Customer Reviews

LaCie 130811 Bus Powered USB Speakers

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

 

 

As something of an audiophile and after reading the earlier reviews, I ordered these speakers with some trepidation. But after auditioning them connected to a MacBook Air I have to say these are dynamite little speakers and very good value. They produce more than adequate volume, reasonable base extension for their size, and good clarity and definition in the mid and high range.

For casual listening, they are a fine upgrade for subpar built-in computer speakers, but with no heavy power adapter to lug around, these compact speakers are especially great for taking on trips. (LaCie includes a padded case for safely transporting the speakers, easily worth $10 on its own!)

Just plug the primary speaker into your laptop USB and connect the secondary speaker to the primary speaker, then set the iTunes equalizer to "small speakers" and turn on medium sound enhancement in preferences, and sit back and listen to what I found to be satisfying and surprisingly immersive sound. Great for when watching DVDs. (Alert readers will wonder how I could play DVDs and use the speakers at the same time on the single MacBook Air USB port. The trick is to first rip the DVD on to the hard-drive using the MBA USB DVD player, unplug, then plug in the speakers to play.)

But you don't even to have a computer to benefit from these speakers. There is a Line In socket for audio from iPods and other MP3 players. LaCie thoughtfully includes a white mini-jack to mini-jack cable for this purpose. Power can be from a 9V DC source (not included) or via the USB cable. Yes, I discovered you can plug the USB cable into a small (Sonnos) iPod USB Power Adapter and it works! How's that for a complete, portable powered iPod sound system!

I really like the look and design of this speaker and Lacie brand sounds promising to me in terms of product quality. So, I design to get the item though I had never done research about its performance before.

After I received it and spent an hour with it. The sound quality is unbelievably bad. The sound is unclear and dull. Mine even has noise spikes every 2-3 minutes noticeable esp when you sit 1-2m far from it. You will feel more relaxing if the distance between you and speakers is 5-10m.

I tried burning the speakers for 2-3 days with the hope that it might help. The result is useless and I truly want to return it. Unfortunately, I am back to Thailand now so returning it is impossible to me. My solution is that I look for third party voice coil with comparable size. Then I will disassemble it and replace the core driver by myself (I don't want to throw it away as I still like the design on the speakers).

All in all, if your priority is design, go for it. But if sound quality is your concern, at this price point, you will certainly get much better sound quality from any other brands.

I like the looks and the sound is adequate - however they fail to stay on and go to a loud static every few minutes - I gave up on them.

These LaCie USB Speakers are excellent for the price. They are powered and the sound signal comes entirely by USB, so you only need to run one cable to your computer to drive these speakers. They are intelligent, too, being recognized as an controlled as a USB device by the OS X operating system. For the price, these speakers deliver enough volume to fill a small room (about 15 x 15). I lived in an efficiency style apartment with these speakers connected to a laptop, and I never had to run them at max volume. Because they are true USB speakers, they can be controlled by any device that also controls your computer, like the apple remote, for example. The sound quality is very good, especially if one considers the price. Some reviewers complain that these speakers have bad sound, but either they were unlucky to get defective units or, more likely, they have other problems with their setup. For example, they may have these speakers plugged into a bad USB hub, may have another defective USB device connected to their computer, or may have an underpowered hub, etc. With USB devices, it is best to start by testing the device connected directly to the computer with as few "links" between the computer and the device as possible. Also, microwave ovens, CELL PHONES, and other devices in proximity to the speakers can cause problems. Before condemning the speaker, each of these causes should be ruled out. I say all this to give these little speakers a fair shake and to turn other potential buyers on to the value that these speakers offer.

I got these speakers for my MacBook Pro. I cannot believe how good these $36 speakers are . When listening to XX's debut album, these speakers have a very nice clean opened sound. I find myself really enjoying listening to the music and forgetting that I am only listening to computer speakers. It has me wondering why I spent so much money on my B & W speakers. Even my wife commented that these speakers are fine speakers and her favorite speakers were the old B & W 801s. These speakers are small enough that I move them with my laptop all over the house. LaCie speakers provide excellent sound and the convenience of portability.

The first thing that impresses you about these speakers is the quality of the box and packaging. They would be fun to open on Christmas morning.
The speakers are nicely constructed.
The wiring stores easily within the two speakers; you only need to expose the minimum amount for your installation.
Super easy plug-n-play in Windows 7 - drivers were found and installed in less than a minute.
Excellent range of adjustments to make them perform to please your ear.
Clean, clear sound; great for both vocal and instrumental.
Plenty of volume available.
The flexibility provided by having both power and audio via USB is awesome.
I won't get into the other design features mentioned in the product description other than to say that they are accurate.
I am very happy with these speakers.

Jim