Computer Speakers - what you can get for 25 USD or 15GBP

[sreten]

Hi,

People often post in this forum regarding small full range computer speakers.

So I thought I'd post my thoughts on some recently aquired Logitech X-140's.

What you get :
***********

2 x 2.5" long excursion full range driver.
2 x 3" matching passive radiator.
2 x cabinets, not non-resonant, but well controlled.
2 x 2.5W RMS power amp (class D and switching supply assumed,
note power supplies are built into the speakers, not a wall wart.)
Presumably some fixed active EQ to the full range driver.
Volume control - input is 3.5mm stereo.
Tone control - AFAICT it should be labelled bass.
Some dynamic bass management apparently.

Listening impressions :
****************

Volume capability is pretty much what you'd expect from the above,
not bad, good enough for nearfield, but they do overload quite easily.
Bass on quiet stuff is very good, but becomes more what you would
expect on more livelier stuff - probably due to the dynamic element.

Sound quality on DVD's is excellent, in fact the dynamic bass element
does seem to ameliorate the worst excesses of "dynamic" 5.1 mixes.

With music I'm not going to go there, very good though for £15.
A self build without some active EQ could easily tonally be worse.

Overall :
******

Limited volume capability, decent sound, bass management works.
As a package incredible value, no worries regarding bass overload.
For music don't expect real dynamics, but for videos that works.
Emphasis is on decent midrange, not bright treble or fat bass.

rgds, sreten.



A more personal impression is the laptop screen gets in the way of
the best imaging, but for the stuff I like, they do a great job at £15,
though I'm nearly always just under the overload / distortion boundary.

[sreten]

Hi,

Just a quick follow up :

Using my MP3 player, not my laptop, things improved somewhat, they
sounded more dynamic but somewhat cruder if that makes sense.
For music the vocals quality is surprisingly good, they are very well
balanced in that respect. Makes sense to concentrate on what a
small full range driver should be good at, also great for videos.

With the Sansa Clip * some of the "full range magic" is apparent.

On the more technical side it seems the heavily actively EQ'd broad
midrange has some real dynamic capabilities, more than 2.5W rms
might suggest, due to the "headroom" given by the active EQing.
The bass end AFAICT is simply controlled to allow it to work with
the midrange, its not ideal, but neither is a small driver overloading
all over the place in response to low bass signals, its pragmatic.
On music basically just necessary, on videos possibly a boon.

rgds, sreten.

Having messed around with various USB full range speakers and the logitech
X220, full range computer speakers are worth a look, sub+sats for real bass.

* MP3 player well rated for sound quality

[sreten]

Hi, I can't believe FR fans are not interested, technophobia ?, rgds, sreten.

FWIW for what they cost I'm massively impressed by the X-140's.
They'd certainly be IMO a rather big improvement for many TV's.
Laptops, PC's etc IMO a no brainer, they are great for the price.

[pinkmouse]

The gaffer just got a pair of these for his iPad, I agree they do sound rather good for the money.

[dave_gerecke]

Hello sreten, I have read the posts you made with interest. I bought some used satellite speakers for a Logitech Z-560 systems a couple years ago. I was surprised by how good they sounded, even in the cheapo plastic cases they have. I opened one up to find that they are TB W3-665SC drivers. So they have some background in fullrange on the Z series. I have since picked up enough of these speakers to make a couple of mini line-arrays, with some as yet undecided tweeters to cross in for the high end.

Peace,

Dave

[sreten]

Hi,

As they are "running in" (more likely I'm simply getting used to them)
I'm becoming more impressed with the engineering compromises made.
Everything seems optimised around vocals and then adding as much
extended bass as possible that the driver can cope with, good stuff.

rgds, sreten.

Having tried lots, they really are outstanding for £15 computer speakers.

[sreten]

Hi,

Last follow up to this. Having been giving them some full disco and reggae
workouts the bass management is pretty spot on. If you fancy something
nice in wooden boxes you could do a lot worse than stripping these.

Your going to be hard pushed to get the bits anywhere near the cost.

I'd recommend increasing internal volume by a maximum of 50%.

rgds, sreten.

[infinia]

Hi
thanks for the review
any other products under consideration before purchasing these or were they just too good to resist for the minimal outlay? for a new laptop?

[sreten]

Hi,

Not really.
They were an impulse buy wandering around a shop looking for a printer.

My usual laptop speakers were USB powered 2" egg shaped jobbies, and
they were pretty nice, great imaging, but in comparison the bass is a joke.

They were £10 (in a sale reduced from £20). In comparison the X-140's
are simply miles better overall, but not at everything. However overall
having heard loads of cheap (£10 to £20) computer speakers the X-140's
do things that for me are quite amazing for £12.50 delivered from Amazon.

rgds, sreten.

Suppose I should point out I had recently previously bought some Logitech
S150 USB speakers and the Logitech S220 2.1 system for friends and been
fairly impressed. These things though are overall IMO far more impressive.

[infinia]

It'd be cool if they just built a 2.0 design like these into the (multimedia) laptops to begin with. I mean how hard could it be? Race to the bottom priced laptop or the lowest common denominator I guess.