.net) to lower a certain range in the bass, and the sound smooths out very well. All in all an enjoyable low budget setup. UPDATE 7/19/2021 - This review is for the Yamaha NX-50 wired speakers. For some reason it also shows up in the listing for the Yamaha NX-B55 wireless Bluetooth speakers. They may or may not be the same as far as sound quality goes, I have no way of knowing. But it is interesting that, at least as of today, the listing for the NX-50 speakers no longer has Amazon as a seller. The Yamaha website still has info on the NX-50's so maybe it is a (temporary?) supply problem. Anyway, the wired version continues to sound good.

I bought these and the Bose Companion 2 Series III Speakers. I have had the same Sony SRS-D21 2.1 Speaker system for almost 5 years now, and I was quite content with that. I never realized how much in music I was missing out when I had those. I first received the Companion III Speakers in the mail, and tested them for about 5 days before these NX-50s arrived. What I liked about the Bose: 1. Does not distort even at max volume for any type of music 2. No feedback noise when volume dial is turned to the max and you are not listening to music 3. No "Sharp" or "High" sounding when listening to songs that can bother some people 4. Very balanced sound with slight bass emphasis 5. The small indent on the volume knob is easily felt in the dark to know where you turned your dial to. I like this because I like keeping this symmetric. 6. The volume knob also turns very solidly, and has a satisfying feel to it. What I disliked about the Bose: 1. Sounds a little more muffled or "flat" when compared to the NX-50s. The Bose sounds very dull and has no liveliness to it (Keep in mind this is my opinion AFTER listening to the NX-50s. Before, I thought the Bose were great). 2. I was not expecting the speakers to be able to hit deep lows when listening to bass heavy songs (If you want to get that earthshaking bass, get a 2.1 speaker system or install a 8" or bigger sub woofer in your car). However, the bass is really thumpy and sounds unnatural to the song in most hiphop songs. For things likes Jazz and Blues, it was great. Now for the Yamaha NX-50s! What I like about the NX-50s: 1. Amazing, "colorful" and lively sounding. Expecially when playing things like jazz, classical, or any songs that don't have ridiculously low bass notes. 2. Much louder and voices are MUCH crisper. 3. Things like snaps, bells, and chimes all sound as if they are really in the room with you. 4. Small white LED indicator light to let you know its on. What I disliked about the NX-50s: 1. Feedback noise at max volume is really annoying. So keep your volume at around 70% or lower and adjust your master volume on your computer to your looking. 2. Distorts at higher volumes for most songs I listened to. 3. Volume dial feels like it is much poorer quality compared to the Bose dial. 4. Bass rattles when it the notes are super low, and can make the voices in the songs feel like they are vibrating. Play some hip hop / rap and you will know what I mean. CONCLUSION: While both speakers are great, they both have their pros and cons. If you really don't want to spend well over $100 for desktop speakers, go for the Bose. Just know you are sacrificing some sound quality in my opinion. The Bose are noticeably more flat sounding than the Yamaha's. However, if you don't listen to them side by side, I'm sure it won't matter to you. The Yamaha Speakers sound amazing, but for more money. If you really enjoy listening to all the detail in a song, I would recommend going for the NX-50s. They are much louder, crisper, and more "surround sound" like. Just remember the pros and cons I found for both. Good luck choosing!

EDIT: 7/18/19 OK. So now I got the new motherboard and the first thing I can say right off the bat is 'OMG is this sound really coming from my speaker?" I can hear the every tiny chime detail of my favorite Jazz music, Bass is punchy and middle/high is absolutely mind blowing. I thought this speaker sounds great, but now after changing DSP, this speaker can produce truly mind-blowing sound. Cannot recommend enough. ORIGINAL REVIEW: So, when I purchased new computer, I just purchased cheap amazon basic speaker, thinking "well, speaker is speaker, it can't be that bad right?" I was dead wrong. I tried maybe 4 different computer speakers. I have limited space so anything fancy like subwooper was out of the question. I just needed good sound, 2 speaker set that is easy to set and has a 'good enough' sound. Logitech, amazon, and some other brand I don't even remember all failed. This, however, was different. Sure, I spent $70 for both set instead of $20-30 which I originally planned, but boy didn't I glad when I first heard the music coming out from this speaker set. It was like heaven opened its gate and send musical angels straight to my ear canal. This set has actually very near identical sound as my favorite earphone of all, Sony MDRV6. If you are the owner of this headphone, you will understand how AWESOME this set sounds. I obviously haven't tried any BOSE or expensive over $100 set, but I can't imagine this one gets behind any of those over $100 sets.

