Powered speakers have the amplifier built in, which makes them the simplest way to get proper stereo sound in a small room. The choices that matter are inputs, size and where you put them.
A traditional stereo means a receiver plus passive speakers and cables between them. Powered (active) speakers fold the amplifier into one of the speakers, so there’s nothing else to buy or place. In a bedroom, office or apartment living room, a good pair of bookshelf-size powered speakers is enough, and it’s a big step up from any single Bluetooth speaker because you get real stereo separation.
Check the inputs first
PHONO input: accepts a turntable that has no built-in preamp. Useful if you might upgrade the turntable later.
Line / AUX (RCA) input: accepts a turntable with its built-in preamp switched on, a CD player or a streamer.
Bluetooth, optical, USB: handy for phones, TVs and computers, which means the same speakers cover streaming too.
Subwoofer output: lets you add bass later without replacing the speakers.
If the turntable and speakers both have a preamp, use only one of them. Not sure what you have? Use the setup checker.
Size, bass and the music
Funk, disco and 80s R&B lean on bass lines, and small speakers roll off the lowest notes. A 4-inch bass driver, typical of bookshelf powered speakers, reproduces bass guitar convincingly at normal room volume but won’t shake a large room. In a small space that’s usually fine, and a subwoofer output gives you somewhere to go later.
Placement matters as much as the model
Put the speakers roughly as far apart as you sit from them, forming a triangle.
Keep them a few inches from the wall. Right against it, bass gets boomy; in a corner, more so.
Raise them to around ear height, with stands or books, when you can.
Keep them off the turntable’s surface if you can, to avoid vibration feeding back into the stylus.
Anyone with a turntable that has a built-in preamp, who also wants to use the speakers for TV or phone audio.
Why it fits
4-inch bass drivers and silk-dome tweeters in wooden cabinets, RCA line inputs, Bluetooth 5.0, optical and coaxial inputs, a remote and a subwoofer output. Bass and treble knobs let you tame a boomy room.
Limitations
No phono input. Rated at 42 W RMS total, so it suits small to medium rooms rather than parties.
Listening at a desk or in a very small room, from a computer, phone or a turntable with a built-in preamp.
Why it fits
Compact wooden cabinets designed for near-field listening, with RCA, 3.5 mm and USB-C inputs (the USB input uses a built-in DAC), Bluetooth with aptX HD, and a three-year warranty.
Limitations
Small drivers, so bass is modest in anything but a small space. No phono input. The Amazon listing currently offers this newer GEN3 version of the A2+.
A new pair of speakers is a good excuse to revisit records with strong bass and wide arrangements. Try the horn sections and strings of Philly soul, the bass lines on our 70s funk starter list, or the layered vocals on What’s Going On.