Review: Altec-Lansing Speakers for computers, MP3 players

I was initially surprised when I unpacked these speakers because they were a lot larger than I'd expected. In fact, I think they're rather large for laptop speakers unless your laptop doesn't travel the way mine does, around the house or outside of it. You're not going to be carting these speakers along with you. They'll probably end up as speakers for my desktop.

Portability issues aside, they do provide good sound for their size and price point. Tone is crisp and clear, and while you can't do much more than play with the volume and brighten or darken the sound, you can still do some reasonable fine-tuning here. I'm sure there are audiophiles out there who will disagree with me, but then I don't really think that listening to music or watching DVDs on your computer provides optimal enjoyment no matter how good your speakers. It's a convenience, not worth selling your firstborn for.

Apart from the size, my only other quibble is that here is yet another piece of equipment that I have to find a plug for, and a plug that will accommodate yet another bulky transformer. I realize that external speakers which operate on juice from the computer are probably pretty sad little things, and that it's a trade-off, but I really am getting tired of all those black blocks.

But the bottom line is this: I'm sitting here listening to Pandora Radio and it sounds good to me for a change. The sort of good that would get me back to listening on a regular basis. And that, my friends, is the real test of these speakers and their relationship to my laptop. They may not end up attached to the desktop after all.

Altec Lansing Speakers for Computers/MP3 Players with Crystal-Clear Sound (Black)