Buy Computer

Review by Tatertot:

I was looking around for a while for the least expensive and still good quality speakers on Amazon, and these seem to be them. These have great sound quality and get plenty loud. All you have to do is plug the power cord into the wall and the green audio cord into the computer and it works. And I have to say that i think they look better in real life than in the pictures. Good buy. I cant think of any bad things about them.

Review by Eric Hubler:

These speakers are small, stylish, high-performing, and most of all, cheap. Just like me! Only one oddity to report: the instructions refer to a pink plug and a green plug, but in reality there is only a green plug.

Review by Arthur Kimes:

I recently got a inexpensive 19″ HDTV which has decent enough video quality but it burdened with the WORST sound I’ve heard on a TV. Tinny sounding speakers with little volume. But there was a headphone jack on the TV. With headphones, the TV sounded excellent. My computer speakers were connected with a headphone jack… They worked just fine on the TV. I looked for powered 2.1 computer speaker systems on Amazon and was delighted to find many choices under . The best value for the money seemed to be this Logitech and the cheap TV now has excellent sound.

I give this a 5 star rating (instead of a 3 or a 4) because of the low price. There are better 2.1 systems but nowhere near this price.

Review by John Cotter:

I am a recording engineer and i bought these speakers to use as reference monitors to compare my mixes on a pair of consumer speakers. They sound a whole lot better than i expected! At low volume levels, these speakers aren’t far from my pair of 00 professional studio monitors. They do lack a bit of mid to low-mid on the frequency spectrum, but that is expected with consumer speakers.

Review by Mark:

Altec Lansing’s BXR1220s are not designed for those who want audiophile quality sound. So far, the sound has not really improved much over the past few weeks after breaking these in for long stretches. Considering the price it’s hard to get too demanding in the sound department. Relative to many similarly priced speakers these are a small step up, and they will more than suffice for an extra computer in a guest bedroom. Yet in many ways these are a new take on basic 2.0 speakers. For starters, these are powered by your USB port instead of via an AC outlet. For those starved for outlets, that’s a welcome convenience. For those running out of USB ports, that’s either a possible turn-off or a reason to buy a USB hub.

If style is a major factor for you, these might win over other models on looks alone. These speakers are small and just look cool. They are about the size of 2 soda cans, turned on their sides with silver stands holding them up at about a 15 degree angle. The right speaker has a turn switch in the back of it to power them on, and there is a volume dial on the top.

My set didn’t really have instructions, but instead had simple pictures on the top inside flap explaining how to connect them. Installation was very simple, but I could see some people tearing the box apart looking for the “quick connect guide” referenced on the side of the box.

THE GOOD

+ The fact that these are USB powered means you don’t have to worry about heavy power adapters or outlets. This is a definite plus.

+ The speakers themselves are VERY light and compact, making them a possible choice when travelling with your laptop.

+ The pricing is definitely attractive; even though these are not the least expensive USB powered speakers, they are in the ball-park.

+ The styling of this unit is definitely cool. They are compact and do not appear to be as inexpensive as they are.

THE CONCERNS

- The sound quality is very hollow and doesn’t respond well to being broken-in. Most speakers soften after extended playing, but these seem like they might take weeks of non-stop play before they would sound better.

- The volume dial doesn’t provide granular adjustment. Volume seems to go from “low” to “moderate.” They never really got loud and there were few levels in between. That’s a sign of low-efficiency wires typical of this price range.

- All the connections are hard-wired, which partly negates their potential use as travel speakers. Travelling wreaks havoc on cheap speaker wires. I have had many a portable speaker system bite the dust during a business trip. You are going to have to really pack these up carefully if you’re travelling with them to preserve those wired connections. Once they break, this set is toast.

- These don’t use USB audio. The awkward way they have tethered the audio input to the USB power cable makes these speakers less comfortable for laptops. Many newer laptops have USB ports on the side and audio outputs on the front. HERE’S A TIP: You can pull the two wires apart as far down as you want, but then you will have messy wires to deal with.

- Using a USB port means those who don’t have a USB hub yet may have to look to buy one. For many home PCs USB ports are at more of a premium than power outlets.

