Great sound, great style...

Introduction

External speakers for computers are nothing new. But they're generally not very good if you like quality audio in your ears. You may have had some USB speakers bundled with a computer that you've bought. You may have bought some because your laptop speakers are not up to scratch. You may have some really tinny sounding things squeezed into your monitor.

If you're not happy with the sound from your current speakers, you'll want an alternative. Step forward the Verbatim Multimedia Audio Bar, a stylish 2.1 speaker system for your computer.

One of the first things that you notice is that these speakers are powered from the mains. That instantly sets them apart from a lot of the USB powered speakers out there.

The second thing that you notice is the design. The speakers are mounted in a tube which will fit in underneath your monitor, or sit nicely on top of your desktop.

Operation

Pretty simple really. Unpack everything. Plug in to the mains. Plug in an audio source, either connecting it to your computer's line out or by connecting any external audio source (e.g. MP3 player) to the other line in jack. You can also connect the speakers to your microphone jack as they contain a built in microphone. These all connect up using 3.5mm sockets.

Twist the right hand end to swtich on (a nice little blue LED indicates power) and control the volume. That's all there is to it.

Sound Quality

As with other computer speakers, you have to remember that it's just that. A computer speaker. It's not a KEF speaker. It's not a Mission speaker. It's not a "insert name of famous speaker manufacturer here" speaker. It's a speaker made by a company better known for their media.

Having said all that, it's a damn good speaker! It's the best computer speaker that I've ever listened to. It performs very well indeed. The range of response is good, the bass is good, the treble is good. Listening to anything from the computer gives very good results. From spoken word material (podcasts, radio comedy shows), to iPlayer and CDs or iTunes, everything sounds really good. Nothing really trips it up.

Using it with an MP3 player also produced very good results - it would make a fine speaker for your iPod or iPhone.

Conclusion

A superb bit of kit at a reasonable price. It's a very good speaker system, with good bass response and a nice clear sound. You'll need another mains socket in order to power it, but the results are worth it - it's just so much better than your usual USB speaker. And the built in microphone is pretty handy too.

A cracking set of speakers. If you want to improve the sound coming out of your computer, whilst looking stylish at the same time, this funky tube should do the job!

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