Satellite Reviews

I know someone who has the Bose 301 Direct/Reflecting speakers and the JBL's put the Bose to shame. I have heard speakers that have cost up to $5,000 and I honestly believe these sound very similar. I bought the beech series and like them a lot more then the black ones due to the fact the wood blends well with the woofers and the cast-aluminum frames. These are a must buy for anyone who is looking high quality pair of bookshelf speakers that don't cost as much as a KIA.

I wish to take a moment to giggle in glee over my new speakers.

Heeheehee.

My good pal Greg bought a pair of the hideous beech version of these speakers and he was getting all showy with them because, well, we all couldn't help oohing and aahing over the glorious surround sound he has achieved in his room. Fortunately, I came on Amazon.com and found that these really cool looking black versions were available, so I trapsed out and purchased me a couple of sets. Two around the bed, one by the door, one on the shelf, and BAM! we're rolling. And now I giggle, for Greg is as jealous as can be, because his speakers look like dirty cinder blocks and mine look like Monaco headlights.

Don't be a freak, give in to your inner geek! Once you go black, you ain't never going to go back. Now, excuse me while I go listen to my Jai Uttal and gloat. Hahaha!

Although they are a bit larger than I wanted, the sound from these speakers is the best I have heard. Extremely clear at high or low volume for Coltrane or Zeppelin. I sat for hours in front of them slipping in CD after CD and marvelled at the clarity and depth. They also sound great from other rooms--they virtually fill space with sound. This is definitely one of the best buys you can make in a bookshelf speaker. They out-Bose Bose by a long shot and the price is truly incredible for this quality.

I know someone who has the Bose 301 Direct/Reflecting speakers and the JBL's put the Bose to shame. I have heard speakers that have cost up to $5,000 and I honestly believe these sound very similar. I bought the beech series and like them a lot more then the black ones due to the fact the wood blends well with the woofers and the cast-aluminum frames. These are a must buy for anyone who is looking high quality pair of bookshelf speakers that don't cost as much as a KIA.

I wish to take a moment to giggle in glee over my new speakers.

Heeheehee.

My good pal Greg bought a pair of the hideous beech version of these speakers and he was getting all showy with them because, well, we all couldn't help oohing and aahing over the glorious surround sound he has achieved in his room. Fortunately, I came on Amazon.com and found that these really cool looking black versions were available, so I trapsed out and purchased me a couple of sets. Two around the bed, one by the door, one on the shelf, and BAM! we're rolling. And now I giggle, for Greg is as jealous as can be, because his speakers look like dirty cinder blocks and mine look like Monaco headlights.

Don't be a freak, give in to your inner geek! Once you go black, you ain't never going to go back. Now, excuse me while I go listen to my Jai Uttal and gloat. Hahaha!

Although they are a bit larger than I wanted, the sound from these speakers is the best I have heard. Extremely clear at high or low volume for Coltrane or Zeppelin. I sat for hours in front of them slipping in CD after CD and marvelled at the clarity and depth. They also sound great from other rooms--they virtually fill space with sound. This is definitely one of the best buys you can make in a bookshelf speaker. They out-Bose Bose by a long shot and the price is truly incredible for this quality.

This laptop is a steal for the price. I have had it a month now and I love it. I did a lot of checking around before I bought a laptop because I didnt know a lot about laptops at the time. If you were to buy a Dell with the same scymatics as this laptop, you would easily pay double. Compaq's are about $500 more for the same thing. Right now I am in Mosul, Iraq and I use this laptop for about 8 hours straight everyday and I havent had a single problem. The wireless internet is definently a plus. I can sit in my tent and get signal off a wireless router 50yds away no problem. The ease of use of this computer is great. Compared to the pentium 4, the Celerion is still a great operating system. If your looking for something cheap yet reliable, this is the laptop for you. Look on epinions.com or pricegrabber.com and read other peoples reviews and you will see how great of a computer this is.

As an owner of a Toshiba S127 and this S157, I can tell you that this thing is pure quality. Dell's laptops have gotten almost pitiful in quality, while IBM are insanely priced. Where's the quality, inexpensive laptops? Toshiba is your answer.