- Perhaps the biggest con for some is going to be that there is NO auxiliary input to connect an MP3 player to these. Many other compact speakers do include an auxiliary input. In their desire to keep costs and prices down, they have limited the potential market for these speakers.

THE CHOICE

The fact that these don’t come with a subwoofer may prompt some to look into the Altec Lansing 1221 2.1 Speaker System. I wouldn’t recommend that. Those sound slightly better, but adding extra bass cannot improve this model’s features and tone. The only way to get that is with a better set. And if you just want to save money, there are less expensive models out there.

If you want to stick to entry level units at the lowest end of the price range you should consider the Logitech S120 2.0 Speakers, keeping in mind that those are not USB powered. The Logitech S150s are USB powered and offer USB audio as well, meaning no extra cables. Each of those speakers come with their own flaws, but if low-cost is your primary objective they should be considered.

If you want to add a sub you should look at the Logitech X-240 2.1 Speakers, Logitech S220 2.1 Speakers, the Logitech LS21 2.1 Speakers or the Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Speakers. And if you don’t want a sub but are willing to spend more the extra -10, the Altec Lansing VS2620 2.0 Speakers are well worth it. They sound pretty good for a budget pair of speakers. They are about 50% more than these but still in the affordable price category. Once again, some might be tempted to step up to the Altec Lansing VS2621 2.1 Speakers that include a subwoofer. In that case it might be worth the expense, but then you are in a price range that includes many other good options.

CONCLUSION

Even with all of that, there is still a market for these. If compact size and style are key factors for you, these might win out over other models based on those things alone. These speakers are small and just look cool. The fact that these are USB powered is nice, but the hard wired connections and lack of an auxiliary port limit their flexibility. If outlets are at a premium for you and you have an extra desktop at home (like in your kid’s room or a spare computer in the guest bedroom) these will do the trick for light use as long as you don’t plan on moving them too much.

Enjoy.

Review by Heath L. Buckmaster:

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2N3KIBISLQ3YE In this product review video I take a few minutes to show you what’s in the box, what the speakers look like, how to plug them into your system, and a demonstration of the sound quality.

enjoy!

Review by S. Pondalur:

I have Altec Lansing ATP3 back at my home. They’re a pretty good 2.1 set, and never had problems with them. But now, I’m away from home.

I set out to buy speakers to help me relax in my hotel room. My first choice would have been a 2.1 system. But since I am put up in a hotel room, a 2.1 system would prove heavy on my floor-space. So, instead I started to look out for good 2.0 systems.

There are several tiny speakers in the market, but all of them compromise sound quality over portability. I am ready to drag along some weight if needed, but I didn’t want tin cans.

After a lot of research, I ended up with two options – Bose Companion 2 Series II and Klipsch Promedia 2.0. The Klipsch ones had excellent reviews all over the place. The bose speakers were rather new and haven’t yet received a professional review anywhere. My deciding factor was the size. I wanted the smallest of the speakers without a compromise on sound quality. The klipsch speakers were larger than the Bose. So, I had to choose Bose. I didn’t get to listen to Klipsch Promedia 2.0 anywhere, so I can’t do a comparison. On the other hand, I did get to hear Klipsch Promedia 2.1 before and they’re exceptionally good. I would prefer them to any Bose system if I was OK with a 2.1 system.

I had heard Bose Companion 2 (the older ones) at a Bose store, and didn’t like them much, as they sounded tinny. A lot of screeching sound, and a lack of bass. But I found Series II to be much better. Thanks to Bose for overcoming this problem even if that needed an increase in the size of the speakers ever so slightly.

Now that I had only one option, I went ahead and brought these speakers home. Needless to say that these speakers were really good. I could hear the player’s fingers rubbing against the guitar wires and all.

I listen to a lot of Rock, Jazz and Classical. The sound is really balanced, and reproduces bass, mid-tone and treble on more or less equal footage. I believe the bass and treble are amplified a little more. Maybe that’s a decision Bose have taken to “define” their desktop speakers.

The advantage Bose has to other speakers of the same class, is the digital circuitry they probably use to enhance the sound to bring in increased stereo separation and roominess to the sound. The sound coming out is definitely more pleasing to the ears, and feels room-filling. You wouldn’t get this experience with speakers from other brands, however faithful they are in reproducing sound as exactly as recorded.

