Logitech AudioHub - A sweet sounding chocolate bar!

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: Laptops are slowly but steadily graduating from laps to desks, increasingly displacing the bulkier PCs in the process. Despite their sleeker and smaller size, most of them are as good as, if not better than, the regular desktops in terms of technology, speed, display-size and storage-space. To make this claim a little more audible, computer peripheral giant Logitech has launched laptop USB speakers AudioHub.

It is a portable 2.1 speaker system specially designed for laptops. Shaped like a soft black monolith bar weighing 2.35kg and measuring 17inch (20inch fully extended) X 5½ inch X 3½ inch to sit behind your laptop display panel indiscreetly. The design engineers have paid special attention to keep it non-intrusive and hence covered it with a non-reflective fabric like skin with almost no reflective part visible from front. Even the volume (and power On/Off) knob on the right panel is placed on the side and glows in very soft orange light. The only issue with this skin is that it attracts a lot of dust and grit.

Two 2inch tweeter drivers are placed in two cubes on either side of the system and they can easily be slided out to extend the size (to 20inch) for better separation of stereo channels and also to match the larger screen size of the laptops. The system placed behind my 12inch MacBook showed just two cubes on either side of the display panel giving it a very work-station like look and that soft orange glow from the volume control dial added some warmth to the ambiance, an elegant touch.

The 3inch subwoofer is placed on the slightly raised base of the AudioHub so it can utilise the top surface of the table as added waffle and boost the bass. On the rear of the speaker system, there are two built-in plastic cable clamps to wrap the power cord around and keep your work table neat and free from dangling wires. There also is a webcam bracket, that attaches on a slot on the front-face of the system and protrudes over the laptop display where a webcam can be mounted. I found it to be an unnecessary attachment as most of the present day laptops have either an in-built webcam or one can always clamp the camera on the display panel itself saving the trouble to align the camera. Connecting the AudioHub to the laptop is as simple as plug and play. There is no need for any driver or software.

Another feature that I liked is the three additional USB2.0 ports one gets to attach more devices to expand your laptop’s interface capability. These ports are available on the rear-right panel of the AudioHub. The Logitech engineers also did not forget to add some anti-skid rubber pads on the base of the speaker system to make it more stable.

The AudioHub’s two tiny 2inch tweeter drivers and the integrated subwoofer pumps out an astonishing 15 watts (RMS) of music power with frequency response ranging between 100 Hz to 20kHz without any noticeable trace of distortion or rumbling even at the peak level of volume. It was quite amazing for a speaker of this size and shape to sound so crisp and clear. To raise the standards a bit further I tried some music CDs and even a movie DVD. The audio on highs and the mids sounded as true as could be, but the bass (low frequency) lacked the punch and had just enough thud to satisfy movie-watchers who prefer to do so on their laptops. For those who listen to soft or vocal music, it’s an acceptable option, but for those who prefer their percussion to rock them, this AudioHub is pedestrian.

At an MRP of Rs 6,495 this speaker system is a good add-on to your laptop and a rather worthy alternative to the laptop’s built-in speakers that inherently lacks in audio quality. It will surly attract other people to herd around you and will convert your personal machine in to mass viewing gadget.

Pros:

Well made and sleek design,

Very easy to attach to laptop, no drivers required.

Acceptable audio quality and power,

Added advantage of three USB 2.0 ports.

Cons:

*A bit heavy to be called truly portable,

*No equalizer,

*No auxiliary input jack socket to attach MP3 players or other devices,