Update: I've updated my review of these to 5 stars. I've had these for two years now and I feel like they just keep getting better. They are very loud for use at my desk and demonstrate a great range of frequencies for their size. I value my desk and floor space, and I wouldn't trade these for anything. Old: I bought these in an effort to downsize from my Logitech Z-5500. I knew that anything smaller would be a compromise, and all of the reviews here that compared these Yamaha NX-50's to the Bose Companion II were extremely helpful. These sound great at low to moderate listening levels, but they really distort when you crank the volume. This works perfect for me, I use prefer to use headphones for gaming and just wanted small speakers for music when I'm working during the day. I've heard the Bose Companion speakers in person years ago, and while they sound nice, I can hear the "Bose Magic." They emphasize specific frequencies that we tend to associate with quality sound, but the rest is left behind. These Yamaha NX-50s sound much more level, they do emphasize a little bass, especially for kicks, but it's not boomy. They sound full at low and moderate levels, and this is likely why they break up at higher volumes, they don't have the cabinet space or extension to reproduce everything with the volume turned up. TL;DR: Buy these if you don't need or want to turn the volume up, you won't be disappointed.

I am so grateful other reviewers on Amazon who left great reviews for these speakers. I was considering the Bose Companion II series, since I live in an upstairs apartment as I did not want a subwoofer. Another reviewer (Ark L.) compared these Yamaha speakers with the Bose Companion II, and recommended these in lieu. I own a Bose Soundlink II, which led me to consider the Bose Companion IIs in the first place. Formerly, I had a much smaller space and used the Bose whenever I was on the computer in my apartment or on the road (which is for hours and HOURS every day). I thought the Bose was the last word in audio, but had noticed that my old Logitech computer speakers (at my 'regular' house, where I can blast the music even with the subwoofer) had such great sound quality and thought that I'd try something new now that office space is not an issue. I am so very grateful that I did ... I switched back and forth from the Bose Soundlink II to these speakers a few time to make sure I was not imagining things, but the sound on these Yamaha speakers is crisp, clear, and fully nuanced. Mids and treble are perfect, plus I can still hear plenty of bass, despite the lack of a subwoofer. I haven't cranked the volume yet and probably won't as I'm in an apartment, but I strongly recommend this set if you want great audio - even at low volumes. They even look pretty sharp! Thanks, @Ark L., for the recommendation!

Full, loud, rich, but distorted and noisy. I tried these back to back vs. the Bose Companion 2 and they both had faults that made me want to switch back and forth. These Yamahas were way louder and fuller at every volume. But ultimately, the distorted, static-y sound from these drove me nuts, and I had to return them. Note that I don't listen to them at very loud volume, it was noticeable to me at all volumes. What I mean by the Yamaha being "fuller" than the Bose is that I felt like I could hear everything in a punchy, full, soundwall from the Yamaha (including the noise). I think Bose might suppress some frequencies in order to enhance its clean, clear sound. But if I'm not listening to them back-to-back, the Bose sound nice (if not very loud). When you listen to these (the Yamaha) by themselves, they sound old-school distorted. It's like they were trying to design these for maximum punch at the price of clarity...that's certainly what they accomplished. I'd rather have it be quiet, even with a bit of a tweaked response curve, (like the Bose) than have noticeable noise (like the Yamaha). I give two stars because I actually couldn't stand it.

I have been looking forward to this set of speakers because I need more bass and I don't really want to spend $250 on computer speaker. Well, yes, there is the additional bass I was looking for. The sound is more present and have better clarity and reproduced the musical instruments with higher fidelity. The mid-range is a bit more pronounced but is still acceptable and the prominence is quite nice for vocal tracks. It's like all the musical elements are in the same room as you. Then, what's wrong? Simply put, the overall imaging is quite weird. In fact, very weird. It is as if a cheap virtual surround effect was activated. The sound stage was made unnaturally wide, the vocal is very frontal but kind of floating in your head. It is very difficult to describe. Quite tiresome to listen for any length of time. I tried different cables, tried with standalone digital audio players besides my computer, the weirdness is always there. Also tried to play with my computer's various audio enhancements with no acceptable outcome. Set the volume to the recommended 2 o'clock position has no effect. Moving much further away, say, 10 feet, from the speakers helped a little, but as it is intended as speakers for my computer it will always stay close to my ears. Another way of describing the sound is as if some frequency bands are subdued. The sound is thin despite the additional bass. It can be said to be less musical. I know it is a computer speaker, I will accept all of these if the sound imaging is not so strange because it makes listening to any music tracks very intolerable. Then again, I don't know if mine is defective or improperly tuned or if it just affects me but not other people. However, all my family members prefer my old speaker to this one. I returned it. Researching instead for a sub-woofer now.