Speakers Reviews

The Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100 are completely overrated speakers. When I was first saw the review for these in MaximumPC magazine, I became very interested because they gave these an astounding 9 out of 10. Owning a Creative Labs 5.1 soundcard, I wanted something better than my 80watt Altec ACS48 system ( an award-winning speaker system by Altec Lansing ) and I gave these a try because I wanted a low-end 4.1 setup.

I bought this brand new for around $[money] shipped and when I finally got it setup I was so dissapointed. The overall clarity was crisper in these than the Altec ACS48's but the the bass was much weaker for my tastes. I felt that these lacked the realistic bass needed in some games, movies, or music in Hip Hop or Jazz. It's not that I was looking for raunchy, explosive, overkill bass. I was looking for the OOMPH when it came to explosions and the smooth sexy bass found in Jazz.

Recently Logitech released their newest high end speaker system. It's called the Logitech Z560. I had to get rid of the Xtrusio DSR-100, and after reading that the Z560's were Klipsch killers ( the top of the top in computer sound systems ) I went ahead and purchased these. The Z560's are FANTASTIC. I recommend them with all my heart. They incorporate the right balance for all genre's of music and raise eyebrows when friends watch movies at my house.

If you're going to be listening to classical music, the DSR-100's are for you. Hardcore audiophiles, gamers, music lovers please look elsewhere or try listening to these before you buy them at an online store.

Conclusion
Xtrusio DSR-100 - not worth even $[money] in my opinion.

These speakers are awesome ! The sound quality, the settings that let you manage the bass, the piece that lets you control balance and volume... awesome awesome. Even at the highest volume, this set outputs music with brilliant clarity !

alganon was totally right, this system does rock!!! If you're searching for computer speakers, great price, and want some power, this is the one!! Don't hesitate!! I myself had searched for speakers for a long time, and I'm tellin' you these are great! Powerful satellites, and powerful subwoofer, thanks to new technology from logitech. I as well recommend these for all your audio needs!!!!!!!

It works OK, but I can't understand why it doesn't have a volume control. One of the major reason for purchasing a remote mic is to allow the radio to be placed in an unreachable location. The mic should have a volume control so that the volume can be adjusted without digging out the radio. I bought mine so that my radio could be buried in my backpack while mountain biking. After using it and cursing my inability to adjust the volume, I gave up on the remote mic and switched to a strap-mounted radio pocket.

I wanted this for the Talkabout unit as soon as I saw someone with it. We are skiers: the remote allows us to keep the main unit in our warm pockets, and to more readily reply without taking it out. It indeed meets our needs not only skiing but also when our hands are busy with a fishing pole. In other words, it is really useful for anyone who is outdoors and wants to avoid fumbling around for the basic unit. I am somewhat disappointed at the clip which attaches the microphone. The clip is on the small size and subject to coming loose.

The talkabout 250 seems to have a clunky design, specifically with the placement of the "Push to Talk" button. This microphone plugs in and allows you the ease and flexibility of a real microphone.

Ths microphone unit works both as a speaker and as a microphone. The speaker in this unit is superior to the internal speaker in the talkabout.

This unit allows you to put the radio in your pocket, or clip it on your belt and still be able to hear and talk on the radio. The microphone contains a clip that you can clip to your collar or shirt pocket that keeps the speaker close enough to your ear for you to hear anything, as well as close to your mouth for talking.

I strongly suggest that if you buy a TalkAbout 250 that you also buy this microphone.

This microphone does not work with the TalkAbout 280 which has different size microphone/headphone jacks.

If you really want portable speakers that sound great and cost a lot less go for the Bose Mediamates. They have exceptional sound quality for their size and price. Search for them and read my review on the Bose Mediamate! If you just want great speakers that go even louder than the Bose and have room shaking bass and can afford expesnive ones go for the Bose Companion 3! It is an AMAZING speaker system and it is like $20 more dollars than htis Sony speakers... go to www.bose.com and take a look at it under the Game and PC Section!

