You might consider the Mackie Crx Cubes. They use bmr drivers that allow a wider Soundstage without needing as much physical space and can be had at a pretty reasonable price. Bass is lacking though, so allocate funding for a small woofer if you want the absolute best experience.
Any poor quality connector can affect a sector scan and drive performance. Doesn’t matter if it’s connected to a corroded usb port or a bent internal sata, at the end of the day if you’re getting disk errors it’s best to measure using two methodologies/data pathways.