Thoughts on a soundbar or other small footprint speaker setup?

[b0mbrman]

Hola all. I am looking into soundbar style speakers such as the Dell AX510 --

 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=313-6412

-- but the specs and reviews forit seem underwhelming. I remember a few years back, something called the AudioHub which, in concept seemed a bit more exciting. I don't believe they're made anymore though....

Anyhow, does anyone have real-life, long-term experience with these? Were you disappointed in the end? Satisfied? Come upon a better recommendation?

 

[b0mbrman]

So...here are what seem to be useful reviews on Amazon

Logitech AudioHub

These "notebook" speakers are designed for those who use their laptops in the same place, day after day. They weigh almost as much as my MacBook and, because they come in a long, solid piece, are more awkward to carry. If you are looking for portable speakers to take with you on vacation or on business trips, skip this product. If you're looking for rich audio at home or at school, read on....

The sound is rich and without annoying hum at both the loudest and softest volumes. While many portable speaker units sound tinny when the volume is cranked up, the Logitech AudioHub sounds surprisingly steady. Yeah, you're not getting the highest end audio here, but you'll definitely get quality sound for the money. The volume knob on the side glows orange, making it easy to locate even at night.

The AudioHub is perfect for college students who don't have the space for larger speakers but who don't want to sacrifice sound quality as well as for people who use their notebooks in the same place every day. Although the speakers would work fine with a desktop computer, their single-unit construction makes them less than ideal. The only real advantage of this unit over similar sounding speakers is the ability to unplug it and move everything to the side with one action.

Dell AX510

The main advantage of this sound bar is that it takes a pair of speakers off of your desk thus removing clutter. The sound isn't half bad for $26 and it mounts pretty easily. Unfortunately it still requires its own power supply since it won't power off of the monitor (at least the S2409W I have) but it does get its sound feed from the monitor. I recommend it if saving space is your primary concern.

Dell AX510

I purchased one unit and brought it into work for everyone to see.
The speakers were an immediate hit. Mounting was very simple (for the Dell monitors) and it fit virtually any Dell monitor that we had. The sound quality was impressive, and certainly more than adequate for our needs. The volume levels also met our needs....

If you are looking for a medium-powered set of speakers for your Dell monitor (fits most modern Dell monitors) then I would recommend that you give this a try. There are no balance or tone controls on the speakers, so this might not be a good option for those who desire to play music at high levels (though most modern audio chipsets already give you this fine-tuning capability). But for applications involving voice (e.g. conferencing, general VoIP) or environments where extreme-volume are not needed, these are a good option.

Dell AY511

If you need this for the space saving feature, just buy the regular Dell AX510 Soundbar (around $20).

But if you have a little more desk space, forget any of these soundbars and look for a set of proper speakers instead. Even a simple Logitech LS21 ($25) would sound far better than these speakers...