Portable speakers for traveling?

[Ed Hansberry]

Ok, we've had some terrific advice on headphones and earbuds which is great for travel. I've been using the Sony MDR-EX70LPs since March of this year, but what about portable external speakers? I often want to take my iPAQ to a cabin or hotel room and listen to music or an audio book without the tinny sound of the built in speaker or the hassle of walking around the room or even sitting at a desk with earbuds in.



I've been looking at the Sonic Impact SI-5 Flat Panel Portable Speakers (affiliate link) and they look pretty good. The only downside I see is they seem to require 4 AA batteries. I would prefer the option of an AC adapter. Does anyone have these? How do they sound? Any other recommendations for portable audio for Pocket PC fans?

[Ed Hansberry]

Ok, we've had some terrific advice on headphones and earbuds which is great for travel. I've been using the Sony MDR-EX70LPs since March of this year, but what about portable external speakers? I often want to take my iPAQ to a cabin or hotel room and listen to music or an audio book without the tinny sound of the built in speaker or the hassle of walking around the room or even sitting at a desk with earbuds in.



I've been looking at the Sonic Impact SI-5 Flat Panel Portable Speakers (affiliate link) and they look pretty good. The only downside I see is they seem to require 4 AA batteries. I would prefer the option of an AC adapter. Does anyone have these? How do they sound? Any other recommendations for portable audio for Pocket PC fans?

[Jeff Rutledge]

Just how small are these? I can't seem to find dimensions anywhere.

[/dev/niall]

Originally Posted by JR

Just how small are these? I can't seem to find dimensions anywhere.

Details here.

[briansturdivant]

I wonder how these compare to the Sound Bug. Has anyone tried either or both of these. If so, please compare for us. I also wonder if the Soundbug uses batteries. Does anyone know?

[Jason Dunn]

The newest issue of MaximumPC reviewed the Sound Bug and they gave it like a 2 or 3 - not very good at all.

[Ed Hansberry]

Originally Posted by JR

Just how small are these? I can't seem to find dimensions anywhere.

According to http://www.backpacker.com/article/0,2646,2845,00.html the speakers are the size of a CD case. More at http://www.cheapgeek.net/reviews/sonicimpact_si5.shtml

[sweetpete]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

The newest issue of MaximumPC reviewed the Sound Bug and they gave it like a 2 or 3 - not very good at all.

Infosync didn't give it rave reviews either, but the jist was that given the size and what it does, it's decent. They wanted AC power options which I think is a must as well. I think that ver. 2 of these will be my on the road speakers.
Anyway here is the article http://infosync.no/show.php?id=2055

[szamot]

there is also these - which while a bit bigger they do give you a better sound
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/computing/5a15.shtml

[Ed Hansberry]

Originally Posted by szamot

there is also these - which while a bit bigger they do give you a better sound

Aren't those the ones that others here are saying don't sound so good? The SI-5 has some complaints about low bass not being there, but what do you expect from something so small and thin? It isn't like I want my teeth to rattle. :wink: I am about 99% sure I'll be ordering the SI-5 tonight. It also seems you can get an AC adapter for it.

[rubberdemon]

I bought a Sony portable speaker system for my honeymoon in Europe last fall and was mightily impressed. I had it hooked up to my Ipaq and used the PC Card expansion pack with a 2GB PC card to carry most of our CD collection around Italy with us. Great in hotel rooms etc. I'll be taking it on a two day car trip next week, loaded up with This American Life episodes (NPR) in Real Audio as well as WMA files from my CD collection.

The SRS-T77 is the size of two CDs stacked, has a world AC adapter as well as taking AA batteries (great bonus), and the sound is really quite good indeed. In fact I've found that since the audio output of the Ipaq is at such a high level, you can actually use these with no power amplification at all. The volume isn't as high, but it's definitely listenable!

http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.j...id=8902&type=o