O.K. So you're an audio enthusiast with a multi thousand dollar esoteric hi fi system at home. Only you like to travel, and there's no way 100 odd kilo's of gear are going to find a place in your samsonite.
Now here's a solution for all you music lovers out there who have been looking desperately for a portable system that adheres to higher fidelity standards: the Sony srs-Z1.

They are very pleasing to the eye, but it's sound that we're concerned about, so I'll get right down to it.

Sweetness and clarity are the first things that spring to mind when describing these beauties.Absolutely no coloration in the mids, no boominess, and lacking that jarring harshness most associated with portables.Listening to the soundtrack from 'the mission', the voices were projected with a room filling strength that far belies it's meagre 3 watts per channel rating.The stereo focus was sharp, and voices were placed dead centre.

And this from a listening position about 10ft. away from the speakers!

It definitely lacks a bottom end, but more than makes up for it through its sheer musicality and yes, transparency.These are words normally reserved to describe expensive speakers within the main system, but I have no hesitation in using them here.

I was able to do a comparative listening test with the more expensive and heavier box like sony 1000Z, and the srs-Z1 win hands down.Sony claims to use a special bio-cellulose blended into the central part of the diaphragm for strength and lightness as well as using OFC copper lead polyester film capacitors in the amplifier for better clarity.

It seems whoever designed these at sony has an ear for sound.

There is definitely room for improvement- a compact subwoofer would take care of that thin bottom end, and dare I let my imagination fly...A couple of tubes and a remote?? That would definitely make it a dream hi end portable!!!

But back to earth for the moment, if you are looking for a portable hi end sound, this is it!

One other drawback- It only runs on a 9 volt adaptor, so if you are travelling to places (as i do) where electricity is still a vague notion, it might do well to improvise a battery pack.

(sony- are you listening ? )

One of the smallest speakers on the market with fully qualified hifi sound. It's incredible that so small speakers could manage to create such a large soundstage. They present treble and midrange with an accuracy similar to electrostatic speakers. The bass is good enough, but lacks in quantity and power. My only recommendation: Buy and enjoy them ! I'm doing so !

I have owned the VT-2's for four years and still have not heard any speaker anywere near the same price perform as well. Where most misinterpert the sound of this speaker is in its totally neutral sound. If you have a poor source the NHT VT-2 will let you know in spades. Likewise if you have mid to top line equipment you can approach near audiophile quality sound for a fraction of the price. It's not Wilson Puppy analog type sound, but for about 98% of the listners out there they would be hard pressed to "hear" the difference at normal volumes. I have seen these speakers sell used in the $500.00 to $750.00 range usally due to the sellers dislike of the sound based on inferior amplification equipment being used. Mid' are sharp, highs are crystal clear, and the bottom end is good, unbelievable if bi-amped. These speakers also excell as a good base for a home theater, and you can shake the windows if you so choose if you power the subs. If you can find them, buy them, you won't be disappointed.

System configeration: Shearwood Newcastle 9080R-Pre-amp, Sherbourn 5/1500A Amp, Adcom GFA555 Subs, MIT HT4S Main speaker cables, Sony SADC/DVD NHT VT2 Fronts Center, Klipsch CF2's for the rear

I've had the VT2/VT2center/HDP2 surrounds for a year now I assure you they are worth the price if you have it! Mine are connected to a Sony ES receiver 120W/channel and I have biamped the subs on the VT2s using NHTs sub amplifier. These bad boys require serious power to drive them. Once you get a lot of clean amps into them they sound fantastic. I would also warn you that these are acurate speakers. If you have low quality source components you will hear every hiss. If you have a great system you'll hear every whisper!

These are top notch speakers and it is good to see that amazon are improving their audio section ( about time). But I am upset at the cost. Amazons Dvds are very cheap and the reviews are excellent. Here the speakers are not discounted enough and the reviews are lacking.5 stars for the speaker/ 2 stars for the almost list price

The first one arrived and didn't work. The second didn't either. The fact that today there are only two reviews when last month there were a dozen makes me wonder.

