Let's face it, your laptop or netbook speakers are pretty drab aren't they? Unless you've opted for one of those Toshiba Qosmio's with the Hardon Karmen sound systems, chances are the noise you get isn't going to make it beyond your desk let alone give you a chance to party in your hotel room.

That's where Altec Lansing is hoping to step in with an update to its Orbit range to allow you to plug it in to your laptop rather than just an MP3 player. Rather than a 3.5mm jack socket as found on the virtually identically named and spec-ed iMT237, it plugs in via USB giving you a digital connection rather than an analogue one.

Looks wise, the speaker is, as we've said, virtually the same in design and performance. You get the same hockey puck styled speaker, but this time it comes with a kick-out stand giving you the chance to aim it in your general direction. The stand certainly aids the speaker's performance over the sound just rising from the desk as before and it means you won't have to have it so loud. ?

When not in use the kickstand can be folded away and the in-built USB cable folded away out of sight for travelling.

Other notable differences over the previous model include the loss of the AAA battery in favour of taking a charge from your computer and a more stylish black and gold colour scheme over the previous silver offering.

The power option will save you having to worry about AAA batteries but it does mean that it will be draining power from your laptop or netbook and it's something to bear in mind if you are worried about power usage.

What about sound performance? As you might expect the Orbit iML237 isn't going to blow you away and audiophiles should probably stop reading now. While at loud volumes the performance is dubious for the price, but for what Altec Lansing set out to do the Orbit iML237 isn't too bad. It is all about giving you volume and the chance to share your music at your hotel bedroom desk rather than being a replacement for your home PC stereo system.

Verdict:

We tested it on a range of music from The Presets to Rolling Stones and while the speaker coped well enough, we wouldn't recommend them for every day listening if you are really into your music.

Of course it lacks any real bass element or depth, but then that's not really the point. This is a way of enhancing your laptop's speakers on the cheap rather than making your tunes sound the best they possibly could.

With that in mind, it's not too shabby.

Tags: Audio Speakers Altec Lansing Altec Lansing Orbit iM237 PC speakers Altec Lansing Orbit iM237

Altec Lansing Orbit iM237 USB speaker originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Despite what the name suggests, Mobi Headphonies are not headphones. Nor are they tipping their hat the wonderful Simpsons episode about the Apple generation. No, a headphony – which I assume is the singular of Headphonies, is around 3-inches high and in the shape of a dumpy middle aged man wearing what looks more like a pair of ear muffs than headphones. It's not dissimilar to a Telly Tubby. Our particular model came in a rather boring matte black, but looking at the website it is available in various interesting decorations with obvious scope for expansion.

The back of the head is grilled, and a dead give away as to what it actually is – a portable speaker. With it being at the back, it means to get the best sound, you'll want it facing away from you – perhaps going against the point of having a fancy design.

There is a power switch on the base of the foot with a notification LED on the front. This will apparently last for 4 hours of playback. There is no volume control – this is instead done on the input device itself. Annoyingly, it's not smart enough to detect a null input and so it's very easy to leave it switched on with nothing playing and drain the battery.

At the rear of the device, where a tail would normally be, is a 3.5mm jack. Supplied is a male-to-male cable of around 30cm for connecting to your audio device – MP3 player, laptop, etc. This port also doubles up as a charging port, using a USB cable that adapts to 3.5mm. Because the charging port is the same as playback – there is no option to charge while you play – annoying if you happen to have left it switched on.

The natural option is to leave the cable permanently plugged into the device. But this sticks out at 90 degrees from the device, so being carried in a bag it gets damaged very quickly and you'll soon find the sound cutting in and out. Disconnect it and you run the risk of losing the cable – either way, you'll get screwed in due course.

This isn't the sort of thing you'd buy if you were worried about sound quality – realistically, it's a toy. However, we were quite surprised with the sound quality, being generally quite balanced and able to produce a fair amount of volume. It was significantly better than the inbuilt speakers on the N97, which we've always been quite impressed with.

There's no denying that the sound is impressive for its size – but having to keep charging it is a real pain. We'd have sooner taken the minor hit in sound quality to have had it un-amplified, as so many external speakers are.?

Verdict:

The Mobi Headphonies have a few design flaws, but once you get used to this – it does what it's meant to. It's a portable speaker that stands out from the crowd. But the question is – when will it get used and who will use it? We've all been on trains where people are blaring out music on their mobile phones – it's annoying and we do all we can to discourage it. We can't help but feel that this attempts to encourage exactly this, with groups of kids sat around tables, showing off their cool speakers and music taste. God help us.

At ?19.99, this is about double the price we'd expect it to sell for. It's not something we'd recommend buying, but it's not a bad product and if it floats your boat – then go for it.

Tags: Audio Speakers Headphonies Audio accessories Toys Mobi Mobi Headphonies

Mobi Headphonies portable speakers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0100

The Logitech Z520 speakers are desktop stereo speakers designed to be paired with a computer or hooked up to an MP3 player. There is no subwoofer, remote or battery option - just two compact speakers and the wires to hook them up with.

With no clever functions, shiny widgets or frills of any kind it seems odd that a speaker set up like this would cost very much at all, let alone weighing in at close to a hundred pounds. At least it seems odd until you hear them.

Although the Z520s lack a separate subwoofer, the bass reproduction is still very good. Although this doesn't have the punch of an individual subwoofer, it still sounds great, providing enough rumble to bring some weight to music and sounds in games without being overpowering. At low levels the Z520s provide crisp, distinct sound, and this quality carries on up to higher levels.

Despite being relatively small, the Z520s easily have enough power to provide music at a decent volume for a good sized room. A common mistake with cheap speakers is to provide a subwoofer that over powers the sound and destroying the balance. This certainly isn't the case here.

In terms of design the Z520s certainly look the part, being sleek and understated. The volume control is a simple dial on the front, which doubles as the off switch. There is no means to control the level of bass on the speakers independently of the main volume control, but this is not much of a problem given that the proportions are pretty much spot on by default.

The lack of a remote control is a bit of a shame, not that one is particularly necessary for a set of desktop speakers, but for the price it seems reasonable to expect a few trimmings. That said the speakers do include a headphone and auxiliary connection so they have everything they need to serve in a purely desktop speaker capacity.

Although the Z520s are certainly small enough to be quite portable they are very heavy for their size and this is worth considering if you are thinking of getting speakers to accompany a laptop or MP3 player when travelling.

Verdict:
The sound quality of the Z520s is great, but the price tag is less so. While the lack of a subwoofer means that the speakers have fewer wires, this quite a premium for this luxury. Ultimately, the problem is that if you are really wanting great quality sound, you'll not be put off by the extra wires of a 2.1 system.

At the ?100 price point, there are a lot of options open to you, many of which will have extra features or even superior sound quality. If you do happen to be that rare somebody who really needs good sound quality but cannot have a subwoofer then your prayers may just have been answered.

Tags: Audio Speakers Logitech Z520 Logitech Z520

Logitech Z520 Speakers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0100