1 (edited by bobsz 2012-10-04 03:55:55)

Topic: Amplified speakers

I've had some good ancient Advent amplified computer speakers plugged into one of my Chumbys. Unfortunately, the speakers are fading fast. They had an auto on-off feature that doesn't kick on unless the volume's really high now. I used to know a good amount about audio stuff, but I see the brand names are pretty meaningless now, just bought out by cheap Chinese makers. Anybody know of a brand name that's still reliable, or a particular decent speaker set  less than $50-75? I certainly don't need anything high-powered- I switch my Chumby to a "hi fi" for that. Just like the convenience of auto on-off in "computer" speakers for routine listening. Thanks.

Re: Amplified speakers

I solved my own problem. Found a unique solution for extra sound on my C1. Not room-filling sound, but close.

I happened to find a really great *little* external speaker today. It's an iHome IHM60 Rechargeable Mini Speaker. I can't even try to describe it. It's like a tiny "can" of a speaker. It has a crazy baffle that expands to give a lot of good bass for a tiny speaker. Sounds great, gets loud for something this size with little distortion. Do a search and watch a video on YouTube. It seems like some fake "as seen on TV" product, but it really works. Different concept, rechargable battery charges by USB, but then you can disconnect that and just plug in the 3.5 earphone jack. Just $18 on most web sites, on sale for $15 this week at Radio Shack. So far charge has lasted about 3 hours, but I'm still in my initial stage of playing with it, plugging it into everything with a headphone jack. It even made my old PDA sound good. Only problem is with sound turned up, bass makes it wiggle across your table. Fun stuff!

Re: Amplified speakers

Glad you were able to solve your problem. Do these speakers auto-shutdown after the signal is removed? It is amazing what the engineers can do these days. I have a no-name pair of powered speakers that are charged by USB and plug into a standard headphone jack (no bluetooth). They don't have much bass but are nice in hotel rooms for background music. They stay clean even up to a fairly high level and are very small for traveling.

Another option you could try is the Miccus Mini-jack Bluetooth Music Transmitter. Couple it with the Logitech Wireless Speaker Adapter for Bluetooth Audio Devices connected to your home stereo and your Chumby can sound larger than ever before!

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Amplified speakers

No, they don't auto shut-down. I should have mentioned that in the post. Unfortunately, I gave up looking for that feature. I could only find auto shut-off in expensive speakers. But I was overwhelmed by the "cool" factor of this tiny rechargeable thing, so I switched directions. The "rechargeable" approach was as close as I could get. Thanks for the Music Transmitter idea. I'd love to do something like that. I haven't used Bluetooth for anything exciting at all, so that will be a great project to check out. Thanks.