Now, an advantage that’s almost a disadvantage. These speakers are so accurate in reproducing the sound that you cannot forgive playing mp3s at low bitrates. You need mp3s to be coded at least at 128kbps for the sound to be acceptable. I rip my music at VBR 192-320kbps and I find it hard to differentiate between the original CD and the mp3, So, never over-compress your music.

Now, two clear disadvantages. The first is that these speakers are built to aim their best sound at the person sitting at the desktop. The sound fills the room, but you lose out on the spaciousness. The stereo separation is good at 6-10 feet away, but the spaciousness is lost. So, these speakers do have a sweet-spot, and that is a chair right next to the desktop. I wish Bose provided swivel stands, so that I could point my speakers at my couch and still get the best from the speakers.

Disadvantage 2. I have played at least 200 tracks by now. The sound reproduction was near perfect, except for one track. I was playing a classical track “Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica” – Scherzo: Allegro Vivace”. This is an mp3 that has been shipped along with Windows Vista. Somewhere in the middle of the track, when a trumpet is played at a particular note, the right speaker gives a buzz. It means that I hit the natural frequency of the right speaker, and that resulted in resonance. I totally understand every object has its own natural frequency and you can’t help it if you make a sound matching their natural frequency. But I am disappointed Bose didn’t build it tight enough to avoid the buzz. I am not sure if this a defect in the speaker. But I can’t return these speakers showing that the speakers buzz in only one track out of 200 tracks.

That’s about it. The speakers are almost the best you could get in a 2.0 to my knowledge. The only contendor would be the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 and if you have enough desk-space and don’t need them to be as portable, you could as well go for the Klipsch. But you mght miss upon the spacious-feel circuitry that Bose uses.

Advantages

* Good balance in sound. Enough bass – I don’t miss the woofer

* TrueSpace technology – whatever this thing is, your ears will like it

* small size – almost portable

Disadvantages

* Speakers aimed at the desktop user. No swivel stands

* Buzz on right speaker playing a particular track (not sure if

this is a defect)

I am tempted to put price as a disadvantage, but I failed to find speakers of the same class at a lower price. So, I would rather leave the price alone.

Review by J. Vazquez:

Bose is one very smart company. Over the years they have managed to create an iconic brand of top end speakers that retail for very high prices. Like Bose or not, there is no denying that their products sound good. Are they the best? No, not really. But they provide good sound and that is key to consumers.

Enter the Bose Companion II Series II computer speakers. Right out of the box you will notice a huge increase in sound quality from your stock speakers. Most musical aspects are very clear, and for speakers that lack a sub-woofer, the bass is tight and defined. All levels are represented accurately, and there is a richness in the sound that is pleasing to the ear.

This is all true until you push these speakers in terms of volume. Now, I understand that computer speakers are not meant to rattle the house (though Logitech’s Z-5500 can do that), but these speakers refuse to push out any type of real power. The sound is great until you go past the halfway mark on the volume knob. After that you notice the sound can’t get any louder. In an effort to offer you more, the bass becomes super muddy, as if the tiny speaker inside the unit have given up and decided to blow air in your face. The effect is embarrassing for a “high end” system.

All this being said the speakers sound quite good at low volumes. Basically, these are speakers designed for one person to be listening to them at a reasonable level. It just seems that for 0, I should be able to push them a little. In comparison, my roommate has a pair of Altec Lansing 2.1 computer speakers that really knock out some sound when you crank them, and they are only rated for 20 watts a channel.

I have missed a few technical details, but if this is the only review you read, you don’t use the internet enough. Okay, this is what it comes down to…

Pros –

– At lower volumes, these speakers sound great. Good reproduction on sound, and the bass is not punchy, but rather defined. I own a good amount of high end headphones and find the sound reproduction to be comparable to them.

– Since there is no sub-woofer, you save a lot of space. I wouldn’t call these portable speakers due to a fair bit of wiring and their weight, but they don’t take a lot of your desktop.

