I work from home four days a week and I've been doing it long enough to know that the quality of your setup matters more than people admit. Not just for productivity — for how you feel about being at your desk. A good chair, a decent monitor, the right lighting. These things add up.
Audio was the last thing I sorted, and for longer than I'd like to admit I was using my laptop's built-in speakers for everything: calls, music, the occasional YouTube video, and evening gaming sessions when the kids were in bed. Laptop speakers are fine for a video call. For anything else, they're genuinely bad. Thin, tinny, no bass, and the moment you turn them up past about 60% they start to distort.
I kept telling myself I'd sort it properly — get a decent set of studio monitors or a proper soundbar. But every time I looked, the options I actually wanted were £150 and up, and I couldn't justify that for a home office setup that was already costing me more than I'd planned.
Finding the Smalody
I came across the Smalody Bluetooth PC Speakers while looking for budget desk audio options. At £15.99 I was sceptical — 25W from a bar that size seemed optimistic, and RGB lighting on speakers always makes me think the manufacturer is compensating for something. But the reviews were consistently good, the USB plug-and-play setup meant no drivers or faff, and the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity meant I could use it with my phone and tablet as well as my PC. I ordered it on a Tuesday evening.
It arrived Wednesday. I plugged it in via USB, it was recognised immediately with no driver installation, and I had audio in about thirty seconds. That's the kind of setup experience I want from a piece of desk hardware.
First Impressions
The sound was immediately better than I expected. Not audiophile-grade — I'm not going to pretend £15.99 buys you studio monitors — but genuinely full and warm, with actual bass that you can feel slightly rather than just hear. Music sounds like music rather than a phone call. The stereo separation across the bar is clear enough that you can tell where instruments are sitting in a mix, which is more than I can say for most budget options I've tried.
The multi-function knob on the right end controls volume, lighting mode, and input switching. It's satisfying to use — solid, not cheap-feeling — and having everything in one control rather than hunting through software menus is exactly right for a desk setup.
The RGB lighting has four modes. I'd expected to turn it off immediately. Instead I've left it on the slow colour-cycle mode during work hours because it's genuinely calming rather than distracting, and it makes the desk look considerably more considered than it did before. In the evenings for gaming I switch to the faster pulse mode, which fits the atmosphere better.
The Built-In Microphone
This was the feature I was most doubtful about. Built-in microphones on speakers are usually an afterthought — present on the spec sheet, unusable in practice. The Smalody's mic is actually decent for calls. Not podcast-quality, but clear enough that I've used it for Teams calls without anyone commenting on the audio, which is the real test. My headset mic is still better, but for a quick call when I don't want to put headphones on, the built-in mic works.
Bluetooth and Multi-Device Use
The Bluetooth 5.0 connection is stable and fast to pair. I switch between my PC (USB) and my phone (Bluetooth) regularly — for music from Spotify on my phone while I'm working, then back to PC audio for gaming in the evening. The switching is quick and reliable. I've also connected it to my tablet for watching things in bed, which works well given the bar is light enough to move around easily.
Four Months On
I've had the Smalody on my desk for four months. It's on every day, usually for eight or nine hours. The audio quality hasn't degraded. The RGB lighting still works across all four modes. The USB connection has never dropped. The knob still feels solid. For £15.99, the durability has been genuinely impressive.
My desk sounds better, looks better, and I enjoy being at it more than I did before. That's a lot to get from a £15.99 purchase. I still haven't bought the £150 studio monitors.
Who This Is For
Anyone working from home who's still using laptop speakers. Anyone who games at a desk and wants audio that matches the experience. Anyone who wants a clean, single-cable desk audio solution with Bluetooth flexibility and doesn't want to spend serious money to get it. The RGB is a bonus — genuinely good-looking rather than tacky — but the audio is the reason to buy it.
You can find the Smalody Bluetooth PC Speakers here. If you're exploring more, these collections are worth a look:
£15.99. Four months. Still on my desk every day. That's the review.
— Joel Hartley, Sheffield
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