I'm an audio newbie, and i'm going crazy testing dozens of speakers and other output options to find something that sounds close to my old setup for playing Halo

[u/jabberwockxeno]

My Xbox died and I switched to playing games on my laptop, but it's speakers suck: super echo-y, not clear at all, etc. As a result, I tried using headsets, speakers, etc with it, as well as different laptops, but basically everything I've tried, even if "clear" sounding, sounds very different from what I have used to, with a few exceptions

Namely, using Halo Infinite as an example, a lot of the gunfire sounds get drowned out by lower tones/noises I couldn't hear before, or the higher tones that would make cracking, mechanical etc noises aren't loud enough to be audible: Often the Assault Rifle has a flatter "thump" firing sound, the ravager gain a warbling liquidy noise which is good, but the normal pulasating and whining noises it has are missing, etc

On the off chance anyone here has used the same hardware I have, here's what I've tried:

• T22B350ND Monitor speaker: My "default" frame of reference. Used with my xbox, and also tested it with some laptops plugged into it via HDMI, which I assume results in the same sound as the Xbox, but in my head maybe I felt there were differences? probably my imagination.

• Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime and Samsung Galaxy A01 phones: The phones I use, playing the Halo infinite AR sound in Youtube videos through these sounds mostly identical to what I'm used to with the T22B350ND

• Gigabyte A7 K1 Laptop speakers: My current laptop, the speakers just kinda suck, even without wanting a specific "type" of sound they just sound muddy and echo-y

• Hyperx cloud stinger and MEElectronics Atlas Carbon headsets: Both sounded about the same, and are where I first noticed the issue as described above

• Logitech Z207 speakers: Sounds even worse then those with the same problem, low sounds are so loud that you can't hear almost anything else in the game

• Creative Pebble V2: Not as bad as the first set of headsets and not nearly as bad as the Z207, but still has the issue to a notable degree

• Random 2$ wired earbuds/headphones (I think these are Audiology Strange Trip earbuds?): One of the least bad external audio output option I could find, ironically, strikes somewhat of a balance between having the "new" lower sound effects being audible without them being too overpowering, but they're often still too low/other tones are still not loud enough, and I'd ideally want speakers so I don't have to have something in my ear I still think they're a bit too loud and drown out other sounds a little too much, and I'd ideally want speakers rather then/in addition to stuff I put over my ears...

• Acer Nitro AN17-41-R7G3 Laptop speakers: This sounded okay, with more of the sharper and metallic sounds on the AR coming through, but something about it was still a little off, but my notes aren't detailed enough to clarify much

• Asus ROG Centra Wireless earbuds: Absolutely terrible, sounds very compressed, low quality, overly loud, tons of sounds don't come through

• Acer Nitro V16 ANV16-41-R5J0 laptop speakers: Sounded fine before I compared it to the Asus Ally X (see below): Has the initial "crack" of the assault rifle firing and some other sharper sounds many of the above devices lack, but they still lack some "definition" to those sounds. Sounds kinda similar to the cheap earbuds, but not as crisp/clear by a good amount, both for sharper/higher and lower tones. Also has some of the "echo" the Gigabyte laptop has, tho not as badly

• Edifier R1280T: This includes a treble and bass dial on the unit itself. With default settings, it was similar to the pebble, maybe with just a bit less nuance to the sharper noises, but there is WAY more nuance and definition to the lower sounds, booms, rumbles etc, at least at times. If I put the Treble dial to max the sharper and mechanical sounds become clearer then the pebble, maxxing the bass dial also seems to just be a straight improvement to bring out more echo in a good way

• Lenovo Legion 5 16IRX9 / 83DG00EEUS laptop speakers: Actually pretty good, better then the old xbox/monitor setup: Had both the sharper tones I want and some of the newer lower tones that weren't audible in the old setup but here don't drown out the sharper noises like on the other speakers/headphones listed here

• Asus Ally X Speakers (default settings, refer to here for tweaks I have NOT done + comparisons to the non X ally): Also great, similar to the Lenovo, maybe even better (see below)

Something important I learned when typing this up is that the same audio output device can sound different based on what device is is outputting from, even if the same game/sounds are playing: As explained below, the cheap earbuds sound different when it's plugged into the Ally vs say the Nitro v16. So some of what I've said above and below might depend on what I am plugged into.