– There are two stereo inputs on the back so you can attach different components to the system (they are stereo to headphone jacks, which are cheap to buy). Keep in mind that there is no switch between the two inputs and these speakers will play everything at the same time if you attempt to do so.

– These speakers look nice. Easy on the eyes and they don’t take up a lot of room.

– The headphone jack on the front delivers decent amplification. My Grado’s sound great on them.

Cons –

– No off switch. You can turn the volume to the lowest setting on the knob, but there is not a real off switch. This can be annoying when I forgot I set an alarm and there is no real kill switch for the sound.

– Total lack of high end power. For 0 you get great sound for one person, but these speakers couldn’t get loud enough to fill a small room. Considering the alternatives, there is little bang for your buck here.

Overall –

– Depending on your needs, these speakers will either be a great investment or one you regret. For a cubical worker wanting great sound; grab these. For the college student wanting to rattle the room, go anywhere else.

Review by A reader:

Intel has been gearing up to release the Atom N450 or “Pinetrail” since late last year. The manufacturers had a whole slew of netbooks ready for release between January 4 (when the big electronics show CES opened) and January 11 of 2010 (when it’s ok to sell all the new Atom N450 based netbooks). Information was very scarce last year due to a press release embargo and probably the desire to sell of old-stock Atom N270/N280 netbooks.

Here is an extremely useful, albeit technical, review of this particular Asus model AND of the Atom N450 on which it is based (if the link gets edited out by Amazon, go to anandtech and search for Asus 1005PE):

[...]

Please note that Amazon already has a less expensive Asus, the 1001P, listed on the website, in two versions as well, a more expensive Win 7 Starter edition with 250 gb hard drive and a less expensive Win XP edition [edit: they now both have Win7 Starter, and the 1001p is now an anandtech editors choice - their current netbook favorite!] with 160 gb harddrive:

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1001P-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – Up to 11 Hours of Battery Life

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1001P-MU17-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – Up to 11 Hours of Battery Life

The main difference is 3 extra hours of battery life, but there may be other feature differences such as wirless n and bluetooth support.

I am thinking about getting the Win XP version of the 1001p which is quite a bargain. While Win 7 Starter actually runs quite well on these netbooks, and has a few nice features, Win XP is still slightly faster and less of a resource hog. To get my current Win 7 netbooks to match Win XP, I have to do a lot of adjusting (turning off auto indexing, turning off auto disk defrag, choosing Windows Classic theme instead of Win 7) and Win XP is still slightly faster. My main hope in getting a new N450 netbook would be that elusive grail of netbook owners, decent Hulu and YouTube performance (believe it or not, I can watch DVD’s and h.264 high rez content, but not the stinkin’ Hulu and YouTube content except at low rez, not-full-screen mode).

Early reports are that the N450 has about a 10% performance increase over the last generation Atom netbooks, and a 20% battery life increase, but as always YMMV.

THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT things you need to know:

1. It’s very likely in the next two weeks, netbooks are going to come out with the Broadcom HD chip in them, for extra, which will allow high def output, all the way up to Blue Ray quality, and also an HDMI port to allow easy hookup to your living room tv. This would mean high quality streaming video on an external display. This is probably the single biggest reason to wait.

2. Even if high def video isn’t important to you, Intel is supposed to be releasing a 1.8 ghz version of the Atom in February or March, and given the cycle of aggressive product adoption and pricing, the extra performance might be worth waiting for.

Your budget for one of these, by the way, should be about three duckbills for a basic model like the 1001P and no more than four duckbills for an Atom based netbook with some bells and whistles.

And if your machine doesn’t come with 2gb of system memory, while single applications run well under Win 7 and two applications run well simultaneously under Win XP, you should budget for an upgrade to the maximum permitted 2gb at some point.

Oh by the way, I rummaged around on the Intel website and also found out that the old N270/N280s only support 32 bit Windows but the new N450 supports 64 bit, which is really cool.

