This is a very solid, well made speaker that has a nice modern/sleek look and a very practical design – simply LOVE the nice large adjustable volume control wheel right off to the side. This is a really nice feature that is often overlooked – I can’t stand speakers that do this via a series of small, separate buttons that are often placed with other controls. Having a nice large analog dial is sooo much more convenient and makes adjusting volume during a ZOOM call a snap. I use it primarily on my “work” laptop computer which I have plugged into a separate monitor/mouse/keyboard and use it primarily for listening to zoom calls. It fits nicely right under my big external monitor and completely solves the the issue of the weak built-in monitor speakers having such crappy/tinny sound. The audio quality is actually quite good given it’s size – ESPECIALLY for listening to voice conversations. (I use a separate USB stand alone mic.) Anyway, this speaker is much better and clearer than anything coming out of a built-in TV/Monitor speaker or laptop speaker. (Like a night and day difference!)
It is USB powered, so I’d recommend powering it off a dedicated USB powered hub or USB wall charger that can provide the full 2amps it needs rather than using a laptop’s USB port for power – in that it will then get enough power to sound good. I believe most folks complaining about sound quality in other reviews are most likely using this speaker underpowered via their laptop’s USB port, which typically is NOT providing sufficient power for this speaker. While it may work, it won’t sound as good. So be sure to give it adequate power and then simply plug its audio jack into you PC or laptop. Cables are of high quality and nicely braided – they should last.
The RGB strip can get a little annoying – but easy to turn off with a couple of pushes of the volume knob (it can be “:clicked”, so pushed inwards as a button as well.) I keep my speaker powered on all the time, so I don’t have to reset the volume or RGB lighting as others have mentioned – so if you have it set up to power on/off all the time, having to reset the lighting option and sound volume can become tiresome.
Also, I’ve never messed with the Bluetooth option, but it is there if needed. I feel it really performs best though as just a dedicated monitor speaker.
Tip: If the RGB lighting drives you nuts, it is very easy to just run a line of black electrical tap over the RGB bar – problem solved and easily reversible.
I didn’t give it 5 stars because the manufacturer should do a few more design tweaks to make it perfect:
1) Have it remember LED and volume settings on powering off – i.e. If power cycled, it should remember its last settings.
2) Provide a dedicated power supply for it instead of relying on USB power – many laptop/PC USB ports will not adequately power it, so having a good/dedicated power supply would help.
3) Get rid of the shiny chrome logo emblazoned on the front – use a matte black one instead. (I solved this by coloring mine with a black sharpie pen)
4) Have the RGB lights have a dedicated hard switch somewhere to be able to completely turn lighting on or off as an option.
Minor quibbles aside, this is an excellent speaker for ~$50, so much better than any built in PC monitor or laptop speaker and don’t let other reviews sway you, the sound quality is actually good for what it provides – especially for voice/dialogue sound. Note: This is an unbiased review – I DID NOT get asked to review it – this is my own honest review after owning it for 2 years. I liked it so much I also purchased one from my father who needed a solid speaker for his PC monitor. If you are looking for something practical and well designed, this is a good choice. If you are after a speaker for huge room filling sound, spend more and get something designed to do this at the $100-200 range. This is a great, dedicated PC monitor speaker replacement and it does it very well!
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