Logitech V20 Notebook Speakers (Black)

I travel frequently, and carry a netbook with me everywhere I go. I hate the sound of the built-in speakers in laptops and netbooks and resorted to listening to music using earphones. However, being tied down with earphones or headphones while relaxing in a hotel room proved to be very inconvenient. I wanted good sounding speakers that were lightweight, easy to transport, with a volume loud enough to fill up a room. I didn't want to carry extra power supplies or batteries due to the extra weight (airlines are becoming very strict about the baggage weight limit and charging extra for being overweight). I purchased the Logitech V20 USB powered speakers about 4 months ago, as they seemed to meet my requirements. They were lightweight and came in a very nice carrying case, which protected the speakers when being transported in my check-in baggage. Because it is USB powered, it uses the netbook battery for power. No extra power supplies or batteries to carry for these speakers. I have a Samsung N110 netbook Samsung N110-12PBK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 6 Cell Battery (9.5 Hours) , which is small, lightweight and easy to carry in my hand-carry bag, and has a very long battery life, so it runs the V20 speakers a long time at a good volume; over 6 hours on the netbook battery power. This is very handy during power outages as the speakers are not affected by it, using netbook battery power instead of external power. These speakers use one USB port on the netbook to operate. They work well and I've had no problems whatsoever. The only setup required is to plug the speakers into the netbook before opening the computer program you're going to listen to. This ensures that the sound goes to the V20 speakers instead of the netbook speakers. The sound is very good for such portable speakers. The bass is surprisingly good and the overall sound quality is good. I am really enjoying these speakers on my travels, listening to iTunes and internet radio. These speakers travel with me everywhere I go.

The positives: These are great speakers - fairly lightweight & compact with a well built carry case. The sound quality is great especially considering their relatively small size. Pleanty of bass which is what I like. The negatives: The controls (volume +/-, mute, etc.) are difficult to use - small (I have very large hands) and lacking in feedback so that you can't tell from the feel whether you have successfully made an input or not. A simple turning knob to turn on/off the sound and to adjust the sound seems like a far simpler way to accomplish these basic tasks. Design criteria 101 - first day of class ------- KISS (keep it simple stupid)! Re: Amazon - I had no difficulty at all returning the speakers "because there were things about them that I was not satisfied with) AND FULL CREDIT WAS ISSUED VERY PROMPTLY - 2 DAYS. NOTE: I took good care of the packaging when I unwrapped them in the first place and was careful to return them in the same condition in which they were received. Did this make a difference????????? Logitech make good products - I have several & I swear by them. Amazon is an exceellent company to do business with!

While the sound of these speakers is fine, I'm having a lot of trouble getting them to be recognized by my MacBook Pro. I plug them in via the USB port, and then I wait...and I wait...and I wait. Sometimes my laptop recognizes them right away, but most often I have to unplug and try different USB ports before the speakers finally become recognized by my laptop. Once the speakers are recognized by my laptop, I find that sometimes I have to go into the System Preferences and manually switch from my interior speakers to these exterior speakers, and sometimes it just switches automagically. :-) I'm not sure what the issue is, but I just wish I could find a consistent fix, instead of standing there for 5 minutes waiting for the speakers and my MacBook to finally "talk to one another."

Logitech did a wonderful job as far as the quality of sound that comes out of these speakers. I bought these speakers when I'm on the road in a hotel and I get bored at night and need some music to listen to. They're great sounding and loud. You'll be surprised at the sound output considering they're powered right from your USB port on your computer. No software is required for them, plug them in and you're good to go. My only issue, well it's not even really an issue, is that they do bounce around the table a bit when the bass is up all the way and they're on pretty loud. But, it's kind of funny to watch. My last issue is, say you're on YouTube on your laptop and you decide to use your speakers once you're already on the site. The speakers will not work. You have to plug them in before you open your browser and go to the site you want to use them on. I believe it's more of an issue with USB drivers or Windows as opposed to the speakers directly. They also come with a nifty carrying case which is really nice. I'm able to keep my ipod touch in there with a digital camera along with the speakers. These speakers are worth the money and you will be surprised by the output of USB. I bought these after hearing my buddy's speakers, he has the same ones, I couln't help but having to own a pair. Would reccomend to anyone that wants quality powered USB speakers.