Good Value for Casual Listeners

I recently bought a set of these little Cyber Acoustics speakers and have been very pleased with them. I bought them to replace a dreadful pair of no-name flat panel speakers on my second PC. I was initially dubious about the quality ($20 for a three piece system???!!!), but my curiosity won out. I am glad it did. They're a great value, and produce far better sound than I anticipated.

Essentially, this system is a very small three piece speaker set. There is a small subwoofer, and two small flat panel satellites. The system is powered by a built in amplifier that runs from an AC adapter (included). Setup is easy...essentially you connect the subwoofer to the satellites, the satellite to your computer sound card, and plug it in and turn it on. The controls are minimalist, consisting of only a power button and volume control.

Sound quality, while not dazzling, is surprisingly good for such an inexpensive system. The subwoofer packs a surprising punch, the midrange and treble are smooth and clear, and the system produces pleasant listening at moderate volume levels. Overall, the sound compares nicely to a good lower end minisystem; it would leave an audiophile or gamer wanting more (14 watts total doesn't produce loud sound), but would be fine for background music while working.

Being an inexpensive system, it does have a couple of minor annoyances. One is the lack of an output adjustment on the subwoofer or any tone controls. Plan on using your software's equalizer on your computer if you want to do any tweaking of the sound. That one is easy to overcome; I was able to adjust Winamp and Media Player 9's equalizers to produce the sound I wanted without too much trouble. The other annoyance is harder to overcome. The satellite speakers are permanently attached to one another with just a few feet of cable. This limits placement and the amount of separation you can achieve. However, they do have adequate cable to produce decent separation if you're working at your desk.

Overall, these speakers are a great value. They produce better sound than any two piece system in this price range, and can serve nicely if you're not too critical in your listening habits. Just don't expect super high fidelity sound, window rattling volume, or a lot of frills. However, once you consider the purchase price, you may find them to be very, very attractive