Drop’s tiny desktop speakers promise audiophile quality for only $129

Drop might be best known for its mechanical keyboards, but the company has also built out an impressive portfolio of audio gear as well. Usually those take the form of headphones and headsets made in partnership with other brands like Sennheiser and HiFiMAN. But the new BMR1s are an entirely in-house designed set of desktop near field monitors. 

The BMR1s rely on balanced mode radiators (hence the BMR tag) instead of traditional conical drivers. This means that they can deliver a wider frequency response from a single driver and are less prone to breakup. The trade off is that bass response suffers a little bit. Though, Drop is quick to point out that you can connect a subwoofer for increased low end. Force cancelling radiators built in also help further limit distortions. 

Flexibility is a key part of the pitch here. They can be arranged vertically or horizontally, depending on your needs with minimal change to the acoustic response. And Drop is also offering customize magnetic grills for users to personalize their audio setup. The target audience here is clearly gamers and those looking to step up their PC audio setup. 

They’re reasonably small and so ideal for someone that wants to upgrade from the builtin speakers on their laptop, but they’re probably not ideal as your primary music listening device or as studio monitors. The frequency range of 80Hz to 24kHz leaves an obvious hole at the bottom end, even if the mids and highs are natural and balanced sounding. The total harmonic distortion rating of 0.40% at 1kHz seems to back up the claims of limiting distortion as well.

Still, at only $129 they’re pretty reasonably priced, especially considering that, in addition to the 3.5mm audio jack they can be connected via Bluetooth, and there’s a headphone out jack for when you need to keep things quiet. The Drop BMR1s are available now for preorder, with an expected delivery of late February or early March.