Trust me guys. Get this model. I bought the S127 and ended up giving it to my mom. This model comes with the built in wireless Internet (which is awesome), 40GB of storage, 512MB DDR (XP uses MUCH more than 256MB even doing the simplest tasks), and 2.2Ghz Celeron (you can't tell the difference between 2Ghz & 2.2 Ghz,trust me).

I scored my S157 in brand new condition for $825 off some really nice guy off eBay I struck a deal with. (I picked it up locally)

I'm going to review every single thing about this laptop, sequentally. Please note that this is an unbiased review:

1.) Keyboard: Probably the best keyboard i've ever used in over 18 years of computers. I loved these soft key laptop keyboard. Doesn't have that annoying cursor thing in the middle of the keyboard that some people like to use. (Most despise it, though)

2.) TouchPaD: Works great. Two basic buttons, silver color, and work perfectly.

3.) 15" XGA screen. The screen is nice, bright, and vivid, but I definately could use SXGA (1280x....) XGA is only 1024x768 and is just enough for basic tasks

4.) Speakers: Silver titinium stereo speakers. They work adequately for basic needs. What can I say? They're laptop speakers. Go pickup some Logitech Z-340s for $30 at Best Buy. They will compliment these nicely.

5.) Design: Design is superb. The laptop is suprisingly thin (1 inch) and the colors are perfect. Really great job.

6.) Weight: 6.15 lbs, according to my measurements.

7.) LEDs: The LEDs are great. 5 basic small LEDs that tell you what's going on. Nothing fancy.

8.) 802.11b Wireless (S157 only). This is great. You can save your PCCard slot; you can also disable/enable the device whenever you want. Someone mentioned somewhere that the built-in wireless card means it uses the notebook as an antenna. I don't believe that though.

9.) CD-RW/DVD ROM: Works perfectly. I would've perferred a trayless drive (like the Pioneer 16x DVD drives) but hell, this is great. They both work great.

8.) Battery Life: Battery life is not as good as I would like it to be. I get 2 1/2 hours max out of this computer on a full battery charge, assuming light working conditions. Extra battery costs $150+tax at Best Buy or Circuit City. I'm using my mother's S127 batter. ;)

9.) Noise Level: Both computers are dead silent. There is a fan that turns on once in a while to cool the computers. The fan isn't loud at all.

10.) PC Card Slot: It only has 1 PC Card slot, but that's not an issue anymore now that I have built in wireless internet

11.) Ports:
Serial: Great but I don't use it.
Parallel: Ok, I still don't use it.
2x USB 2.0: Now, this is beautiful. I have several USB devices, some even USB 2.0, that I use with this computer.
Neither models come with S-Video, DESPITE what some specifications say. The model also comes with external VGA for connecting to a projector or external monitor.
RJ45 (Ethernet) AND Modem already installed. What a great value.

12.) Performance:
Hard drive: Works decently. Only 4200 RPM, so don't expect mind-blistering performance, but it's fast enough even for an end user.

Processor: 2.2Ghz Celeron is like a crippled P4; nevertheless, it performs almost all basic functions with ease. Gamers apply elsewhere.

Sound: No comments. Sound works. :)

Video: This is my biggest complaint (besides the microphone) about this model. Comes with 32MB Intel Extreme Graphics (Shared). Because it's shared with system memory, people tend to think it's 64MB Intel graphics; believe me, it's NOT. It's 32MB Intel extreme graphics that will let you do only the basic video or gaming. Don't expect any kind of performance from this. I really wish Toshiba had put an ATi Radeon mobility in here, but for the price I'm not complaining. :-)

* Software: I don't use the software that comes with this bundle, but make sure to check the personal cons below for additional details.

* Toshiba Utilities: As with most utilities, I don't like running manufacturer's utility files, but Toshiba's aren't _that_ bad. (I still don't run them, though). They allow you to control most of the function buttons at the topic and assign them different functions.