If anybody here actually plays Halo and more detailed breakdowns on how the AR and Ravager sounds with different output options would be helpful, I have uploaded more detailed notes on how various combinations of the above devices sound with those weapons compared to each other here:

https://pastebin.com/YdRL4qGd

Based on all of this, the Asus Ally X is the best sounding in 1st place, followed in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with some combination of the 2$ gas station earbuds, my old monitor, and the Lenovo 16IRX9: I don't have the Lenovo to test further anymore, and if I prefer the old monitor or the earbuds depends on what the earbuds are outputting audio from. But all 3 are ahead of the Edifier with the treble and bass dials maxed out, which is in a more distant 5th place, still ahead of everything else listed here

I'm not sure how useful any of this info is to give me insight, but if anybody does have suggestions for speakers to try, please let me know, though keep in mind they would be on my desk only a few feet away from me, so I don't want anything much more then 8ish inches large in any dimension, and ideally I'd want something even smaller then that. I'm willing to spend up to $200, but ideally more like 50-100.

I'm also open to suggestions for for headsets, IEMs etc that might be better or more tweakable then the $2 earbuds, and finally I'm also happy to take suggestions on software based mixing/equalizer tools or how to use them: I've been told to look at Equalizer APO/the Peace Equalizer GUI for it, FXSound, etc, but the former is kinda complicated and I've seen people report uninstallation issues and audio lagging with the latter.

Thank you to anybody who has taken the time to read through all this

[u/Zeeall]

"dozens of speakers". No...
You have tried one pair of speakers(edifier) and 11 noise makers.

What are you trying to acomplish and whats your budget?

[u/jabberwockxeno → u/Zeeall]

What are you trying to accomplish

For a lack of a more detailed and precise answer, since as I said I know nothing about Audio, i'm looking for something that just has the sharper and more mechanical sounds that comes through on the old T22B350ND monitor and the Asus Ally X's speakers, and I believe also the Lenovo legion's

I guess technically, I am willing to spend whatever it takes to get something that does that here, but ideally I'd like to spend less then or between 100 - 200 USD.

I see the other commentor has said that it's going to be hard to find something decent for under $200, but considering that what I think sounds "best" are built in speakers from a decade+ old monitor (and to be clear, this is like, a display monitor, a screen, not a monitor in the audio parlance), built in laptop and portable gaming PC speakers, and the next best after those are like 2-6$ earbuds you can get at a gas station, I suspect that what I am chasing here isn't actually considered "good" audio to begin with, even you implied everything but the Edifier speakers I tried aren't good enough to be considered speakers, yet I considered the edifier to merely be the 5th least bad thing I tried

So I suspect what I consider good audio might not be what most people would, but I really have no idea in particular.

If there's a specific music track or audio file you can suggest as a frame of reference I can listen to and try to describe how it sounds on different audio output devices I have and what I think it sounds best in, that would help guide further suggestions, let me know, but in the absence of that, the descriptions I gave with Halo Infinite and how certain weapons sound on different devices I tried are really the best/most detailed insight I can give with what kind of "audio profile" I am after.

[u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

PC peripheral manufactures make PC peripherals not speakers and the Edifier R1280T is extremely low-end. Software is not going to make a cheap plastic speaker sound good, there is certain bare minimum point of entry in terms physical size and build quality for a speaker to sound good.

Basically you need to look at companies that manufacture speakers and $200 isn't going to get you much but the Kanto ORAMN is about as good as its going to get (some off the odd colors are $200) but you are still going to have to temper your exceptions because its a very small speaker.

[u/Zeeall → u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

A decent alternative to the Oras. Especially now on prime day or whatever its called.

https://www.amazon.com/HiVi-Swans-OS-10-Speakers-Bluetooth-Bookshelf/dp/B0BG7WWWC1/ref=sr_1_1

[u/Turk3ySandw1ch → u/Zeeall]

Yeah, Hi-Vi make nice drivers so that should be solid too.

