HDMI External Monitors with Integrated Speakers. Recommendations?

[coip]

My preferred PC setup is a portable device (laptop, ultrabook, 2-in-1) connected to an external monitor. It's been quite a few years since I bought a new PC and monitor combo and it seems that most of the new ultrabooks have eschewed VGA and DVI for HDMI. One of the benefits of HDMI, I was told, was that it not only transfers the picture from your PC but also the sound. As most ultrabooks have middling speakers, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take advantage of the HDMI connection and buy an external monitor with integrated speakers. However, I am having trouble finding some, especially from the better manufacturers (like Dell). The few I could find were from cheaper brands and, not surprisingly, the user reviews knocked off points for subpar speakers. Do all y'all have any recommendations of good monitors with integrated speakers? I was interested in the 21" to 24" range. Or is it better to forget about that and just get separate speakers (wanted to avoid the clutter).

I was also interested in touchscreen monitors, until I saw the prices for them. Damn.

 

[DBDev]

If you want decent sound I recommend you to go with external speakers.

 

[coip]

If you want decent sound I recommend you to go with external speakers.

How about getting an HDTV instead and using it as a monitor? TVs usually have pretty decent speakers in them. I've heard the big downside in using an HDTV as a computer monitor is that TVs tend to be bigger but keep the same maximum resolution of 1080p, which would not be ideal for reading text (say on a Web page) on the screen. However, if I got a smaller HDTV that was like 22" and 1080p, that would be just as good as getting a 22" monitor with the 1920x1080 resolution, right? They seem to be priced about the same as monitors now too, so wouldn't that give me the best of both worlds (and perhaps even more versatility since it's a TV)?

 

[BIGPADDY]

How about getting an HDTV instead and using it as a monitor? TVs usually have pretty decent speakers in them. I've heard the big downside in using an HDTV as a computer monitor is that TVs tend to be bigger but keep the same maximum resolution of 1080p, which would not be ideal for reading text (say on a Web page) on the screen. However, if I got a smaller HDTV that was like 22" and 1080p, that would be just as good as getting a 22" monitor with the 1920x1080 resolution, right? They seem to be priced about the same as monitors now too, so wouldn't that give me the best of both worlds (and perhaps even more versatility since it's a TV)?

Even for TV's the speakers aren't that great, I would go for externals speakers as well Logitech do great speakers for a good price.

 

[coip]

Even for TV's the speakers aren't that great, I would go for externals speakers as well Logitech do great speakers for a good price.

They can't possibly be that bad. Sitting 2 feet away from a 22" HDTV serving as a monitor? You really think the integrated speakers won't cut it? I'm not using them to stream music to a dance club. They've got to be able to adequately fill a room, don't you think? If not, how expensive of external speakers will cut it? I've seen some Logitech speakers as cheap as like $15. Surely those can't be any better than the ones integrated into an HDTV.

 

[mase123987]

They can't possibly be that bad. Sitting 2 feet away from a 22" HDTV serving as a monitor? You really think the integrated speakers won't cut it? I'm not using them to stream music to a dance club. They've got to be able to adequately fill a room, don't you think? If not, how expensive of external speakers will cut it? I've seen some Logitech speakers as cheap as like $15. Surely those can't be any better than the ones integrated into an HDTV.

The only time I use the hdmi out for sound is when I go through a receiver, aka surround sound. If you want a good gaming experience, use hdmi for video and headphone jack to connect to a solid pair of speakers or headphones. This is all coming from experience.

 

[Joe Acerbic]

I have a few years old HP 23'' 1920*1080 with speakers, connected by HDMI and the only problem is that the speakers are not quite loud enough for all occasions.

 

[HeyCori]

The last time I bought a monitor with integrated speakers I immediately purchased externals after hearing how bad the integrated speakers were.

