If you believe the saying that you get what you pay for - then you certainly should not expect much from this pair of folding speakers from Inspire (about $2 on Amazon). However, you may be pleasantly surprised how much power this little device has.
Of course, you should not expect to be able to crank it up really loud, but the overall sound quality is really decent for such a little speaker. It folds up nicely too to fit into your purse, bag, or picket.
“OK, so you want to play your two hundred dollar iPod to someone on the move. These little speakers will surprise you, as you take them out of your pack, unfold the unique design, plug in your iPod (or whatever sound device, it has a standard mini-plug), and bang! you have a sound system. So, it doesn’t rival the quality of my 34 speaker six amp system at home. But it is surprising how well these little guys do sound. A steal at six bucks. Everyone I’ve used them on has been very impressed. A plus is that they are amplified speakers, so you don’t get the “barely there” sound of passive speakers out of an iPod. They run off a standard USB port for power, I use my iPod power adapter, which was a mistake, as I have to decide which batteries to run down if I use it for music at night (I sleep better with music playing). I would suggest going ahead and getting the inexpensive power adapter, that way you could keep the iPod charged even as you listened to powered speakers.
Most of the time, I use them at a friend’s house, and depend on the four AAA batteries that will run this puppy for some time, even at louder volume levels.
True audiophiles may put these down, but for the average person who’s best sound system is in thier car, they work great. I would give it five stars, except for the lack of bundling both the USB cord and power supply, and because it really will let you down for the low frequencies. It is not a true audiophile speaker system. It is, for the price, one of the best deals on external iPod speakers. (again, it will work with any device with a standard mini-jack, I only use iPod as a term for generic MP3/CD/DVD/Laptop etc.)
These probably are better speakers than are found in most laptop computers, so they are a good choice for that use as well. The cord is a bit short, even for an iPod, it just barely stretches out enough to get to the top of the iPod. This is because of the ingenious storage system: the cable wraps around the battery/amplifier case and locks in place with a small tab on the jack.
I’ve seen the same speakers in systems that cost five times what this one does, which was $5.88 plus tax and shipping, so it came to around ten bucks in the end.
What it isn’t: A high end audio system.
What it is: An impressive device that is a great design for portable audio. Sounds bigger than it is, you probably won’t have to turn it all the way up. Rugged enough to be tossed about in a backpack. (I do sometimes wish it weren’t as chunky folded up, but this design easily protects the speakers. Too big to carry in a pocket, you’ll need some kind of bag to carry these everywhere, like I do. You’ll hear more on the standard iPod earbuds, but at least you can share your music, and most people I play it for couldn’t tell a high end audio system from a tin can, so for the money, it’s really all you need.”
The bottom line is this: These are great little speakers at a bargain basement price.
Read more MP33 player and speaker reviews on MP3 player speaker site. Also read about portable MP3 speakers.
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