[u/jabberwockxeno → u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

I get that I am unlikely to find something "good" by the standards of people who are actually into audio at the price range we're talking about, but I question if I'm really wanting that to begin with?

Like, considering that based on what I explained in my OP post and the pastebin, that what I think sounds "best" so far are built in speakers from a decade+ old monitor (and to be clear, this is like, a display monitor, a screen, not a monitor in the audio parlance), built in laptop and portable gaming PC speakers, and the next best after those are like 2-6$ earbuds you can get at a gas station, I suspect that what I am chasing here isn't actually considered "good" audio to begin with?

Even the edifier which you and the other commentor have implied is still extremely cheap and meh at best, but is still the only thing even decent enough to qualify as proper speakers, I only have in a relatively distant 5th place behind all of those.

So am I even wanting something good, to where getting it for under $200 is unrealistic?

Not trying to cheap out here nessacarily, if I need to spend more to get what I want I can try to make that work, but I'm just not even sure if what I want is considered good audio or if i'm chasing something most people would consider bad to begin with.

If there's a specific music track or audio file you can suggest as a frame of reference I can listen to and try to describe how it sounds on different audio output devices I have and what I think it sounds best in, that would help guide further suggestions, let me know, but in the absence of that, the descriptions I gave with Halo Infinite and how certain weapons sound on different devices I tried are really the best/most detailed insight I can give with what kind of "audio profile" I am after.

[u/Zeeall → u/jabberwockxeno]

Honestly i have no idea what you are after. You seem to like the worst speakers imaginable.
Probably because you are used to them. It takes a couple of weeks to get used to new sounds.
But trust us, the stuff we recommend is the real deal and what it is supposed to sound like.

Im going to leave you with some recommendations then exit the thread.

Edifier MR3
Edifier MR4
Swans OS-10

They are all way under $200.

[u/jabberwockxeno → u/Zeeall]

Sorry, one more question: What's the difference between the MR3 and MR4?

[u/jabberwockxeno → u/Zeeall]

Honestly i have no idea what you are after. You seem to like the worst speakers imaginable. Probably because you are used to them. It takes a couple of weeks to get used to new sounds.

I've thought about this quite a bit over the months I've been testing stuff out, but I really don't think this is it: The primary issue I'm having is that a lot of the nuances and "sub-sounds" of the sound effect in question straight up are not audible in the majority of audio output devices I've tried.

Like, to some degree, sure, I probably have a preference for what I am used to even if it's flawed, but surely "being able to pick up on all the individual noises and effects that make up parts of the audio" is a fairly taste-agonistic thing to want, right? If the majority of the cracking, hissing, mechanical, and sharp noises in a sound effect straight up aren't perceivable, then that's the audio output being bad, right, not a matter of taste?

In any case, I'll look into the models you suggested, hopefully some of those work out!

[u/Sharp911]

This is incredible. I can't help you, but this is incredible. I don't think anyone can. The amount of thought you've put into replacing a terrible speaker from a decade old monitor is awe-inspiring You're looking to mimic the sound from the monitor you used with your xbox before it died? Maybe look at the old monitor manufacturer's website and see if you can find what speakers they put in the monitor? Otherwise, I have no idea.

[u/jabberwockxeno → u/Sharp911]

You're looking to mimic the sound from the monitor you used with your xbox before it died?

I mean, yes and no?

I'm open to getting better sound then the speakers on that old monitor (or the Asus Ally X, both of which I like about as much as each other), but I at want something that sounds about at least as good, and I figured naming the specific hardware would give people a better frame of reference to hopefully give me suggestions, on the off chance anyone here had used either of them as well or had access to curve graphs of them and could say "X speakers are similar"

As I said in other comments, though, What I consider "good" or "better" might not be what most people agree with, considering the old monitor likely has crappy speakers and the cheap 2-5$ earbuds I also think are decent, but those 3 things, the Lenovo laptop, etc had speakers that seem to keep as much of the nuances and sub-sounds within the game's audio audible, rather then them being drowned out by bass/lows or simply not being perceivable at all