Ask most people what they look for in a pair of travel speakers and they are likely to say they want something small and cheap but which nonetheless sounds like the stacks at Donnington.
Once you take them out of the plastic tube they come in, it's hard not to be more than a little impressed with XM-I's X-Minimax active “capsule …
Are these £30 X-Mini speakers the same as the £15 X-Mini speakers on the Orange Accessories site - http://www.orangeaccessories.co.uk/x-mini_capsule_speaker.html ?
> I can understand needing the 3.5mm jack for playback with
> portable devices, but why can't they use the USB on its own
> when plugged into a computer?
Because that would make them more expensive. Getting power from USB is cheap and simple; I'm not an expert, but I'd expect piping digital audio over USB to require additional chippage including a DAC and some kind of firmware. You'd probably also need some way of delivering software to handle the computer's end of things (does anyone know if there is a generic USB digital audio specification, as there is for USB mass storage?)
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XM-I X-Mini capsule travel speakers
Ask most people what they look for in a pair of travel speakers and they are likely to say they want something small and cheap but which nonetheless sounds like the stacks at Donnington. Once you take them out of the plastic tube they come in, it's hard not to be more than a little impressed with XM-I's X-Minimax active “capsule …
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Posted Monday 9th June 2008 12:44 GMT
John
usb #
I can understand needing the 3.5mm jack for playback with portable devices, but why can't they use the USB on its own when plugged into a computer?
Posted Monday 9th June 2008 12:44 GMT
paul brain
availability #
where can you buy these ?
Posted Monday 9th June 2008 12:44 GMT
/\/\j17
You Was Robed? #
Are these £30 X-Mini speakers the same as the £15 X-Mini speakers on the Orange Accessories site - http://www.orangeaccessories.co.uk/x-mini_capsule_speaker.html ?
Posted Monday 9th June 2008 13:57 GMT
Andrew Molyneux
@John #
> I can understand needing the 3.5mm jack for playback with
> portable devices, but why can't they use the USB on its own
> when plugged into a computer?
Because that would make them more expensive. Getting power from USB is cheap and simple; I'm not an expert, but I'd expect piping digital audio over USB to require additional chippage including a DAC and some kind of firmware. You'd probably also need some way of delivering software to handle the computer's end of things (does anyone know if there is a generic USB digital audio specification, as there is for USB mass storage?)
Posted Monday 9th June 2008 13:57 GMT
Richard
@USB @You Was Robed? #
To use via USB they would need to put in a USB sound card in the speakers which would lower the considerable profit margin!
And yes, they was "robbed" 8-) If someone thinks £30 is a good price to lose an item ... they are overpaid!!
For laptop-only users with rubbish built in speakers you could drop £3.81 on the following ...
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/102424
Note sure about the "chic" tag though 8-)
Posted Monday 9th June 2008 19:32 GMT
Gildas
Re You Was Robbed #
The X-Mini Capsule in the Orange store is a single speaker of a slightly different design.
The best price I have found for the Mini-Max stereo speakers was here...
http://www.flashdirect.co.uk/acatalog/X_-_Mini_Max_Speaker.html
presumably the same place El Reg found it.
Posted Tuesday 10th June 2008 10:27 GMT
bertbackarack
quality speakers #
I have listened to a lot of small speakers and nothing of the same size has the kind of detailing that these do.
Perfect for the beach/forest/park/laptop and fits nice in your pocket or handbag.
Posted Tuesday 10th June 2008 11:37 GMT
Ashley Stevens
£24.99 delivered on Play.com #
Best price I found was £24.99 on Play.com but not in stock yet. I've (pre) ordered a pair from there.
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