12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Great speakers for incredible price
Date of Review: Jan 7, 2006
The Bottom Line: Buy these if you're looking for great sound quality for your computer or external music (ipod) without spending hundreds to get it.
I received these speakers for Christmas from my husband. I have a small home office where I like to listen to music on my pc while I'm working. I don't like wearing the headphones all day long but the computer speakers sounded "tinny". So, my husband picked these up at Best Buy for $99.
Installation is a snap. I had them connected and working within five minutes of taking them out of the box. There's two sets of cords in the box. One set is your standard black/red cords like you'd use to connect something to the back of your tv. I didn't use them. I used the second set of cords:
1. One cord connects the two speakers to each other
2. One cord is the power cord that goes from the right speaker to the electricity
3. One cord goes from the right speaker to the computer.
As you can see, there's a lot of cords going on with the addition of these speakers to my set-up. It is tough to hide them all - they're a big unsightly. But, read on - it's the price I'm willing to pay.
They are silver colored, which I don't care for but I wouldn't knock the speakers just because of the color. Black would have been a lot better, but I'll deal with the silver to get the sound quality.
There is a separate volume button on the front of the right speaker, which is how I adjust the volume rather than through the audio control on the computer. It's nice having it on the speaker.
Size: the speakers are about 8 inches high and 7 inches deep. With the 7 inch deep dimension, you need some wall clearance behind them.
On the front of the right speaker, there's a separate plug for headphones, if you wanted to go that way. You can also plug these speakers into another external device, like an ipod and have the sound come out through these. It's all very quick and seamless going from laptop connection to ipod.
Okay, here's the crux of the review: the sound is unbelievable. I don't just mean for a $99 speaker. I mean for any speaker. I brought up my favorite online radio station and started playing their music. I was shocked at how great it sounded through these speakers. Deep, rich tones. No "tinny" sound at all. You'd swear you were listening to some expensive dedicated audio set-up instead of a laptop with speakers. I actually looked up what my husband paid for them because I thought he bought really expensive ones when I heard the sound quality.
I don't want to demean their quality by saying they're a great value at $99. If he'd paid 2 or 3 times that, I'd say it was a good deal for how it has changed my listening experience while I'm working.
Note that all computer sound comes through on these, not just multi-media. So, the notice you have email comes through, the dings in Excel - everything.
Do I wish there weren't so many cords? Yes. However, I tried the wireless speaker route before and for my price range, I wasn't happy with the sound quality. Therefore, I highly recommend these speakers to anyone who wants fabulous sound on their computer without spending a lot of money.
