Customer Reviews

Philips SBA1500/37 portable speaker system

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm not an audiophile, so I can't really comment on the quality of these speakers, but they sound fine to me. However, they do NOT have a "wall plug for extra power" as stated in the product description. The only power comes from three AAA batteries. I was looking for something that wouldn't require me to carry batteries around, so this was disappointing. The speakers and power pod do pack together into an ostrich-egg sized unit, so the whole thing can tuck into an odd corner of my duffle bag.

Despite the fact that no AC power cord comes attached, I was stunned by the sound output of these tiny speakers. They're superb. My only quibble would be that I'd prefer them in black, but that matters very little once you hear these titans. I've bought other mini-speakers within this price range and basically junked them... but Phillips comes through again and exceeds expectations. Don't judge them by their size.

These speakers work very well. I took them to work and the sound fills the medium-sized office, even over the equipment noise. For tiny speakers, the sound quality is excellent. If I didn't like theese speakers so much, I'd give them only 4 stars because they're kind of bulky for carrying around with you everywhere, even in the "egg" shape - you can't just throw them in your purse.

The battery life is at least 16-20 hours (I haven't had them very long, but the batteries haven't worn out yet) and potentially much longer. As an added bonus, the rubber around the battery compartment even keeps my iPod from moving when I switch tracks or adjust the volume.

Overall, I highly recommend these speakers.

I am a former recording engineer so I have a skeptical ear. Well, as a last minute purchase before going to a musical festival, I hoped to find some portable speakers for my I-phone to play my favorite tracks for my friends at the party. I thought $20 wouldn't get me much but I knew Philips has a long audiophile reputation so I dropped the cash and purchased the SBA1503's along with a 16 pack of AAA batteries. I was nervous because the styling looked good and that usually means crappy sound. But when I first heard the sound I was surprised at the clarity. Then I realized I only heard one speaker and pushed the connector in further to hear both and WOW.. I was amazed at the separation, the balance, and it is now 3 hours later and they still sound great. They make me want to listen to my tracks through them. Awesome job, Philips. Technology can be fair sometimes and these are a very fair price for the bangin' sound. A great value- like the cost of 4 packs of cigarettes. Right on!

So here are my field notes..........

Cons(first): - Will distort at +3/4's of volume from your laptop/iPod......
- Needs batteries raplaced, no AC.....(I've always used nmh recharchables so this works good.....about 3-4 hours per 3 AAA's........)
- Doesn't stow the actual speaker cables safely.......
- Prone to fingerprints......(it's got that rubberized grey plastic like macbook feet....)
- Only about 4 feet speaker separation with connector centered between........

Pros........ - decent bass response for cheap, small speakers..........not gonna boom but you can make out synth bass parts........
- Leave the power pack at home!...............they cleverly put 2 separate 1/8" stereo connectors with this system so you can bypass the powerpack and just plug in the two speakers directly into your device for decent passive performance.......
- Power pack has on/off put no volume............
- nice shape speakerpods, fit on a dashboard or in bed next to you............


I bought these for bedtime, beachtime and trying to hear streaming videos on a laptop or iPhone............

in passive mode(Volume then goes to max with no distortion) they were almost as loud as my macbook speakers but way more natural midtones...............

With the powerpack at 3/4 volume.......they will fill a small space well.........maybe a 10 foot diameter space in the open air............

If you still like to use passive speakers for certain things but want that boost now and again, these are for you.......................would buy again..............


1/1/11......update.........
- still going strong, just hard to keep clean and doesn't pack it's own cords......it's 90% a travel case by it self but the other 10% of the design needs a pouch ultimately to protect it......

I have used these speakers mostly to stream video in the garage and be able to move around and still hear my laptop.....it does this well......

......And multitracking on a laptop with an iphone drumming app. going analog in the laptops' mic in.......

I bought these speakers to take with us when we travel, and they're great for that. They're portable enough to tuck into odd hollows in a suitcase or duffel, and they provide clear room-filling or cabin-filling sound, even over loud hotel hvac systems. They'd be a bit much to carry around in a purse or backpack, but they work great to take on trips.

I bought this item along with a couple of other external speakers in an effort to find a good set to use in my elderly car (speaker system died). This set is not my preferred to use in my car (I use the JBL On Tour - great sound for a small, compact speaker), but I was very impressed with the Phillip speaker sound and use them very regularly around the house. For the price, the sound is great and their portability (pack down to a large egg-shape) is quite good. You can't go wrong with these if what you are looking for is a good sound in a small package!

For the price, these speakers do what they're supposed to. They play your music, at reasonable volumes with decent quality, and connect together for portability when not in use. For anyone who expects stellar sound quality at high volumes in the $20 range, I think it's time to get a little more realistic. They function as they should and do a good job at it. If that's not what you're looking for, plan on digging a little deeper into your wallet.

Pros:
-Very decent sound for the price/size. Bass is not all that deep but highs come in great. These get really loud before the distortion starts, and the quality is shockingly good - u will be surprised...
-with the amp turned off (passive mode) the speakers still produce very decent volume
-cool look and form factor - egg shape is really cool and the speakers look really good and techie
-put together the whole package is pretty portable and protected within itself

Cons:
-High volumes with high bass = distortion
-Bulky, on the packaging it says small enough to carry "in pocket or bag" uh... even with cargo pants, these things are not fitting.. they are like a large ostrich egg...
-cords from speakers dont wrap that easily in the wire holder on the amp

For the price, these are some of the coolest speakers i have ever owned, i will probably use them the most with my laptop and when i travel with my Zen and Ipod... if the battery life is really 20-30hrs I don't see why ppl are complaining about the lack of A/C power...

the only thing i wouldve included is what the newest generation of these have: a carrying bag - apparently Philips made these with a built in Ipod dock for the newest version... as a Zen lover I'm glad i got these...

I picked these up at a local 'big box retailer' for about twenty dollars the pair. I needed much better sound for my notebook PC, and man do these deliver! Both spoken sound and music sound very full bodied and clear, and bass is there in good amounts as well. My only gripe would be that when you turn them up loud, the bass starts to distort and clip. But, this is true of most smaller iPOD/notebook PC speakers like these Philips. The unit takes 3 'AAA' cells, which last a long time (I got a few weeks out of mine being on my PC hours a day). All in all, these speakers are quite cute and attractive, and a good value.