Desktop computer speakers are a bit of an afterthought for most people. Through the 90s and into the 2000s they were a massively important accompaniment to any half-decent gaming rig, but through the 2010’s and beyond people seemed content with utilising either whatever piddly speakers were built into their monitor, or more often than not a separate set of headphones.
It’s a shame really because speaker technology over the last 15 years or so has improved massively, with even the tiniest of speakers built into modern smartphones able to offer pretty decent sound quality at volume levels to fill the room.
Still, the speakers built into monitors and most portable devices still lag behind, likely due to the costs and size requirements when trying to ram them into the smallest chassis possible, and in this context desktop speakers are making a bit of a comeback.
The Ampligame A22 speakers from FIFINE are one example of modern PC speakers done right. Inside the box you have a 2.1 speaker setup, with the interconnecting cables you need to get started, along with a power adapter, 3.5mm audio cable and a pretty decent instruction pamphlet as well.
The three speakers are well designed and have a really clean aesthetic to them. The subwoofer unit also houses the built-in amplifier and control module, with power, stop/start, EQ, forward, back and RGB buttons lining the top of the unit.
To the rear you have the left and right channel outputs for the satellite speakers (which rather bizarrely appear to be USB-C), along with the power jack for the bundled power supply, an OTG connector for plugging in a USB connector, an optical TOSlink connector, 3.5mm stereo audio input and finally a headphone passthrough connector for the later hours.
That’s an impressive amount of connectivity for a device that doesn’t break the bank at around £70 at time of writing this review.
The satellite speakers have a matching design to them and feel well made over all, and they have some weight to them which hopefully indicates there’s some chunky drivers inside.
The bases of all three speakers have rubber pads to help with noise isolation and stop them scratching up your desk when moved around.
Connecting them all together beneath my 24” Samsung monitor, they look well suited alongside my Asus ROG Ally (yes, I’m a filthy casual, my main machine is an iMac I use for editing and there’s only so much space on my desk, so a portable device it is).
The built-in RGB works well with that included in the Ally, and should work well alongside most ARGB setups on modern PCs, so long as you have a predominantly black case.
While we’re talking about the RGB capabilities, the button on the top allows you to cycle through a variety of static, looped and noise reactive presets, and there should be enough here for anyone to find something they’re happy with. I had a quick play with them and found the RGB to be well implemented here, the animations are very smooth and the frosted panels do an excellent job of obscuring individual LEDS, it all looks very premium.
But what about sound? That’s the important thing, right? Well, they’re pretty good for the price I suppose, but they’re not mind blowing. Don’t get me wrong, they’re infinitely better than your typical built in speakers (they blow the Ally’s out of the water), but they’re by no means forerunners in this price range.
That said, for media playback they offer some much needed bass and clarity when compared with built-in speakers, and they drastically improve the listenability of music played back either via 3.5mm or Bluetooth from a phone or tablet.
When it comes to games they do offer a much more immersive sound when compared with built-in speakers, and they go plenty loud enough to fill a reasonably sized room if you’re using them with a TV for console gaming.
The addition of the headphone passthrough connector is also a nice touch. Plug in your headphones for some late night gaming and it automatically cuts off the speakers and directs the sound into your ears via your headphones instead. It’s a useful feature, though if it were me I would have put this connector on the top to make it easier to get to without having to fumble around the back.
Overall, these are very flexible speakers which offer a compelling package at this price point. If you don’t care about the multiple inputs on the back, the Bluetooth connectivity or the RGB, then there are better sounding speakers out there in the same ballpark. But as a package it’s a pretty good deal if you’re after something that looks as good as it sounds and can be used flexibly across a variety of devices with ease.
