Monoprice DT 3BT Speakers Review – The Magnificent Sound of a $99 Budget

Speakers, amirite? It’s pretty tough to find the right set that will A) is cheap, B) works perfectly for your setup and the room you’re in, and C) Has decent-quality audio. When it comes down to it, everyone will always prefer to have the highest quality audio on their setups because audio is extremely important.

And thus, this is where Monoprice’s latest addition to budget speakers comes into play. The DT 3BT speakers may not look like much a first glance. However, these might be even better than some Home Theaters! (Take this from my firsthand experience, which will become relevant later on in this review -wink-)

The neat thing about these speakers is that they are quite easy to set up just about anywhere for one. Thanks to how light they are, I had no problem setting them around multiple places to test the multiple ways they can be used to connect (and also to test the acoustics of different rooms, portability, and a whole bunch of other things).

Don’t misunderstand me; these speakers can be quite heavy to be a “Traveler’s speaker set,” but if you don’t mind the extra weight on your back, they might be the perfect companions for you. Of course, the portability isn’t everything, and we have done enough of the preamble, so let’s start diving in and let’s see what the DT-3BT speakers from Monoprice are about.

The DT 3BT Speakers are 140x204x150mm Speakers that weigh under 2kg each. They are quite easy to carry around with one hand, and their size guarantees that they can fit in almost any enclosure or part of a TV setup. The best thing about them is that they also don’t require much to be set up, either, as they are quite user-friendly.

I do have to say, though, that there are a few things that irk me about the way these speakers are designed. Maybe it's because Monoprice decided to shift their resources toward making the speakers sound good or something, but the covering material is a bit off-putting. Not to mention, the cables that connect the speakers to each other are way too thin, I feel like I could snap them in half if I stared at them hard enough.

Packaged with the speakers are the cables needed to connect the speakers to each other. After that, all you need to do is connect the AC adapter and turn them on. From there, you have access to two different pairing methods. You can either use the 3.5 mm aux jack on the front for analog or pair them to your device via Bluetooth.

And this is precisely why I think that these speakers can lend themselves to the portability aspect should the owner be fine with carrying an additional ~4kg of equipment along the way. The speakers are extremely plug & play-friendly on both methods, and once you are connected, all you have to do afterward is mess around with your volume or your favorite equalizer program if you’re one of those advanced users.

And yes, this is what I meant when I said I moved them around to test various setups. I tested these speakers with my phone, my laptop, and my Desktop PC to see how well they all fared at multiple ranges with multiple settings. With my portable devices, I tested them within the 10-meter range shown in the instructions, and – delay that you’d expect to happen from the distance aside – the speakers have worked well.

When I finally settled for the 3.5 mm jack to basically make the Speakers a stand-in for my current sound system, I was beginning to notice that the audio with these was at points better than what my entire home theater could provide.

But see, this comes with a few caveats. For example, the Speakers REALLY hate loud bass noises. More often than not, they end up having this issue where they “lose audio” for a bit before bouncing back up to their normal volume. This is strange, seeing as the volume dial is more often than not at 50% to 70%.

And yes, the reason why I keep the volume from going to the max is that the speakers peak at certain points. It’s really not that hard to set off either as even normal videos of people talking with no music can make the devices peak after a specific volume range. However, it’s quite easy to offset this with an equalizer and lots of experimentation.

At one point, I found a setting that essentially allowed me to comfortably listen to music and videos in every situation. And yes, this applies to the instances where I step to the side and start playing Pump it Up in my makeshift setup. I do have to say that the speaker’s audio is very clear for what’s supposed to be a 50W device.

Not to mention, the device doesn’t even have a subwoofer. It’s literally just the two speakers. I am floored at how well these speakers performed better than my own home theater in specific scenarios. As such, I think the device will perform just fine for people looking for a great audio experience on a budget.

Do I think that these speakers are better than home theaters? Especially those in the high-end space? Of course not. But I do believe that the Monoprice DT 3BT speakers can be a really good alternative for people who want a cheap alternative that ALSO sounds good.

8

Wccftech Rating

The Monoprice DT 3BT speakers are a great set of speakers that can provide high-quality audio for budget users. While the set has its disadvantages, it still can work well for most devices and can be easily set up at any place.