UCube Compact USB Digital Loudspeakers

Reviews for UCube Compact USB Digital Loudspeakers

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 7 reviews

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent speakers, and I tried several

    • Written by from Portland

    Speakers I tried and returned: Logitech, Bose, and the more expensive Palo Alto. Speakers I kept: these. Excellent close-up sound, great for spoken word as well as music. Bonus: good looking, small footprint, and no need for external power supply (extra nice for reducing clutter and for travel). Just be sure to put the speakers on the stands before listening, they don't sound right when they're just sitting on the table. The only problem I've had is needing to unplug & replug the USB when the computer's been sleeping, but I've been told that an Apple software update that's already released in beta has fixed this. But really, that's been a small inconvenience and would not dissuade me from recommending these, they're great.

    1 of 1 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Wife loves these speakers

    • Written by from Richmond hill

    This is the first and only computer accessory i've brought home that my wife has approved of. I originally got them after listening to them at a friends. They sound great for my music and games. Best of all, they look great next to my Mac book!

    4 of 5 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Ucube speakers

    • Written by from Pasco

    Just bought a "27 iMac, thought these were a nice additon to the new Mac. WRONG!!!
    These speakers are not worth it.

    3 of 16 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Be forewarned...

    • Written by from houston

    I have found that driving these speakers with my MBP causes my machine to get hot. This then requires the fan to be running (all the time), and if this constant sound doesn't bother you then the speakers are terrific. And all this time I thought there was something wrong with my computer. The Genuis at the Genius Bar says otherwise. Good luck.

    18 of 27 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Not worthwhile for the money

    • Written by from Redwood City

    Pretty disappointing.
    The speaker sounds big considering that it is powered by USB. However, the square shaped driver doesn't sound good and distorted even at the moderate volume. Obviously the bass is pretty weak.
    At this price you can find many good sounding speakers.

    12 of 24 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Fantastic

    • Written by from Pittsburgh

    Strengths incl size, clarity, freq range, and simplicity w/ no power cable. Weaknesses incl speakers twist on stands despite being screwed down all the way so need to hand rotate them to center again. Also, no connection for 3.5mm jack so cannot use with iphone.

    37 of 37 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great looking speakers

    • Written by from New York

    Anyone with an older generation apple cinema display (the ones without built-in speakers) will have a very hard time finding a product to match the anodized aluminum of the monitor.

    In terms of aesthetics, these speakers are the closest thing I could find to match apple cinema displays. If you are looking at this product (especially the silver version) you will want to know how close the match is in terms of the anodized aluminum look? Well, it is VERY close although not exact (although you really have to look hard to see the difference very close up)... Other aesthetic issues are the fact that the speaker grills are black, I think they should have chosen white to match the apple cinema displays, apple mice, and other products apple makes for its desktop computers. Lastly, they are 3" x 3" which is actually quite large.

    Sound wise I am not an expert, but they sound good. The mid-ranges are best but do not expect any earth shattering bass out of these, they simply won't do it. However, these speakers can get VERY loud, much louder than the built-in speakers of either the displays or laptops. In a small room you can have room-filling decent quality sound (think dorm room, NY apt, etc). If you are looking to add these to your current iMac system or current generation apple cinema display the sound definitely is better and louder, but in my opinion, not $150 better, plus you are adding a black product to a silver and white one. One slightly annoying thing is that there is no headphone jack. I use headphones quite a bit and now not only do I have to still plug my headphones into my computer but I have to go into system preferences (or option-click the volume icon in the menu bar) and manually change the sound output away from the USB speakers to the line-out headphone jack. I find that extra step a tad annoying.

    These speakers are great for desktop computers that are connected to an older generation apple cinema display in keeping the "apple look." The sound quality is fine. Are they worth $150? Yes in terms of aesthetics, doubtful in terms of sound quality, but if you are looking at these (and apple products in general) obviously aesthetics matter to you but only you can choose if they are "worth the money." Personally, I love the way the look and am very happy with the purchase.

    64 of 70 people found this useful

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