The world is a better place when we can enjoy room-filling sound.
As a major movie and music fan, someone who has an encyclopedic knowledge of every alternative-rock band in existence and follows science-fiction movies with religious vigor, I can tell you that pristine high-res audio can impact your mood and help you find some peace and serenity in a chaotic world.
I know this from personal experience. A few years ago, I added tower speakers to my office using a standard AV receiver connected to my Apple MacBook. It was like finding an ancient treasure — my office now has rich, high-fidelity audio.
I used to pound away on a keyboard while wearing headphones or listening to cheap bookshelf speakers.
However, having tower speakers changed my attitude about work for a far more transformative experience. I now enjoy superb audio quality and have been known to sneak into my home office just to play a new album.
The setup is easier than you think, and the costs can vary widely depending on your budget and desired level of sound quality.
I’m not advocating for audiophile levels of fidelity here since most of us likely won’t know the difference between $800 speakers and $8,000 speakers. Tower speakers, in particular, will help you stay productive, tuning out the world and allowing you to focus on your work.
Here’s all the equipment you’ll need to make it work. I used a MacBook for this, but just about any recent laptop with a USB-C port will work fine with this setup.
Getting the right gear
One thing that can happen right away when you are trying to upgrade the gear in an office is analysis paralysis. There are so many speaker brands, cables, and wiring that it can lead to some serious confusion. Not only that, but the costs can vary wildly from a few hundred to a few thousand.
Here are a few essential considerations to make right away, though. I’d start by picking your overall budget right away.
I wanted to test a good setup without edging into audiophile territory. A friend of mine has a home setup that costs $40,000. I was thinking more like $2,000. You can easily make this all work for under $1,000. I’ll explain how.
I started with the SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase. I wanted some flexibility in how I connected, and the SoundBase has connections for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a digital optical cable, HDMI, and 3.5mm.
That should cover just about anything. I knew I would use a USB-C to digital optical cable (this one) because it would give me excellent audio quality, and the connection is simple and uncluttered.
I paired the SoundBase with the SVS Prime Tower speakers, which cost $1,200. This was still under $2,000 for a primo but affordable kit. I won’t bore you with the technical specs of the Prime Tower speakers except to say they provide a rich, organic sound with distinct bass and vocals that are not muddy at all.
You can spend a lot more, or you can spend less. However, this was an impressive setup for me.
Making the connections
To make it all work, you’ll need to plug the USB-C to digital optical cable into a free port on your MacBook and run the other end into the digital optical port on the SoundBase.
The optical port looks like a bite-sized ethernet jack. On the SoundBase, it’s marked Optical In. SVS includes a remote with the receiver, so press the Optical button to choose that connection.
Your MacBook won’t automatically switch to the USB-C connection, so go to the Apple menu > System Settings > Sound and select USB for output. Turn up the volume a little on the MacBook and the SoundBase.
Connect the SoundBase to the speakers using standard speaker wire. You'll be ready to go once you have the MacBook connected and the speakers wired.
I use the Tidal app for high-res audio playback. Apple Music also offers lossless audio quality, and there are persistent rumors that Spotify will soon offer it.
I like Tidal because it is good at suggesting new albums. Just make sure you enable the highest audio quality settings. In Tidal, this is called Max. That means you are streaming at 24-bit 192-kHz sound quality to SoundBase.
Play one of your favorite songs as a test. You’ll probably notice sound quality is noticeably good, loud and rich — distinct enough for even discerning ears.
Why this setup works so well
My setup is simple. There’s one cable running from my MacBook to the SoundBase, and the overall price is reasonable.
Because my eyes tend to glaze over when people talk about meaningless technical specs, let me explain why this setup hits the sweet spot for me by relaying a few real-world examples.
I’ve been listening to a new album by the artist Cassandra Jenkins on repeat ever since it came out. “Aurora, IL” is great for testing because, later in the song, there’s a chaotic segment with multiple guitars that sounds like a mess on a car stereo or bookshelf speakers.
Tower speakers like the Prime models sound better because they are bigger -- they can replicate what the artist intended.
Another excellent test track by Adrianne Lenker is “Sadness is a Gift.” Listen for the creaking sounds from the recording studio and the supple, woody guitar — the SVS setup will make it seem like you’re listening to live music in the room.
You can choose any recent audio receiver if you want to spend less than $2,000. I like the SoundBase because it’s small enough to fit on my desk. To keep it simple, I recommend sticking with a digital optical connection.
You’ll feel more productive when you can enjoy audio that fills the room, played right from your laptop.
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