Review by Bizzybee:

I purchased this little computer about a week ago and so far it has been great. So far I have not found anything to complain about with the computer so I will list a few of the things I like:

- Even with the extended capacity battery, the computer is very light and portable

- The battery life is great! My daughter watched movies for almost 8 hours on our plane ride home without a hitch or stutter. After being in use for nearly the entire flight, it still had 35% of the battery remaining. Another note on the battery, in the earlier 1005 netbooks, the battery would stick out past the screen on the rear of the netbook. That is no longer the case, on the 1005PE it is flush with the rear of the netbook.

- The keyboard is nice and decent size. I almost bought a Toshiba solely because I did not like the keyboard on the 1005HA version of this machine. Asus changed the keyboard on this model to a chiclet keyboard which is much better. I saw one review that thought the keyboard was flimsy. As far as I can tell, the Asus has no more flexibility in the keyboard than the Acer or Toshiba netbooks I looked at.

- Windows 7 starter and Asus Utility. I saw a few reviews where people complained about Win7 Starter. Again, so far no problems with the OS, it does what it is intended to do. As far as the complaints about changing the background on the desktop, Asus was kind enough to provide a utility that makes changing the background very easy.

- WLAN – since I bought the netbook, it has been in 6 locations that have wireless internet and it has jumped on the network easily each time regardless on encryption.

A couple more thoughts on netbooks in general:

- Netbooks are not desktop replacements or miniture laptops. They are intended to provide basic computing and internet needs. If you are expecting it to fly through huge power point presentations or apps that require a lot of RAM and processing power you will be disappointed. If all you need is a computer that travels easily and will allow you to surf the web, play music and video and run office programs, netbooks can be a very good choice.

- I would recommend that anyone who buys a netbook remove as much of the installed software as they can. I was able to remove alot of pre-loaded junk and the netbook ran faster. Here are a few program that I think every netbook should have: Firefox or Google Chrome for internet, vlc (Videolan) for music and movie playback, Open Office 3 for word processing, spreadsheets, etc and Foxit Reader for opening .pdf files.

Also, I have seen several recommendations to replace the 1GB Ram with a 2GB stick. I have not done this yet and it still works great. At the moment I have a 4GB SD card installed to see if there are any performance gains using the Windows Reafyboost function. So far so good.

The bottom line is that this netbook has exceeded my expectations and is a solid little machine. I would recommend it to anyone in search of a good netbook.

Review by Playbak:

I’ve had these speakers for about six weeks and I think they have a great sound. I have them hooked up to a new Alienware system with a SoundBlaster X-Fi card. I use the card for both gaming and music. The system is located in a 11′ x 11′ home office with the speakers located at each corner of 5′ desk and the subwoofer in front of the desk.

I have switched from a 5.1 system I got with my previous Alienware system. I’m in my 50′s and have seen about every sound gimmick come down the pike. There are a lot of people who love 5.1 and have time to tweak them, I’m just not one of them. I’ve had the 5.1 system for about five years hooked to a SoundBlaster Live card. I’m pretty adept with computers, so I have kept up with the drivers, played with the balance, moved the speakers and done about everything I can to “feel” the game. I usually play Call of Duty or Far Cry type games. I also play RTS games of the C&C stripe.

I must be getting old, because I’m tired of screwing around with sound systems. I’m at a point where I just want to sit down and hear some great sound without going through all of the situational adjustments (FPS game, music, RTS game, SAT TV, etc). If you just want something that has great fidelity and some oomph in the low range, this is your system.

What I like:

1. The sound for music is fantastic. I have eclectic tastes in music and all of it sounds great across the board with excellent fidelity. Some songs you can hear every instrument and note. It’s as good as the source (mp3, wma, etc) can make it.

2. The stereo effect is wonderful. It’s like having a center speaker without having the clutter of a physical speaker on your desk, plus you still get a great sense of left/right effects.

3. The subwoofer will rock you. I have it front of a solid wood desk and it will shake the desk at half bass. When I play COD or MOH, it’s like you are on Omaha beach during an artillery barrage. It’s as real as I need it. I don’t need 5.1 to hear the shell whistling past me to get a great effect.

4. I really like the control. It sits well on the desk next to my keyboard. Nice big dials that index the bass and volume well. There is good size off switch that is easy to hit if you need to kill the sound quickly without searching for a mute button. There is also a plug for headphones. Makes it convenient if you don’t want to have to keep reaching around the back of the system. It also has a blue power light which I prefer.