I've owned the set of Proton radio and slave speaker. The sound is incredible. I have placed them in my bookshelf headboard where they are a perfect fit of form and function. All the controls are extremely workable and well-thought out. But even better is the fact that you can set it and forget it. I awaken to my favorite station, with the music ramping slowly up. I got to sleep using the sleep timer. Depending on which alarm you set, 1 or 2, the sound comes out of different speakers. Here in Texas we get lots of bad storms yet I've rarely had to reprogram my Proton; it holds the settings when the power's off. I highly recommend this unit.

This is the speaker slave to the Proton RS-332. I keep the master unit in my bedroom as a clock radio. I wanted a radio in the little office next to my bedroom, but I have two computers in there and I liked to listen to an AM station. The AM reception was awful. What to do? I got this speaker unit and hooked it up with the 18' cord to the tuner in my bedroom. I hooked up a Turk AM Advantage antenna to the tuner. The speaker unit has full on/off tuner controls, but since the actual tuner is in the other room, the computer interference doesn't affect the AM reception. What a concept! Works great!

Purchased Sony home theater set three months ago. Woofer started a quiet "buzz" sound and quit altogether shortly thereafter. No indication of power LED to item. Going back to store, hope thay can replace or fix. Long drive!

This thing is just great. It's cheap and sounds great too. Don't let the 75 watts bother you-- that's plenty for most of the bookshelf speakers we're all going to use it with anyways. And it actually packs more punch than the 75 watts lets on.

I actually brought home the *150 watt* Yamaha SW215 and compared it to this Sony unit side-by-side. The Sony unit actually sounded louder at lower volume settings and definitely packed more of a punch on bass drums. An explosion from the second fighting scene in "Saving Private Ryan" also had more depth and bass to it, and this is with me making my wife sit with her eyes closed and listen to compare. Perhaps it's because the Yamaha unit is down-firing and my floor is carpeted, but either way the Sony definitely sounded better-- for less money.

I'm using it with a Kenwood UD-203 shelf system with two 40 watt main speakers.

People say Sony isn't known for their speakers, but in this case you won't be disappointed!

My situation is this -- my son is too young to watch action movies, and if I were to "rock the house" with a 5.1 surround sound speaker system after his bedtime, I would be guilty of child abuse. Since my Projection TV is already using a pair of JBL speakers in a stereo set-up, I bought this Sony subwoofer to upgrade to a 2.1 set-up (two stereo speakers and a powered subwoofer). The extended bass really enhances our television/DVD viewing, and remains kid-friendly. One key point -- take the time to measure your stereo speakers per Sony's instruction manual and set the Crossover switch (on the subwoofer) accordingly. It will give you peak performance from this subwoofer...

I really had high hopes for these speakers. I have ALWAYS loved Sony gear and always found it performed to its name. I compared these speakers against other battery powered units, and found the specs on the box were all almost the same for 4xAA speakers. These things were the biggest dissapointment. Battery life seemed to be about 6 hours, compared to 30+ hours my friend got with his 4xAA speakers. If I tried to use it in a room with a fan or air conditioner running, it couldnt be heard over the noise of the unit. If I tried to use it outside, simple noises like cars driving by or people talking drowned it out. It was as if I plugged in headphones and turned it up as high as I could in hopes it could be heard.

I have switched to my friends brand, which I wont mention here. I dont want it to appear I am trying to plug another brand- I really do just hate these speakers.

I don't care very much for headphones, so they are always my last option. So I wanted a set of speakers to take with me to use with my Discman. This set of speakers surpassed my expectatives by far. They have a slick design and the fact that they fold is very convenient. Also, by themselves (w/o batteries) they are extremely light! The sound is clear and crisp. I tried several different styles of music: metal, traditional Christmas, Latin, and some piano classic and modern instrumentals. They all sounded very good. However, keep in mind the size of the speakers. They do not, and should not be expected to, deliver a great, deep, room filling bass sound. But they do not sound like a thelephone either, they give a good and full body sound. They are louder than I expected! You can make them loud enough for a good personal and small room use without distortion. They also handle very well the stereo sound, if you care for those details. Keeping in mind that they are a small, traveling convenience, they do deserve a high five stars mark.

