Portable speakers are meant for enjoying music on the go. Portability essentially translates into light weight, smaller sizes and an independent and integrated source of power to drive the speakers without compromising on the quality of sound output. It would also not be out of place to note that although headphones provide a good alternative, it just doesn’t suffice or replace the pleasure of listening to music in a carefree manner without a strapping over the head or plugs inside the ear. Portable speakers can be hooked up and used with desktops, laptops, MP3 players, Apple iPods, cameras camcorders, cell phones and many more electronic devices.
Portable speakers will have a set of wires connecting the player to each other or can also be wireless in nature. Most of the portable varieties have an AC outlet to power them or have powerful batteries, mostly rechargeable ones built into them. They can be powered by the USB port as well, without the need of either an AC outlet or batteries. However, the USB port will provide only 5 volts (200 milliamps) and hence, the wattage of the speakers cannot be too high because higher wattage will require more power for amplifying the sound waves.
The essentials that need to be considered when deciding upon a set of portable speakers would therefore be portability (size and weight), power requirements, quality of sound as well as appearance. The lighter and more compact they are, the more convenient it is to carry them around. Power can be derived from an external AC source or from built-in rechargeable batteries or from the computer system itself through the USB port. The USB port can also recharge the speakers’ batteries. The standard speaker works in the range of 20 to 70 Hz and its desirable to have treble and bass controls on they system. A built in amplifier of 7 watts would be a good addition as well. A 2.1 channel system would be good too, but the subwoofer will require a source of power which the player will not be able to provide. The tonal quality should be as natural as possible and the audio signal should not be automatically and electronically suppressed or exaggerated. Looks also matter and it’s nice to own a set of portable speakers which blend well with the player, whether it’s a laptop, an MP3 player or an iPod (dock) or even a cell phone, heck you could even connect it to you iPod or your home theater if it tickles your fancy.
With technology improving day by day, more powerful yet lightweight speakers are being made available with each passing day. It would be wise not to go for cheap models as the money saved will not be able to able to compensate the poor sound quality of the output. There are many well known brands available, manufactured by reputed companies such as Sony, Logitech, Macally, Isound, Harman JBL, Philips, Creative, Altec Lansing and Bushnell. Most of these speaker system varieties will be available at the local store. The Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 Compact Docking Speakers for iPod and iPhone as well as the Bose® SoundDock® Portable digital music system in Gloss Black (product available with free shipping) are two of the bestselling portable speakers on Amazon and a glance at their specs will prove how worthy they are of that mantle.
Specialty Speakers - Check out more specialty speakers. This Section features speakers from the famous ORB Speakers to Marine Speakers, to Rock Speakers and many specialty speaker types in between! Click below to see more on the specialty speaker that interests you.