5. Very, very, very easy to set up. Just plug the speakers into the subwoofer and then plug the system cable into the sound card. Turn it on.

6. Uses the system software for balance and treble. It will also use the software equalizer. You may ask why this is important. Half my problem with my last set of speakers is that the computer had an equalizer, the installed SoundBlaster software had an equalizer, the player had an equalizer and the speaker system had a equalizer, speaker balance. Give me a break. There were four sets of adjustments that you had to manage depending on what you were doing at the time (game, music, TV). I never knew which control was in control. My results were mixed at best. Now I just worry about the computers settings and I get great sound in any of my apps.

7. I have not detected the irritating hum my last system had during quiet times or when no music was playing.

8. I like the style of the speakers. Silver with black cloth covers. They seem very substantial.

What I don’t like:

1. I may be old fashioned, but I want the option to change the length of my speaker wires. I don’t know why Logitech has gone this route, but the speaker wire is permanently affixed to the back of the speaker and terminates with an RCA plug. I prefer heavy gauge speaker wire and would like the option to move the subwoofer farther away. This requires me to buy expensive RCA cable as opposed to regular speaker wire.

2. The subwoofer is probably physically bigger than it should be for a small room system. There is no room for it under the desk (that’s why it’s in front of it:). I’m still experimenting with placement. Make no mistake, this puppy is big. It also has metal heat vanes on the back that give it additional length. If you are working with limited space, make sure you pay attention to the dimensions.

3. While I like the control, it makes placing the subwoofer across the room somewhat problematic. The wire from the subwoofer to the controller is a 6′ long thick proprietary cable. The system sound plug then runs from the controller to the sound card. The speakers cords run directly to the subwoofer. This system is meant for close-in.

Conclusion:

This is a great trouble free set of speakers with great sound. Just plug and play without a lot of fuss. I knocked off a star because of the limited flexibility imposed by the cabling scheme. That being said, I don’t think you can beat the sound at this price. To be honest, I have a pretty decent ear and these are as good as any system I have listened to. I feel my money was well spent and I am most satisfied with my purchase. So if you are tired of trying to make the latest gimmick work (7.1 THX) and you just want great sound, this is your system.

Review by O. Johnson:

First, I will have to say that I am a music engineer/producer, so when it comes to music, I know what I’m talking about. Secondly, I just bought this product and, no I don’t work for Logitech, or anyone else who`s related to the company, or their distributors.

Setting up:

For those who are curious a bit about the speaker set up, it is very easy. The subwoofer acts as the “motherboard”, so to speak. Everything hooks into it, from the back. The subwoofer is the power supply source (there’s no adapter, just a standard plug, so this will save room on a power strip), and the wired remote plugs into the sub, and the computer. The satellites plug into the sub as well. If you wish to plug the speakers up something else (a videogame console, a DVD player, VCR, etc.) a RCA splitter cord is provided to hook it up. When plugging this thing up, do NOT plug it up to the electrical socket first and then connect the components. Plug it into the wall last. Additionally, there is a on/off feature on the wired remote, as well as a switch on the back of the sub. The ON LED light on the wired remote is a pretty blue color.

When you set up the speakers, you should note that the satellites are very directional sensitive. That is, adjusting the angle of the speakers will have a great deal to do with the how the sound is directed towards your head, and thus the overall quality. Take the time to adjust this to the best sounding position. These speakers are decently compact. My computer is sitting on a tiny IKEA computer desk, along with other studio gear, including two rack-mounted processors. I have plenty of room for these speakers. Do NOT sit these speakers next to your head. It’s a good idea to have them farther away from you than your monitor is sitting, if possible. As for the subwoofer, do the smart thing and put it on the floor. It doesn’t need to be elevated no more than a foot off the ground, if that much. Also give the sub room to breathe, and for the love of common sense, don’t block the side air hole, and don’t direct the woofer at your computer tower.

The Sound:

Like I said before, I am a music producer, additionally I am a classically trained musician with 20 years experience (I’m 28). So I know what I’m talking about. Also I should note that I am using a fairly new desktop computer, an Emachines, which is about a year old. I also have a nice Sony 5.1 stereo system. These speakers kick my Sony’s tail, all around. The only way it could be better is if it was a perfect surround sound system, and that would be a pain to deal with, unless you have the room and money for it.

