PC sound can be pumped out in a variety of ways. In fact, some PC users will never need sound at all while others desire audiophile home theater sound from their PC rig. While I have a home theater PC hooked into an Onkyo 7.1 receiver, I don't need such a powerful sound system for my routine work at my desk. Furthermore, I don't want the hassle of firing up a sound system when I am at my office PC. I want the sound to just be there when the PC is on. Nothing fancy, just give me the sound!

A USB solution fulfills my office PC sound requirements: No on/off switch, a minimum of added cords and no additional power cable.

The Altec Orbit USB is cheap, takes up little room, tucking easily behind my desktop Lian Li PC case. It is however a nice looking and well built little speaker, built of aluminum with a metal grill. You may not want to hide it! Measuring 3 1/4 inches in diameter and just 2 inches thick, I could probably tuck this little thing into the case! The USB cable winds around the base so you could go mobile with this speaker and its included zip case. For me, this is a set and forget sound solution however. A little kick stand pops up from the base so the unit can fast forward. No power switch (awesome!), just a little orange colored light to let you know it is in fact armed!

Setup is a breeze. Just plug it into a USB port. Win 7 found it instantly. Sound settings are available from the control panel and include:

Loudness: turning this feature on will dramatically increases the volume of this little round speaker. I don't need this speaker to be that loud, so I leave the loudness box unchecked.

Bass Boost: Check this box and you get a massive boost in the bass output. I had this enabled.

Virtual Surround: A subtle enhancement which helps this little speaker "fill the room" I believe this is done by delaying a few frequencies. I have this enabled as it sounds better with it on.

Room Correction: I haven't used this setting which will setup your microphone and the speaker, perhaps to help avoid feedback etc. If you use your PC for VoIP this is a setting you may want to enable and configure.

How does this unit sound? Pretty darn good for something so small. It puts outs out a good mix of high end and low end frequencies. Understand, this is a mono device. You will not be getting stereo separation. That being said, if you don't need stereo sound why do you need stereo speakers on your desk? This little puppy will put out more than enough volume to watch to occasional video or listen to a few tracks. If you need more than that, perhaps it’s time to stop working and do you viewing in a more comfortable environment.

Bottom-line: Small, cheap and effective for routine PC sound. Volume wise, enabling the loudness feature will surprise you. You can pump out enough volume to alert the house. Easy setup and minimal fuss make this an easy recommendation.