 

[coip]

I went to Best Buy today and looked at both HDTV and monitor options for my external monitor. Here's what I found, comparing 23-24" devices, both of which have HDMI and are 1920x1080/1080p resolutions. So, the concern of the monitor having better text display won't be a problem as they have the same resolution:

HDTV
pros: comes with two 5w speakers, also has TV input
cons: speakers are a little weak, cannot tilt display

Monitor:
pros: can tilt the display
cons: no speakers

I like tilting the display, but I'm testing out my current desk set up and it seems that the standard setup of the TV would be fine. Speakers would be nice, but they're not that powerful (to be fair, though, it was kind of loud in Best Buy, with other TVs blasting, so maybe they are more powerful than they sounded. I know that when compared to monitors with integrated speakers, those monitors only had 2w speakers so this option would be much better). The prices were approximately the same. Tough call.

 

[BIGPADDY]

I went to Best Buy today and looked at both HDTV and monitor options for my external monitor. Here's what I found, comparing 23-24" devices, both of which have HDMI and are 1920x1080/1080p resolutions. So, the concern of the monitor having better text display won't be a problem as they have the same resolution:

HDTV
pros: comes with two 5w speakers, also has TV input
cons: speakers are a little weak, cannot tilt display

Monitor:
pros: can tilt the display
cons: no speakers

I like tilting the display, but I'm testing out my current desk set up and it seems that the standard setup of the TV would be fine. Speakers would be nice, but they're not that powerful (to be fair, though, it was kind of loud in Best Buy, with other TVs blasting, so maybe they are more powerful than they sounded. I know that when compared to monitors with integrated speakers, those monitors only had 2w speakers so this option would be much better). The prices were approximately the same. Tough call.

Seems that you found one that you overall like, what makes is it?

 

[coip]

Seems that you found one that you overall like, what makes is it?

The monitor is a Dell; the TV is a Toshiba. Actually, I have the same model Toshiba TV in 39" form for my actual TV usage, and I really like it, but I wonder if getting this same model in the 23" form will cause problems, as I assume they use the same remote and both TVs will be in the same room. I'm going to go back to Best Buy today and make a decision. I'm not very good at making decisions, especially when there are pros and cons to both sides. I'll ask them about the remote problem.

 

[BIGPADDY]

The monitor is a Dell; the TV is a Toshiba. Actually, I have the same model Toshiba TV in 39" form for my actual TV usage, and I really like it, but I wonder if getting this same model in the 23" form will cause problems, as I assume they use the same remote and both TVs will be in the same room. I'm going to go back to Best Buy today and make a decision. I'm not very good at making decisions, especially when there are pros and cons to both sides. I'll ask them about the remote problem.

Take your remote with you and see if it works with the one in store.

Toshiba TV's are excellent, I have one and I was surprise how good the sound was compare too my previous SONY tv which was very quiet in comparison.

Has the tv got any other feature or is it just a normal tv.

Might be worth getting a surround sound system or gaming chair. I got a gamer chair and love it!

 

[coip]

Just wanted to update you all. First, I got the Toshiba TV and tried it out. My conclusions are that

1) the integrated speakers are excellent (two 5w speakers built in), so if any of you are looking to use an HDTV as an external monitor in hopes of using the built-in speakers, if they are at least 5w they will be more then sufficient and much better than the paucity of monitors with integrated speakers (which usually only have two 2w speakers).

2) Despite having a 1080p resolution, which should be equivalent to most monitors now on sale (which have a maximum resolution of 1920x1080), I found that although the HDTV was great for displaying video, it wasn't as good at displaying text, particularly on web pages and .pdf files. It wasn't as crisp and it strained my eyes a bit to read it.

So, I took back the HDTV and got a touch-screen monitor instead (from Dell, currently on sale for $199 for a 21.5" one at Best Buy). I hooked it up and the text display is much crisper (again, even though the max resolution is technically the same). So, despite not having integrated speakers, the better text display and the fact that it is a touchscreen (which is awesome for Windows 8.1) made it a better purchase for me because I do a lot of Web reading. However, if I were using the second monitor for video watching and the like, the HDTV definitely would've been a good option.