Music from atop the cabinet filled the (small) room. It was as loud as we would want, and the sound was remarkably clear. The slender speakers and the elegant iPod were almost invisible.

"There are times that I really feel I'm in the 21st century", Emily said, "This is one of those times."

Very impressive. The speakers are a bit bigger than I expected; I think the SONY SRS-T77 is more compact. It's the only comparable product; but it's twice the price of the SRS-T55. Mind you, these are so good I'm tempted to keep them by my iBook and buy the SRS-T77 for the office.

The speakers folded up are 2x3.5x4 inches. The battery compartment, holding 4AA batteries, makes up a fair bit of the size -- to be significantly smaller the device would probably need an internal rechargeable lithium battery and the price would be much higher.

SONY claims 24 hours of battery life at 10mW output. Maximum output is 1 W/speaker or 2W. You can buy an external SONY adaptor (ACE60HG) for about $20; I think it's a 6V/700mA adaptor. SONY of course says not to use any other adaptor, a possibly compatible RadioShack universal charger is about $16 -- not much less. If you think you'll buy the charger, however, remember than the SRS-T77 comes with a power adaptor.

I started out using alkaline batteries. I'd forget to turn off the speakers and I was burning through batteries. I thought of buying a charger, but I had a much better idea.

I recommend, instead of the charger, buy some of the very high tech NiMH batteries and a charger. You can use these in all kinds of devices, and they last forever. They are designed to handle the power demands of a digital camera, so the spearkers are a piece of cake.

I ordered a RipVan 100 charger and 12 JetCell batteries (I paid for 8, 4 were freebies). You order this on the web, it's from a small eccentric business that provides terrific quality service. They seem to last a week or two in the speakers, and they recharge thousands of times. Definitely a better investment than yet another power adaptor.

With these NiMH batteries you can use your iPod as clock alarm while traveling. Just leave the speakers on overnight, the batteries will do fine.

I have owned these speakers for 3 and a half years now. They are good speakers for the price. The 12" inch woofer kicks out enough bass and the midrange and tweeter do a good job too.

I use them as my stereo speakers as well as part of my front surround sound setup. I don't use a subwoofer, yet these speakers have enough punch to handle movies and their effects for a mid size room. IF you want to shake paint of your walls with bass, then you would need a sub, otherwise these are fine.

I don't like the bass in speakers to be overpowering so that it negates the highs and mids while listening to stereo music. These speakers have the right balance of bass, mids and highs and have good clarity for the price. I think they are worth the money as they have a good fit and finish to boot besides other mentioned good qualities.

For the average listener on a budget for speakers, these should be given a ear.

I have a pair of this model speaker and like the way they perform but after very limited use had to replace a woofer. The voice coil separated causing "mucho" distortion. This was a surprise because of the limited use at relatively low volumes that the speakers were subjected to. Technics did replace the "blown" woofer for free but this does raise a question.

Bottom line is they sound good, with decent bass and mid to high frequency clarity. For the money they are a good choice. Let's hope the problem with the woofers has been solved.

Though Technics isn't considered to be the best name brand in home audio, i have always been very impressed with their speakers. These speakers are very affordable and have sound quality that rivals and even surpasses those of many other name brands that cost much more. They have a very quality look and sound to them that sets them apart from the average speaker. I would reccomend them to anyone.

Once you compare these speakers, you too will agree that they are GROSSLY overrated. They are cheap-looking, very light and flimsy, and are made of plastic and vinyl. They sound about average. After several comparisons, I bought the new Polk Audio RTI4 which are EXCELLENT in every comparison -- solid wood construction, great-looking, and SUPERIOR sound quality.

Wanna laugh, try placing the Wharfedale Diamond speakers next to a set of Polk Audio RTI series speakers and then look and listen. The Polk Audio RTI series cost a little more, $259 for the RTI4 compared to $199 for the Wharfedale Diamond 8.1, so you might expect a little more to begin with, but the difference is like day and night. The British are known to have a strange sense of humor, but here with the UK Wharfedale brand, the joke is on us.

