ARCTIC Sound S111 USB-powered Portable 2.0 Speakers Review

👤by Vinh Thai Comments 📅11-08-10
Conclusion

The Arctic Sound S111 is Arctic Cooling’s first 2.0 speakers. These speakers are USB-powered and thus they do not themselves require an AC adapter. This makes the Arctic Sound S111 a great match with a laptop by minimizing cable clutter and by being portable.

These 2.0 speakers are small enough to be easy to carry around. Although the product’s casing is a strong plastic, the loudspeakers feel quite fragile. Hitting them with a sharp or blunt object will likely damage them. As such, carrying the Arctic Sound S111 without proper protection would seem unwise, which kind of complicates carrying them around. Still, these speakers are much more portable than others.

As far as sound quality goes, the Arctic Sound S111 performs much better than the built-in laptop speakers. No doubt, you will feel a whole new level of multimedia experience if you are content with laptop speakers. Then again, almost all external speakers are better than the built-in laptop speakers.


The Arctic Sound S111: decent sound, compact and great looking. If portable speakers are not required, then the Arctic Sound S111 is not for you.


In comparison to desktop-grade speakers, the Arctic Sound S111 lacks some oomph, especially in the bass department. This is not to say that these speakers sound terrible; music still sounds clear, but it simply lacks the immersive feel. Still, the Arctic Sound S111 is marketed and geared towards laptops and portable media players.

With a price tag of only 13.45 € (excl. VAT) / US$ 15.45, the Arctic Sound S111 packs a lot of value. At this price point, there does not seem to be a lot of competition. Other USB-powered speakers perform quite similarly, but the Arctic Sound S111 has the edge in terms of portability.

Unless portability is an essential feature for you, you should invest a bit more into an AC powered speaker system, such as those in the US$25 price point. The latter will provide a much more immersive multimedia experience.

In a nutshell, the Arctic Sound S111 speakers are good for users who wish to replace their laptop speakers. Users looking for great pounding sound should look elsewhere. With only a bit more monetary investment, buyers could get themselves a budget 2.0 or 2.1 speaker system that packs quite a bigger punch.

With all of this in mind, the Arctic Sound S111 is given Vortez Hardware’s Silver Award.



Pros
+ Beautiful look
+ Decent sound quality in comparison to laptop speakers
+ Fantastic price-tag
+ Portable
+ Strong exterior casing
+ USB-powered
+ Volume control knob

Cons
- Fragile loudspeakers
- No carrying pouch
- No wire management features
- Not enough bass and highs


We would like to thank Arctic Cooling for providing us with this sample. To discuss this article, please visit our forums


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