Decent portable speakers?

[noguilt]

I, too, have the Creative TravelSound, and agree that these are quite good speakers for the size and price. The model with AC adaptor is on sale at the Creative website until June 30 for $50 after $30 rebate.

I need some portable speakers that can do a little more volume than the TravelSound in a large classroom, and my research has pointed to 2 possibilities, neither of which i've heard so far:

Yamaha AA5 Portable Monitor Amp Combo for $80 (designed as guitar amp/speakers, but will work as stereo speakers--has RCA jacks):Musician's Friend

Cheapest, at $30 (Circuit City) are the Panasonic RP-SPT70 travel speakers, which one reviewer at amazon.com compares favorably with the TravelSound.

Somewhat larger than the others, but still portable: Cambridge SoundWorks "SoundWorks" Amplified Speaker System with Porta-Pack: Cambridge

(Not sure why the earlier poster is so adamant about not using speakers; the fact is, there are some applications/situations where you need speakers to play music for a group, in which case headphones are worthless. Obviously, for the same money you can get much better sound from headphones, but that misses the point.)

 

[djgustashaw]

The closest thing to portable speakers I have are the Missions that came with my Denon M31... definitely not what you're looking for. Sound great but they have to be amped, won't run from an MP3 player. I really want to hear one of those Tivoli PALs. I wouldn't have much use for it, but I'd rather have mono and good sound quality than crappy sound quality from two speakers (which probably aren't spaced far enough to really be stereo, anyway).

 

[ckng]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utdeep I dealt with a lot of portable speakers when I was in the Peace Corps and only had battery power. I think the best sounding one is probably the PAL radios but they're a little large and heavy. After that, the Creative travelsound speakers are actually awesome for their size and their price. I used Sony t77s for my time in the service, but they were quite expensive and trounced by the creative travelsound speakers. The inmotion speakers, while they aren't as good as the PAL radios, are slightly better in loudness, bass than the creatives but they are fairly expensive and are more directed towards iPods.

I auditioned the InMotion vs the Creative Travelsound i300 at the local Apple Centre, and the InMotion pales in comparison. It clips very easily even at mid volumes while the TravelSound has no problems at the same volume. But I do admit they looks cool when used with an ipod.

Regards
CK

 

[utdeep]

Sweet! They're smaller than the inmotions by far too! Time for me to check out the travel sounds again!

 

[noguilt]

as it happens, the new PC Magazine (July 2004) has a feature on "Mobile Speakers," with reviews of 7 models. They curiously omit the TravelSound, but with ckng's report above, we can surmise that it would have taken top honors, as they give the "Editor's Choice" nod to the InMotion.

The only other model in their survey that looks potentially interesting is the Cambridge SoundWorks PlayDock PD200. It is quite a bit larger and heavier than the TravelSound or InMotion, but apparently plays somewhat louder. Also of note is that the PlayDock is designed specifically for the Creative Nomad Jukebox 2 and 3, and Nomad Jukebox Zen range of players: "Any of these players will fit into a snug rubber glove in the top of the unit and get power from the PlayDock." If you're trying to imagine that rubber glove, get help at rubber glove

 

[noguilt]

forgot to mention what appears to be the ultimate in portable speakers, the Cambridge SoundWorks "Mick Fleetwood" Model Twelve: Mick Fleetwood

 

[ipodstudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by noguilt forgot to mention what appears to be the ultimate in portable speakers, the Cambridge SoundWorks "Mick Fleetwood" Model Twelve: Mick Fleetwood

Nope, they're a long way from ultimate but they're some of the better "known" consumer ones.

