http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/ Engadget Comments for Crystal USB Desktop Speakers look good, probably sound bad http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
BUT THEY LOOK COOL.]]>Aug 16th 2008 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.dansdata.com/nf01.htm

At guessing, you fail.]]>Aug 18th 2008 12:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
They probably sound pretty decent, at least at loser volumes. Anything too high and they would get pretty distorted. I have an ipod dock with similar drivers and it sounds quite good. But this thing looks ugly as hell. ]]>Aug 16th 2008 11:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 1:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
Watts is just a measurement of power, but does not specifically mean that a 400 watt system is louder than a 200 watt system. Efficiency, sensitivity, dispersion and speakers range contribute to the overall loudness of a speaker. On top of that, you have to factor in quality of the sound being produced, what good are loud speakers if they distort? You also have to factor in that you have to double the watts to gain enough dbs, 3, for the human ear to even be able to distinguish. Since doubling is exponential, it becomes useless to even try to keep up very quickly.

I have heard tube amps that are low wattage, under 20 or even 10 that destroy my marantz SR-8000 receiver amps (105 watts per channel) and even my Anthem MCA20's (200 watts per channel), granted they cost a lot more, but it just goes to show that watts are not the end all and more does not equal better.]]>Aug 16th 2008 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
The whole product is just a terrible idea.]]>Aug 16th 2008 8:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 11:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/They spelled "bass" "base" and thus automatically lost all "audiophile" credibility. ]]>Aug 16th 2008 11:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.dansdata.com/nf01.htm]]>Aug 16th 2008 12:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.dansdata.com/nf01.htm]]>Aug 16th 2008 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.dansdata.com/nf01.htm]]>Aug 16th 2008 12:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 12:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 19th 2008 7:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
I do not see a volume knob, so that tells me that they are not really "Powered" speakers anyway.]]>Aug 16th 2008 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 16th 2008 6:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 17th 2008 5:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/Aug 17th 2008 12:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/UNIQUE HUMP NF02 on Kontrabass (15)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQnnksf7-Uw
Watching it bounce!! ]]>Aug 18th 2008 12:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
No, wait, I'm not, but I do have something everyone else in this thread has (an opinion) and something apparently no-one else in this thread has (a pair of these speakers). I bought them after Dan of Dan's Data reviewed them (as others have linked above), as he's rarely steered me wrong. And again, he didn't in this case.

Okay, point the first: these speakers do not "sacrifice size and design for looks". They are small not because small looks good but because...the makers wanted to make some good small speakers, not some good big ones. There's lots of good big speakers. Before these came along, there were exactly no good small ones (whoever just said Bose, leave now in shame). The point is some people want small speakers sometimes - people who are on the road a lot and don't like wearing headphones all the time, or whatever. There is a market for 'full'-range speakers that are small not because of aesthetics but because of portability or space fitting or whatever. As for design, the design and build of the speakers is actually for functionality, not for looks. They're built the way they look for a reason - see Dan's review for details.

Point the second: they do sound remarkably good for their size. No, they are not going to be anywhere near as good as an even ho-hum pair of full-size speakers (they can't touch my completely off-brand yum-cha Chinese 'hi-fi' speakers I got for a second system for $30 from an import/export overstock store, never mind the $300 Paradigm Mini Monitors on my main system). They're about as big as a credit card, for Pete's sake. By the same token, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to fit my amplifier and Paradigms in a courier bag along with a weekend's worth of clothes and a laptop. Horses for courses, folks, horses for courses. But *for their size* they sound fine, there's no bass below a couple of hundred Hz, of course, but unless you listen to nothing but hip-hop this is not in fact a deal breaker. They're reasonably accurate and detailed in the rest of the frequency spectrum. They obviously can't get very loud at all, but again, for personal listening at close range (which is what these are intended for that doesn't really matter. They are very definitely a lot better than any other pair of 'full'-range speakers of the same size you've ever listened to. Heck, they're better than the much bigger iPod dock-cum-battery-powered-speakers a lot of people take out to the beach / picnic / whatever, but they probably don't have enough volume for that kind of use.

If this type of product is something you actually want - a very small pair of USB-powered speakers - for whatever reason, then this is probably the one to get, especially at this nice price. If what you want is a full hi-fi system for your dorm room / living room / underground secret lair, then this is obviously not the product for you, but that does not make it bad, it just means it's meant for someone else.

And finally, as someone else mentioned, most 'watt' measurements mean exactly nothing. *Accurate* 'watt' measurements tell you exactly nothing besides how loud a system can get, and it's worth noting that most listening is done at levels comfortably under 10W. Just because your $99 home-theater-in-a-box system from Best Buy says 12,000 Watts! on the box does not make it good. Sorry.]]>Aug 18th 2008 2:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/16/crystal-usb-desktop-speakers-look-good-probably-sound-bad/
http://www.audio-news.co.uk
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