laptop speakers?

missyvortexdvmissyvortexdv
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
does anyone know of any speakers suitable for dual usb ibooks?



i had a look around and discovered all the nice apple speakers where only for desktops systems. so do apple or another company make any cool speakers suitable for ibooks connecting by usb?

can you even get usb speakers at all, i have no idea if they would be supported.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member




    I used SoundSticks with my last iBook, worked damn fine.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    The only desktop-only Apple speakers are the little globes - the Apple Pro Speakers (which really aren't "pro" and they're barely even "speakers" ). They use the digital Pro Speaker port on the PowerMac G4 Digital Audio or later and it's also on flat panel iMacs.



    EDIT: It's possible to use Pro Speakers with a Mac that doesn't have a Pro Speaker jack, but you need an expensive Griffin accessory called the PowerWave. It's $99 and it looks pretty cool... basically you connect it to your USB port and you get analog and digital audio in and out ports.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    missyvortexdvmissyvortexdv Posts: 63member
    ok, thanks for the info.

    but soundsticks are a little pricy. are there any reasonable speakers for ibooks, that are say around £50? not specifically apple ones either necessarily.



    i only found reference to Harmon/Kardon H.K 19.5 Speakers but there aren't enough details. can't see a pciture and don't know if they're usb.

    out of curiousity does anyone know if there are many usb speakers out there much other than the ones made for macs?
  • Reply 4 of 12
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    why do you want usb speakers?
  • Reply 5 of 12
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    Hmm, my thought too: just get some powered speakers (saves your iBook's battery) and plug them into the audio out socket.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I got some Creative Soundworks PCWorks speakers about a year ago... I've since sold them in favor of just headphones, but they were really good for the price. Two little cube-shaped satellites + a small subwoofer, and some great sound up to a reasonable volume. They were $40.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    chychchych Posts: 860member
    USB can only go so far, I would go with 'normal' speakers, check out Cambridge Soundworks, Logitech, etc. They have products in your price range.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    Get a set of headphone!





  • Reply 9 of 12
    ransomedransomed Posts: 169member
    Well, this might be a bit out of your price range, but well worth the money: JBL Creatures... They are self-powered and they sound awesome! Whatever your musical inclination. The subwoofer is really powerful, as well as the little satellite speakers. They plug into your headphone jack. By the way, my dad just came by my apartment, and he wanted to check out the speakers, so we plugged them in his iBook and, worked great.

    They're also great for watching movies.



    Aesthetically, they're probably the coolest looking computer speaker set out there (in my opinion). The white ones match the iMac or iBook perfectly, and I think they also make them in metallic gray or silver to match the PBooks and PMacs.



    I got the creatures for $129.00 U.S. dlls at the Apple store... you won't regret buying them...
  • Reply 10 of 12
    mmmpiemmmpie Posts: 628member
    The reason for wanting USB powered speakers is to have _real_ audio without benig tied to a wall socket.



    The problem I see is this:



    USB can provide 500mA and 5v, or 2.5 watts. They arent going to be very powerful



    Another reason for wanting USB is to prevent the headphone socket from being broken through overuse, or to make 'docking' easier by having lots of stuff hooked up to a hub.



    In that case I can heartily recommend yamaha speakers. I got a really nice set ( 2 small sats + sub ) with 2 audio inputs, and one usb. Cant remember the model number, but something like YST-35. They were 150 Au, but are cheaper now. Right in your range. You can get them in black or beige.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    missyvortexdvmissyvortexdv Posts: 63member
    the thing is that i thought usb speakers would be good to take around, portable. but since the only small spakers i found aren't usb and then the rest are expensive, i think i'll have to go for headphones.



    so does anyone have suggestions for good quality and good looking headphones or headset (preferably in a mac style or stlyish) ?



    i knew harman kardon speakers were meant to be good quality speakers for the mac, but no idea about good headphone manufactorers.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Well, they aren't Mac-style, but my Sennheiser HD270s are pretty awesome. They seal out the sound (also makes your ears kinda sweaty after a while, unfortunately) and they have good bass response unlike a lot of smaller headphones.
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