This page ranks 8 small powered bookshelf speakers with woofers under 4”. These fit easily on a desk but trade bass extension for their compact size. They have no battery, come in pairs, and generally sound better than portable Bluetooth speakers. All include a built-in amp so you can play directly from your phone or laptop.
For general listening, nearly all of these sound fantastic, I’d recommend any except those labeled not recommended at the bottom. For studio monitoring, I’d generally recommend something near the top with an added subwoofer.
For the best picks from this page see Best Powered Home Bookshelf Speakers
Also check out Medium, Large, Passive Medium, and Passive Large bookshelf speakers. For karaoke, check out Karaoke Setups.
Last updated: February 16, 2026
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#1 Genelec 8010A [Guitar-center] [Used Listings]: $700 a pair
- Positives: An extremely neutral speaker for mastering and mixing recordings. Although for mastering, it’s highly recommended to use a larger speaker with deeper bass extension or add a subwoofer
- Negatives: Not as deep of bass as the iLoud. Probably not the best choice for general music listening due to the price and limited bass extension.
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 67hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 74hz
- Bluetooth: No
- Dimensions: 7.7”H x 4.8”W x 4.5”D
- EQ: Yes (Bass tilt, Desk proximity)
- Frequency Response: 67 Hz-25 kHz (-6dB)
- Inputs: XLR
- Max SPL: 96dB @ 1m
- Power: 50W (25W woofer + 25W tweeter)
- Tweeter: 0.75” metal dome
- Watts: 50w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 3.3lbs / 1.5kg
- Woofer: 3”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- DSAUDIO.review: Genelec 8010A (Genelec G One) vs iLoud Micro Monitor Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- DSAUDIO.review: Genelec 8010A (Genelec G One) vs Presonus Eris E4.5 Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- DSAUDIO.review: Genelec 8010A (G One) vs JBL LSR305 Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- DSAUDIO.review: Genelec 8010A (Genelec G One) vs Audioengine A2+ Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- DSAUDIO.review: Genelec 8010A (Genelec G One) vs Yamaha HS5 Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- Links
#2 IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $350 a pair
- Positives: Much deeper bass than any other speaker this size.
- Negatives: Slightly boosted bass. Some treble rolloff up high. More hifi sounding than neutral
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 45hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 55hz
- Bluetooth: Yes (A2DP)
- Dimensions: 7.1”H x 3.5”W x 5.3”D
- EQ: Yes (Bass/Treble switches, Desktop/Free field)
- Frequency Response: 55Hz - 20kHz (-3dB)
- Inputs: RCA, Aux
- Max SPL: 96dB @ 1m
- Power: 50W total (combined)
- Tweeter: 0.75” silk dome
- Watts: 25w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 2.0lbs / 0.9kg
- Woofer: 3”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
#3 Adam Audio D3v [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $350
- Positives: Really flat frequency response, decent bass for the size
- Negatives: Vertical off axis is just okay
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 45hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 50hz
- Bluetooth: No
- Dimensions: 6.7”H x 4.3”W x 5.9”D
- EQ: Yes (Room adjustment filters)
- Frequency Response: 50Hz - 50kHz
- Inputs: XLR, RCA
- Max SPL: 102dB @ 1m
- Power: 50W (30W woofer + 20W tweeter)
- Tweeter: U-ART accelerated ribbon
- Weight: 3.7lbs / 1.7kg
- Woofer: 3.5”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
#4 Audioengine HD3 [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $350 a pair
- Negatives: Small woofer doesn’t have very deep bass. Slightly boosted treble. High priced
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 58hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 65hz
- Bluetooth: Yes
- Bluetooth Codecs: SBC, aptX
- Bluetooth Version: 5.0
- Dimensions: 9”H x 5.5”W x 6.5”D
- EQ: No
- Frequency Response: 65 Hz-20 kHz (-3dB)
- Inputs: Bluetooth, Aux, RCA Input
- Max SPL: 90dB @ 1m
- Outputs: RCA Output
- Power: 30W total (15W per speaker)
- Tweeter: 0.75” silk dome
- Watts: 15w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 7.2lbs / 3.3kg
- Woofer: 2.75”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
#5 Edifier MR3 [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $135
- Positives: Pretty linear on axis, a very good value especially when you want Bluetooth included. Better than the MR4 all around.
- Negatives: Small woofer doesn’t have very deep bass like others in this size class.
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 52hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 60hz
- Bluetooth: Yes
- Bluetooth Codecs: SBC
- Bluetooth Version: 5.3
- Dimensions: 5.9”H x 3.7”W x 5.9”D
- EQ: Yes (Bass/Treble)
- Frequency Response: 60Hz - 20kHz
- Inputs: Bluetooth, Aux, RCA
- Max SPL: 93dB @ 1m
- Power: 36W total (18W per speaker)
- Tweeter: 0.75” silk dome
- Watts: 18w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 6.6lbs / 3kg
- Woofer: 3”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
#6 Edifier M60 [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $170
- Negatives: Not quite as good as the MR3 above. 3dB dip at 1.1khz and 3khz. 3db hot treble from 3.5khz on up.
- App: Yes
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 57hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 67hz
- Bluetooth Codecs: SBC, LDAC
- Bluetooth Version: 5.3
- Dimensions: 6.6”H x 3.9”W x 5.8”D
- EQ: Yes
- Frequency Response: 55Hz - 40kHz
- Inputs: Bluetooth, Aux, USB-C
- Max SPL: 96dB @ 1m
- Power: 66W total (33W per speaker)
- Tweeter: 1” silk dome
- Watts: 33w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 6.8lbs / 3kg
- Woofer: 3”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
#7 Presonus Eris E3.5 2nd Gen [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $100 a pair
- Negatives: Very thin sounding in the midrange, some lower treble boost. Not recommended. The 2nd edition does nothing to fix all the issues
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 70hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 80hz
- Bluetooth: No
- Dimensions: 8.3”H x 6.0”W x 5.5”D
- EQ: Yes (Acoustic space)
- Frequency Response: 80 Hz-20 kHz (-3dB)
- Inputs: RCA, 1/4” Balanced
- Max SPL: 95dB @ 1m
- Outputs: 1/8” headphone jack
- Power: 50W total (25W per speaker)
- Tweeter: 1” silk dome
- Watts: 25w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 8.5lbs / 3.9kg
- Woofer: 3.5”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- DSAUDIO.review: DSAUDIO.review Edifier MR4 vs Presonus Eris E3.5 sound.DEMO
- DSAUDIO.review: Presonus Eris E3.5 vs Edifier R1280T Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- DSAUDIO.review: Presonus Eris E3.5 vs Mackie CR3 Sound Demo w/ Bass Test
- Erin’s Audio Corner: Mackie CR3-X vs PreSonus E3.5 Budget Monitor Showdown!
- Erin’s Audio Corner: 10 Great (and Terrible) Speakers Under $300!
- Links
#8 Mackie CR3-X [Amazon] [Used Listings]: $88 a pair
- Negatives: Muffled sounding midrange, not really recommended.
- App: No
- Bass Extension (-10dB): 70hz
- Bass Extension (-3dB): 80hz
- Bluetooth: No
- Dimensions: 8.1”H x 5.5”W x 7.1”D
- EQ: No
- Frequency Response: 80 Hz-20 kHz (-3dB)
- Inputs: RCA, Aux
- Max SPL: 92dB @ 1m
- Outputs: 1/8” headphone jack
- Power: 50W total (25W per speaker)
- Tweeter: 0.75” silk dome
- Watts: 25w RMS Per Speaker
- Weight: 7.8lbs / 3.5kg
- Woofer: 3”
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Links
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