Some people have said the mids on these speakers are weak. I’m not hearing it at all. What I have noticed is that the upper highs are very strong. If you are having this problem here’s simple solution. I’m using Windows Media Player 9.0. On the “rock” EQ setting just move the 16kHz level down a wee bit. If you’re using another kind of media player, just turn down the EQ between 12-20kHz down by 5-10%. If you’re hearing hiss out of the speakers then you might have them too close to your head to begin with (I can only hear it when I lean over next to it, and if the volume is past 60%). Otherwise, you might have a shielding problem.

These speakers are quite loud. Be careful not to damage your hearing with these. I really see no point in turning the master volume past 40% and the sub past 25%.

Also keep in mind that these speakers are quality. Don’t play hip hop on a classical EQ setting. You should get used to switching your EQ setting (which is easy enough on Windows Media Player) for the appropriate thing you are listening to. If you’re listening to talk radio, set it to “speech”, and turn the woofer down to zero.

The only draw back on this speaker system is that you can’t turn the woofer down to perfect zero, meaning that you can’t bypass it. That would be a good bonus. But turning down the EQ in the 20Hz to 50 Hz range should do the trick if you want to by pass it.

For this price, these speakers are a steal. The quality of these things in my opinion are triple the price, if not more.

The z2300 as well deserving of 5 stars. If you want killer sound on your computer without spending a few thousand bucks, this is the way to go. I bought these for my home studio to mix the record I’m working on, and I’m so glad I did it. It far beats spending 0 on a single studio monitor.

If anyone wants so advice or semi-technical assistance as far as these speakers are concerned, I’d be more than glad to offer some advice if you wish, just email me at GSFU (at) aol (dot) com.

Review by N. J. Heldt:

Not too long ago, I needed to buy a new laptop computer since my old Dell computer nearly died. (There was some sort of hard drive problem that would only allow me to start up in ‘safe mode.’) After scouring Amazon for several days, I decided upon this Toshiba Satellite computer. It seemed like the best value for the money I was willing to spend.

Pros:

Big screen — This is great for watching movies in true 16:9 ratio. The screen is also really bright so you won’t miss any details.

It has a number pad — I really like being able to use 10-key typing to enter numbers in documents and web sites. Having a number pad is surprisingly necessary.

Fast start-up / Fast wake-up — This computer has enough resources to start up quickly from an off state. The start-up feels like it could be a little bit faster, but, again, it is still significantly faster than my old Dell. I usually don’t put my computers in hibernation mode when I walk away for any extended period of time, so I can’t critique that feature of this computer.

Stylish — This computer looks sleek and sophisticated. It is a real joy to look at.

Generous system resources — This computer has 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard disk capacity. It also has those new Intel processors that feature “hyper-threading” technology. Since Windows 7 is a system hog, a new laptop should at least have 6GB of RAM, but 4GB seems to be just fine for this machine. I can switch quickly between programs, start programs quickly, and end them quickly, too. A 500GB hard disk is just an astoundingly huge amount of storage space. There is more than enough space for photos and movies.

The mouse-pad — I don’t know how Toshiba did it, but the mouse-pad is the coolest feature of the laptop. The mouse-pad looks like it was spray-painted on top of the plastic shell. It also works really well AND it offers multi-touch functionality. If you need to increase the size of the font on a web page, all you do is spread two fingers on the mouse-pad. It is actually pretty damn cool.

Cons:

Atrocious speakers — OK, the worst feature in this computer are the absolutely horrible speakers. The sound that comes from them is tinny and without depth. I find it interesting, to say the least, that Toshiba would have a mid-range computer with decent hardware specs but include insufficient speakers. Whoduthunk?

Not enough ports / Bad port locations — Again, for the amount of hardware specs this computer has, Toshiba only included 2 USB ports. The laptop shell is spacious enough to include 4 USB ports without any problems. My old Dell laptop had 4 USB ports. Also, the USB ports and power DC-in locations are really inconvenient: They are located on the right side of the machine. Most people are right-handed BUT protruding cords interferes with desk space which, in turn, limits the space that most people might have because of the locations of the ports. The USB ports and DC-in power port should be re-located to the back of the machine.