The Polk Audio series are simply elegant and have superb sound quality in comparison. The Wharfedale Diamonds sound OK, I guess, but they miss out in reproducing the entire sound range for which they are designed. I'm not talking just about the deeper bass, which both sets lack due their bookshelf size, but somewhere within the mid-range as well.

Where did all the rave reviews of the Wharfedale Diamond series come from? Not just those written by consumers, but those by professional reviewers as well. Even if you're on a budget, look and listen before believing that you're getting a good buy.

I was very skeptical! Especially sisnce I didn't hear them first. (No stores carry them in South Bend, Indiana) But I was reading every review I could find, about 15 total and they all said the same: 4.5 to 5 stars (cheap grills). I wanted to replace my old speaker system. So I bought the "Rears" Diamond 8.1 first, they're the cheapest. If I was out, I would only be out under $190.00 Dollars. I have an Onkyo receiver that puts out a low frequency of 20Hz to the high of 20khz these 8.1's sound crystal clear. I played it in stereo mode w/CD. Obviously, I had to turn the bass down. But not as much as I thought 11 O-clock below center. I could hear Don Henley's In-hail between words!! Needless to say I'm a kid in a candy store, ordering the diamond 8.4's, diamond 8 ctr channel and unfortunately wharfedale doesn't have a sub with a low 20hz subwoofer in fact Yamaha subwoofer has the lowest freq. I could find 20hz to fit my receiver. Sorry Wharfedale, I'd would rather of given you the business. The grills are cheap but putting black tape around the prongs that fit into speaker will hold them secure (Just a little tape). Buy them you will be happy! If your not, good luck with the others and I hope you have a good second job $$$$$$$

Once you compare these speakers, you too will agree that they are GROSSLY overrated. They are cheap-looking, very light and flimsy, and are made of plastic and vinyl. They sound about average. After several comparisons, I bought the new Polk Audio RTI4 which are EXCELLENT in every comparison -- solid wood construction, great-looking, and SUPERIOR sound quality.

Wanna laugh, try placing the Wharfedale Diamond speakers next to a set of Polk Audio RTI series speakers and then look and listen. The Polk Audio RTI series cost a little more, $259 for the RTI4 compared to $199 for the Wharfedale Diamond 8.1, so you might expect a little more to begin with, but the difference is like day and night. The British are known to have a strange sense of humor, but here with the UK Wharfedale brand, the joke is on us.

The Polk Audio series are simply elegant and have superb sound quality in comparison. The Wharfedale Diamonds sound OK, I guess, but they miss out in reproducing the entire sound range for which they are designed. I'm not talking just about the deeper bass, which both sets lack due their bookshelf size, but somewhere within the mid-range as well.

Where did all the rave reviews of the Wharfedale Diamond series come from? Not just those written by consumers, but those by professional reviewers as well. Even if you're on a budget, look and listen before believing that you're getting a good buy.

I was very skeptical! Especially sisnce I didn't hear them first. (No stores carry them in South Bend, Indiana) But I was reading every review I could find, about 15 total and they all said the same: 4.5 to 5 stars (cheap grills). I wanted to replace my old speaker system. So I bought the "Rears" Diamond 8.1 first, they're the cheapest. If I was out, I would only be out under $190.00 Dollars. I have an Onkyo receiver that puts out a low frequency of 20Hz to the high of 20khz these 8.1's sound crystal clear. I played it in stereo mode w/CD. Obviously, I had to turn the bass down. But not as much as I thought 11 O-clock below center. I could hear Don Henley's In-hail between words!! Needless to say I'm a kid in a candy store, ordering the diamond 8.4's, diamond 8 ctr channel and unfortunately wharfedale doesn't have a sub with a low 20hz subwoofer in fact Yamaha subwoofer has the lowest freq. I could find 20hz to fit my receiver. Sorry Wharfedale, I'd would rather of given you the business. The grills are cheap but putting black tape around the prongs that fit into speaker will hold them secure (Just a little tape). Buy them you will be happy! If your not, good luck with the others and I hope you have a good second job $$$$$$$