 

[Luke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by noguilt The only other model in their survey that looks potentially interesting is the Cambridge SoundWorks PlayDock PD200. It is quite a bit larger and heavier than the TravelSound or InMotion, but apparently plays somewhat louder. Also of note is that the PlayDock is designed specifically for the Creative Nomad Jukebox 2 and 3, and Nomad Jukebox Zen range of players: "Any of these players will fit into a snug rubber glove in the top of the unit and get power from the PlayDock." If you're trying to imagine that rubber glove, get help at rubber glove

I've had this for a year and a half. The one I got fits the original JB, and the JB3, there was no glove for the Zen at the time, but the new ones include a glove for the Zen, but not the first JB. I wrote a review for it two winters ago: http://www.nomadness.net/modules.php...wcontent&id=20

It's nice for what I use it for. It will hold your Creative JB player very well, so you can pick up the speakers while they are playing, move it, swing it around, whatever. Unfortunately, if you keep your JB in a snug leather glove like I do, it won't fit properly in the rubber glove of the playdock. The playdock has a "WIDE" button which makes the left and right channels seem wider apart. If you turn it up loud, or you use it to power your JB, the battery doesn't last long, so you'd want to use the AC adaptor. It's a bit heavy with the big battery and the big bass speaker, but it sounds nice. Another benefit is it gives you an additional place to recharge your JB battery.

 

[thomaspf]

If you are looking for something that will actually allow you to do some critical listening.

http://www.klein-hummel-northamerica.com/m50.htm

also avaiable with digital inputs.

Cheers

Thomas

 

[callanish]

Is there no such thing or demand for something like a portable pair of speakers like the Travelsound with a replaceable / rechargeable battery. It seems having something like a portable pair of speakers with a battery like the Zen NX / Xtra in it would be a huge convenience. Think something like this is in the works or would that put the price of it through the roof?

 

[Drag0n]

Well if theyre for a dorm or something and dont have to be all that portable,,i like offerings from Paradigm. Paradigm Active 20,,or Active 40. Sweet!

 

[noguilt]

presumably, although i can't try it, as my TravelSound is travelling with a friend in Spain, you could use rechargeable batteries in the TravelSound. One model, the i300, comes with an AC adaptor--i wonder if it would charge rechargeable batteries in the i300? (Good luck trying to find out from Creative--their customer service is terribly unresponsive.)

btw, the i300 is the one on sale for $50 after rebate, so it is cheaper than the one without the AC adaptor.

the TravelSound batteries do seem to last a long time, fwiw...

 

[halcyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ipodstudio Start by looking in the speaker gallery (there are over 100 different sets of "portable" speakers there.

Portable in quotes indeed.

I mean no offence, but none of the Genelec are anywhere near portable. And yes, I've not only seen, but listened and carried most of them (sans the older models, like the darth vaders

Of course, everything depends on what one considers portable.

Creative Travelsound is easily portable. None of the active speakers weighing more than a kilogram each are in my book portable.

Perhaps for transportable studio, but not for portable (as in carrying them with you in a backpack for some time).

I also need to recommend something portable for my friend, so I'd appreciate more insight into _truly portable_ speakers.

Of course I know that it is a huge trade off in sound quality, but sometimes portable speakers are needed and headphones are not the right solution.

 

[ipodstudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon Portable in quotes indeed. I mean no offence, but none of the Genelec are anywhere near portable. And yes, I've not only seen, but listened and carried most of them (sans the older models, like the darth vaders Of course, everything depends on what one considers portable. Creative Travelsound is easily portable. None of the active speakers weighing more than a kilogram each are in my book portable. Perhaps for transportable studio, but not for portable (as in carrying them with you in a backpack for some time). I also need to recommend something portable for my friend, so I'd appreciate more insight into _truly portable_ speakers. Of course I know that it is a huge trade off in sound quality, but sometimes portable speakers are needed and headphones are not the right solution.

I know, hence the quotes..

Basically the gallery covers portable and desktop speakers as well as portable monitor and computer. Of course, portable is different for everyone: some don't call a speaker portable unless it slips into a pocket; others consider a speaker portable if a human can lift it..

I used Bose Roommate IIs which were sold and marketed as portable powered speakers with their own carrying bag. They still weighed a couple of kilos together with the bag and all, though.

 

[ipodstudio]

I haven't heard these but they are portable...

Sony SRS-T77s

Sony SRS T55s