Build Quality: This is where the laptop truly shines. Putting IBM's insanely high quality and price tag, this is the best laptop you can get for budget-price quality. Toshiba rules.

Personal Cons:

* No built in Microphone. The thing has a port for a microphone, but I really, really wish Toshiba had put one in. I know this isn't an issue for most people, but I use microphones on a daily basis. They're cheap, granted, but that's another thing to lug around.

* Rebates: Ugh, I hate rebates. I got my S127 for $760 (after 8.5% tax) and after $250 rebates. I got my S157 for $825 cash from some guy on eBay.

* One thing that annoys me is that Toshiba has loaded this comp with plenty of useless junk like AOL, Special offers, etc. This is an easy fix. I just wiped the drive and put XP Professional on there and boom, it's done. :) The S157, IIRC, comes with Microsoft Works, which I don't use.

If you want more detailed pictures of this laptop, search on www.newegg.com. They have both models and detailed pictures on it.
I hope I haven't missed anything. :)

Had this computer for 20 days. Its a great computer for the price. The built in wi-fi works like a charm. Screen, keyboard, and size is great. Processor and memory was sufficient for my purpose including a little use of paint and drawing programs. Only thing I didn't like is their touchpad. They have something called Draglock feature turned on which makes it hard for me to do what I normally do with my touchpad. I only found out after fiddling around with adjusting all sorts of touchpad settings that it was the Draglock being turned on that was bothering me. If you having trouble with making your touchpad act smoothly, I suggest you turn this feature off. However it is not easy to get to. It is under 5 layers of menu screens. The final menu you will find it is under "tapping settings". Overall, a super buy when you consider the rebates I got this with.

These speakers are definitely classy in look and sound. I've read reviews about Harmon Kardon both good and bad but as far as these speakers go, it far outweighs any bad reviews about other products. I highly recommend these for people who want great sound for a low price and without hassle.

Absolutely thrilled with these speakers...got a great price for a superb product! Easy to set up, huge sound, and classy look. The set up was a no brainer as the five step process is explained with pictures--no words necessary. In addition, the ports and plugs are color coded to make it that much easier. The subwoofer provides a nice boom that rattles your bones without waking the neighbors (I think)!

When I first received these speakers, the speakers themselves seemed really small. But, once I plugged them in, they produced great quality audio. I could blast them up, and it sounded much better than the JBL 2 speaker set I had before.

I use these speakers for movies and mp3s. Although I'm not very picky on audio quality, I'm sure that these speakers would satisfy anyone wanting great audio who isn't a audiophile.

There's one problem I have with these speakers: there's no headphones jack from the speakers.

Other things that you might want to know if you are considering this unit:
Power button is at the back of the subwoofer.
Speakers are light and small; you can knock them over easily.
Bass and Treble controls are on the front of the subwoofer.
Volume Control is on top of the front right speaker.

I was a little nervous at first purchasing this system because of some of the negative feedback I heard on other systems from Bose & the high price $1199. ABT electronics did throw in the $120 speaker stands for free which was nice. After I first installed the systems it did not sound as expected; but after some adjustments to the angle of the speakers and raising the bass and treble in the setup menu the sounds is terrific. As Bose states in their manual this system is meant to realisticaly recreate sounds, not overdue certain effects like many systems do. So far I have had great enjoyement listening to CD's and DVD's, Top Gun sounds better than I have ever heard it. The set-up was easy, including the stands it took 25 minutes and then another 30 min to understand all the menus.

This is a great sound, you think how can 2 speakers have a 5.1 surround sound, well it can. I mean the depth, sound is rich in quality.

Pro's: Great sound, 3D depth, sounds like your in the theater. DVD player is a great player.

Con's: The worst con is that it does NOT support progressive scan out put, just regular Video cables, and S-Video.

I just bought this system for my livingroom. I use to have a surround sound system with like 5 speakers and the speakers werent that great and were everywhere in the room. This 3-2-1 Bose System is easy to set up and only had 2 speakers and 1 subwoofer. If you have a small to medium size livingroom this is perfect. Its as if you were sitting at the movie theater. The system sounds so good and is also a dvd player, cd player and am fm radio. Its a dvd stereo system all in one. Im so glad I bought this product. You cant go wrong with this one.

