Customer Reviews

JLab Audio BFB01 B-Flex Hi-Fi Stereo USB Laptop Speaker (Black)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was looking for speakers to listen to movies on my laptop in hotel rooms when on the road. With my laptop across the room, I can barely hear the internal speakers, even though they are above average for the industry (IBM ThinkPad X60).

I didn't want wires, batteries, power supplies, etc., and I wanted to minimize my travel weight. I searched all over the Internet, and the JLab B-Flex speakers are clearly the most compact and lightweight available, and combined power and sound interface into a single USB.

I was afraid that at their size, they would not be much louder than the built-in speakers. However, when I got the speakers and plugged them in I was pleasantly surprised. First, the bass is much richer than the built-in speakers on my laptop. However, the overall volume seemed only slightly louder than my laptop speakers. Then I realized that the first time you plug in the JLab speakers, when the drivers are installed it adjusts your volume setting to 50%. When I set the volume back to 100% in the Windows Volume Control setting, the speakers were much more powerful (around 50% more) than the built-in speakers.

Even so, you would probably have trouble hearing them in a loud environment, but if you're looking for that extra boost without increasing your travel weight or carrying around lots of cables/power adapters, these speakers are perfect.

[..]
I have a Power Mac G5 with a 20" monitor. I need a bit more sound to listen to podcasts or a youtube videos. i plugged this into the back of the monitor, changed the sound output in the system preferences and i was good to go. not awarding winnings sound but fine for a office computer.

I recieved a b-flex speaker as a gift not too long ago and I love it! It doesn't require a power cord, it instantly installs itself (I'm running windows XP), and it sounds great! I use it with my Dell laptop and it is way better than the internal speakers. It's a clever idea and a well built device. I haven't had any problems with it at all and I highly recommend it! I just bought the JLab J-Buds as well for my iPod.

Contrary to the first review below, these speakers have very good volume, particularly considering their size. The high frequencies and mid frequencies sound very acceptable for a laptop speaker, and they're very compact and easy to carry if you're traveling.

There's not a huge amount of bass, but for listening to music or news while working on your computer, they're absolutely wonderful. And being able to plug them in via USB is just fabulous - no wires, no mess.

The sound card died on my desktop, so these fit my needs perfectly. Just plug them in to a USB port, let Windows XP recognize and install them, and you're done.

If you want a booming home stereo sound system, find something else. But for travel, or for light listening, these are just perfect.

I bought this speaker because the internal speakers on my Dell XPS M1210 laptop were not loud enough. I followed all of the directions to install this external speaker, but there is no sound. I contacted JLab Audio tech support and received the following e-mail: "Good Q. We have seen some issues with Dell. It has to do with how they design their sound. Please ask them and let me know what they say." I contacted Dell and they will not provide support for third-party products.

I have a Mac G4 powerbook. The sound is so weak that it gets drown out if there are people talking in the same room. The JLab speaker provided about three times the volume of the original speakers and while there is not really any bass to mention, the sound is well balanced and not tinny or thin sounding. Very portable and smaller than I expected.

I just purchased an Hp notebook and needed a little volume boost. This product provided that at a good value. Its not earth-shaking sound, but for the basics that I am using it for (a movie and a game here or there)it is great.
Ease of use was another positive. Plugged it in, recognized the product right away and sound was instantly improved.
Last great thing was J & R music world shipping. Easy, and received the product 1 day after ordering basic shipping

I read the current 12 reviews and after I ordered this I started looking at other usb speakers and regretted that I didn't try another, but I had already placed my order.

Well, OH MY GOODNESS! Thank God I can finally hear! I've given the product 5 stars because for the price and size I didn't expect it to have bass boost or surround sound. I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop and the sound is somewhat pathetic. Until this evening, the sound volume is not good AND today I wanted a friend to hear 2 songs that I recentally found and love, but I had to hold the laptop up about 6-10 inches from me her face so we could hear "The Fields of Athenry" and "I'll Me Ma"-Irish folk songs. The speaker(s) were on my porch when I got home at 5pm. I immediately hooked it up and put those 2 songs on and....previously I had every single volume control turned up, you know the one for the computer and the one for itunes and the one for youtube and I've got this thing (the JBL speaker) in and I've actually had to turn down the internal volume on my computer and was able to turn down my itunes volume.

Previous to this I had bought $40--$50 speaker systems for my laptop (one for my bedroom and one for my upstairs room when I'm up there with it) and of course that was GREAT, but the audio output jack is in a bad place (under my right wrist) and so I didn't even know I was resting my wrist on the input jack causing it to start coming loose inside. Eventually (within 3 months) my output jack doesn't even work anymore. So it was take it to somewhere locally, which I still may do, but of course, I have no idea how much it will cost for them to open up my laptop guts and realign/fix my audio jack. This speaker is the next best solution.
THANK GOD! I AM HAPPY. You can quote me!

Excellent sound - cable keeps position of speaker where you want it - good item, good price

When I first purchased it, I liked it because it did increase the sound of my built-in laptop speakers. However, for watching movies and videos, it's just not loud enough, and the range of sounds is poor. I didn't realize how much I didn't like this speaker until I purchased the "TRITTON SOUND BITE USB 2.1 PORT" portable usb speaker, which I rated 5 stars.

If you've looking for a small, portable speaker for your laptop which really increases the volume and has a great sound range, I would not purchase this one.