recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

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mattbiernat
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recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#1 Post by mattbiernat » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:54 pm

can anyone recommend portable speakers. i pretty much want to use them to play movies off of my laptop.
1. they have to be as small as possible but loud enough to play a movie
2. they need to be powered solely by USB
3. preferably under $40

ZaZ
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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#2 Post by ZaZ » Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:54 am

Logitech V10s could work.
E7440

Marin85
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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#3 Post by Marin85 » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:14 am

http://www.usb-computer-speakers.com/

I have had very good experience with the Creative N400, they can get really loud with still very good sound quality (for USB portable speakers), but I´m not sure if these are mobile enough for your needs. They get a bit tricky under Windows 7 after resuming from sleep. Also, I´m hearing some excellent reviews on the Logitech V20.
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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#4 Post by sb102 » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:26 pm

Let me share my solution for having a good-grade sound system in a laptop (I did it when I had my T40 and it let me increase the volume of anykind of speakers connected to the line-out audio connector). Although lenghtly in terms of testing and assembly and (at least by some) concidered very impractical (the whole contraption is external, yet can fit into a larger pocket) it provides the much-needed audio boost (and an additional good feel because of a well-done job).
The whole thing started when me and my friends decided to watch movies at our technical university to somehow kill the time between lectures. The problem was that on all our laptops the sound was to quiet. So I decided to buy a DIY electronic kit - an OpAmp driven stereo amplifier (cost just under 5$), that is powered from a 9V battery (lasts for at least 12 hours of continous listening). After assembling and modifying it, I placed the whole thing into a small metal case (for sheilding reasons - operation amplifiers need to be shielded or else they will amplify also the hiss and static). Lastly I bought a set of speaker designed for a portable MP3 player (with no additional electronics) and connected the whole device into my ThinkPad. The outcome was fantastic - if the sound level was set to the lowest value one could hear audio louder than it was if you boosted the volume up to the maximal level and listened to music on the machine's internal speakers.

I know it's impractical, but yet I found this solution cheaper than buying good-grade usb-powered sound system.
Last edited by sb102 on Sat Nov 07, 2009 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Proud owner of:

IBM TP T42, IBM TP 390X, IBM TP 701C, IBM TP 560X, IBM TP 600 plus a ThinkVision L150p 15.0-inch LCD Monitor. Also a DELL AXIM v5 as an iPod (cheaper and has more features than Apple's stuff...).

mattbiernat
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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#5 Post by mattbiernat » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:08 pm

so far i've found the MUSIC CAN USB SPEAKER SYSTEM to be appealing, they are small enough and portable. anyone else got suggestions?

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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#6 Post by mattbiernat » Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:01 am


ZaZ
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Re: recommend portable speakers for a thinkpad.

#7 Post by ZaZ » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:36 pm

I got a pair of the V10s for my dock. They're not super loud, but they get the job done. My main desktop has a pair of Altecs, which are like 10 years old. They still sound good.
E7440

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