This Bose system costs three or four times as much as other competing systems. I used the word competing because other systems are in no way comparable. The sound quality from this sytem is simply unbelievable. If you buy these speakers, you will be moe than satisfied with them.

I dn know what some guys are looking. This system is man just incredible. What you want is quality sound and save space. This is what this system has. I know this much that this system scares my neighbours with terible sound effects. It has both high quality sound and high sound. Price is bit high. Well you need to scracth your pocket a bit to hear it. :)

I mounted four of these speakers in an old truck--two on the floor and two behind the bench seat all hooked up to a cheap, 100 watt amp boosting that old, original factory radio. They sounded great with volume output to spare. I wanted a heavy-duty setup that sounded good and didn't cost very much. They fit the bill nicely. I was going to add a small subwoofer, but that old truck took a dive on me. I have a much newer truck now with a nice-sounding factory stereo system, but I wish I had a place for these speakers still. Maybe I'll get another old truck...

Remarkably good speakers at a great price point.

I have several sets of these speakers, used in various indoor and outdoor applications. In each setting they have performed beyond expectation. Although the bass is not overpowering, it is adaquate. Otherwise, a well balance, versatile speaker.

I have had a pair of these for several months. I bought them after comparasion with several other slightly more expensive brands and am reasonably pleased. In this price bracket JBL have tended to be somewhat "bright" sounding, but I was pleasantly surprised by how warm these units sounded compared side by side with other products. The bass is tight and not overstated or "boxy" which is often a problem with cabinets this size, and the metalic tweeter is crisp and sounds wonderful on rock tracks although is a little harsh on classical strings. For the money I think these are excellent value and well worth serious consideration.

Loud and proud. I've been using these for about a year and I've had no problems. Mached with N24IIs they make a great sound system. Although, it seems that I am the only one in the neighborhood who enjoys having them around.

I bought these speakers around June and have had them for about 5 months and after breaking them in...which didn't take long at all, these will boost whavter home theater system you have. I used them as my rears for my 5.1 system over the summer and you could hear every bullet wizzing by in the Matrix when Neo is shooting out of the hellicopter. Now in school my dorm room cant handle my full 5.1 system and ihave these as my fronts, and again, they rock. the bass is amazing. my whole floor can hear whatever i want to play...weather they like it or not. great speakers highly recomended

i just baught a pair og these babies, and let me tell you..... my nieghbors(the ones 20 miles into town) have never heard such good tunes.

I Purchased these as rear speakers to complete surround sound set.
I had no idea that they would sound sooo nice!
They have a wonderful range of response and the resolution is great! After plugging them in, I ended up routing all power just to them and listening to a full symphony from my rear speakers!
Solid as tanks and outstanding performers!

I just bought these to use as my main speakers with my Kenwood receiver. Let me tell you, these speakers sound great! I use them for both music and for Home Theater. There is NO other speakers that sound better in this price range. I've had these speakers for about 4 days, and they sound better and better every day. These little speakers even have great bass! Once I save up enough money I'm going to buy the JBL S38's and move the S26's to the surrounds. You need to buy these speakers!

i just baught a pair og these babies, and let me tell you..... my nieghbors(the ones 20 miles into town) have never heard such good tunes.

I Purchased these as rear speakers to complete surround sound set.
I had no idea that they would sound sooo nice!
They have a wonderful range of response and the resolution is great! After plugging them in, I ended up routing all power just to them and listening to a full symphony from my rear speakers!
Solid as tanks and outstanding performers!

I just bought these to use as my main speakers with my Kenwood receiver. Let me tell you, these speakers sound great! I use them for both music and for Home Theater. There is NO other speakers that sound better in this price range. I've had these speakers for about 4 days, and they sound better and better every day. These little speakers even have great bass! Once I save up enough money I'm going to buy the JBL S38's and move the S26's to the surrounds. You need to buy these speakers!