Other details:

The computer is finished with a matte black plastic shell. Just so you know, matte (any color) shows off every single speck of dust and finger print! After I type this review I’m going to wipe down the whole machine with a clean cotton cloth. Also, the keys are matte black, too, so they really show off finger prints! Don’t laptop manufacturers know that laptops are dirty machines?! This laptop also weighs 6lbs. For me, it isn’t heavy, but for others it might be too heavy.

Final thoughts:

Overall, I really like this laptop. It has plenty of resources for a multitude of applications. I can play some graphically intense games without too many problems. It has plenty of processing speed, RAM, and hard disk space for just about anything you can throw at it. This is a great all-around mid-range laptop. The only reason I didn’t give this laptop a 5-star rating is because there simply are not enough USB ports, and the locations of the ports should be on the back of the machine instead of the right side. The speakers are also sub-par for what could have been included.

Review by Working Dad:

I got this laptop about 1 week ago, and I am generally pleased with the quality. Everything worked smoothly out of the box, and it’s been working flawlessly with my wireless N D-link router. Toshiba’s functions key controls for hibernating, changing video output, etc are well designed and intuitive to use.

On the minus side, the speakers are a bit tinny sounding. The video output is adequate for casual movie viewing, but will not satisfy someone looking for HD like video. This notebook has integrated graphics without a discrete video card and would not support high end games with 3D graphics. I also could not get an older game like diablo 2 to work. Additionally, Toshiba does note recommend trying to upgrade the video card (although it’s possible), and doing so would void the warranty.

On a side note, I tried this computer with Toshiba Dynadock and did not find the speed sufficient for smooth operation. I would not try to dock this computer, or in general any computer that is not designed to be docked.

Overall, this is good computer for the price. It will be good for work and casual video viewing, but do not plan on playing games or using it for watching high quality video.

Review by “The Woj”:

I can not really add much to my review which has not already been said. These are great sounding speakers for the price.

If you want speakers with accurate music reproduction, thumping bass and higher volumes, best to spend more money and upgrade to Logitech’s Z-4 model. But for casual listening and computer gaming, the X-140 speakers are more than adequate.

My biggest positive is the durability & construction; very hard plastic backs with heavy duty metal front grills (which are virtually impenetrable to pencils, pens, and other kid wielded objects). So far, after 4 months of use, I have deemed them “kid proof”. Those of you who have small children know what I mean. I highly recommend the X-140′s for those on a budget or those who just can’t see the logic in dropping big dollars when kids are around.

Review by T. Schwartz:

For the price, the sound is quite good. I also like that they use a standard AC plug instead of an AC adapter and you can actually turn them completely off when away from the computer without having to uplug the adapter. Overall, I’m very pleased with the purchase.

Review by Adorjan:

I just received this nice 15.6″ notebook and I admit that I like it! The sound is great. The keypad is really handy when you need it. And the reponse of this computer is satisfying with windows 7 loaded.

However, pictures in its product page might be a deceiving. Although they are shown in the pics, this model does NOT come with a webcam and HDMI. I was surprised when I opened the box and found this truth. Hence, I further digged into the specification sheet and found that I was wrong. Beware, if you think this is really a steal with a webcam and HDMI for this low price, you may just make a mistake like what I did.

In all, I do not regret my decision of buying it at all. You can buy a netbook for 9.99. But I will pay a little bit more to go with this notebook (9.99) with full capability, faster processing speed and a DVD burner in trade of the mobility. Now, I am going return my cute but slow netbook…

Review by leah_ny:

Great computer with HD Screen, the new Windows 7 so user friendly, and I love the expanded keyboard – with numbers set off to the side. I was looking at laptops twice the price (0-0) when I saw this one pop up on the best sellers list for Amazon. The only difference between the higher price notebooks and this Compaq is that it does not have a webcam or 4 GB of memory – it only has 2 but is expandable to 4. You can’t get a better laptop for the price 9. Very happy with my purchase!