Home ›

Review: LaCie USB Speakers

Sep 10, 2008  By Shawn Powers
 in

Shawn Powers reviews the La Cie USB speakers, and looks at their Linux compatibility.

Thanks to our sponsor: Silicon Mechanics

Silicon Mechanics is a leading manufacturer of rackmount servers, storage, and high performance computing hardware. The best warranty offerings available are backed by experts dedicated to customer satisfaction.

Visit www.siliconmechanics.com and use our configuration tools to customize your server. Click "Create Quote" to save your specification, enter the word GADGETGUY as part of your quote description, and qualify for a free upgrade from standard to extended warranty with your server purchase!

Comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

They just work by default

tracyanne's picture
Submitted by tracyanne (not verified) on Sun, 09/21/2008 - 22:57.

They should be very Linux compatible, after all LaCie are one of Mandriva's Technology partners.

http://www.mandriva.com/enterprise/en/technology-partners

USB Speakers

Lawrence H. Bulk's picture
Submitted by Lawrence H. Bulk (not verified) on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 20:04.

Go to either Amazon or MCM Electronics. Search for Kinyo UC-270. It is a USB-powered speaker. In addition to the USB cable, it requires a connection, via 3.5mm plug, to your headphone or line output. Both of those cables, along with the connection cable from right speaker to left speaker, come with the speaker and all are permanently attached at the speakers. You need only to plug the two jacks (USB and 3.5mm) into your computer, turn the speakers on, adjust the volume and the tone to your liking, and enjoy.

They are really nice speakers, amplified of course, and supply very good sound.

How much do they cost? Not $59.99, not $49.99, not even $9.99. They cost only $3.99 and I have to tell you that you will NEVER spend a better $3.99! After I received my first pair, I ordered six (6) more pairs! What the heck? They only cost $3.99!!

Good review

Vince's picture
Submitted by Vince (not verified) on Wed, 09/17/2008 - 16:55.

I enjoyed the review, and enjoy the fact that it's not boringly dry. I can always get that anywhere. Linux is still a learning process for me, and I enjoy seeing what does and doesn't work for you. Keep up the good work

could have been one minute

Anonymous's picture
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 09/13/2008 - 13:14.

Well, that was a one-minute review fluffed out to five minutes. "Plug them in and they work. Sound pretty OK too. They look like macaroni."

Some additional details I would have liked:

-Virtually all USB speakers just work on Linux. Just because La Cie gave you speakers is not a good reason to give them a free commercial. USB audio has been built in to the kernel for several years.
-You mention windows-only USB device drivers, Some actual examples would have been good. AFAIK there are few USB devices that are not cross-platform.
-Webcams have issues other than USB, which a reviewer who did their homework would talk about.
-A script might be helpful. "Um, La Cie, um, USB, um, speakers. Yeah, speakers!"
-If you're going to mention the name of the designer, maybe spend two minutes googling on his name?

I like videocasts, though quite honestly I find yours to be more self-indulgent than informative. Less fluff and more information if you please.

thanks, fred

Learning can be fun, too

ProfBib's picture
Submitted by ProfBib on Tue, 09/16/2008 - 11:41.

Fred,

Though I agree that it would be nice to know a little bit more about the intricacies of webcams in Linux, that is really outside the scope of this review. Please keep in mind that Shawn is reviewing a pair of speakers, not the generally compatibility of all USB devices in Linux. His mention of webcams was (correct me if I'm wrong Shawn), meant to illustrate a field of devices that, quite often do not "just work" when plugged into a Linux box.

As for a "free commercial" for LaCie, they probably deserve at least some measure of praise for their efforts (yes, plural) to support Linux in their product lines. I have a LaCie NAS that not only works on my Linux machine at home, but that also came with a Linux version of the NAS administration/setup software, something that is not always the case, even if a device itself happens to work on Linux. It's a minor step, but one that a great many other companies have not even tried to make. In a larger sense, supporting the 'little guy' has always been part of LaCie's marketing, having been involved in the peripheral market for Macs from the very early days of Apple.

Finally, I like to have a little fun while I learn: Shawn's video podcasts are part of my lunch hour viewing and I enjoy a little bit of craziness and humor to break up the day.

Best,
Evan

Evan, a little entertainment

Anonymous's picture
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/16/2008 - 20:14.

Evan, a little entertainment is always nice. I prefer the reverse ratio to this supposed review- 95% meat to 5% fun stuff. Shawn made it sound like compatibility is an issue with USB speakers, which is not accurate. And he mentioned webcams, again a throwaway comment that he had plenty of time to give some useful information on.

If LaCie is as Linux-friendly as you say, that would have been a valid part of a review too. Sorry, but this review gets a D+. This was not a review, it was a bare outline of a review. LJ can do better.

Unsolicited adulation

AnonymousCoward's picture
Submitted by AnonymousCoward (not verified) on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 04:11.

Man, do I love the way you always manage to make your reviews funny AND informative.

And I was going to get a set of BX5as!

David Lane's picture
Submitted by David Lane on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 18:10.

Shawn,

And here I was all set to drop $200 on a pair of M-Audio Studiophile BX5a. :-) Oh, wait, I don't think they are Linux ready. Something about needing a XLR jack. Well I am sure Dave Philips can talk about them in his column.

The Le Cie's look cool. I have friends that have used the Firewire versions for years so I look forward to hearing if the USBs have the same frequencies and response. Not that I would use them for studio work, but it does get boring in the server room sometimes :-)

David Lane, KG4GIY is a member of Linux Journal's Editorial Advisory Panel and the Control Op for Linux Journal's Virtual Ham Shack

Webcast
More Resources
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers

Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.

Learn More

Sponsored by AMD

White Paper
More Resources
Red Hat White Paper: Using an Open Source Framework to Catch the Bad Guy

Built-in forensics, incident response, and security with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Every security policy provides guidance and requirements for ensuring adequate protection of information and data, as well as high-level technical and administrative security requirements for a system in a given environment. Traditionally, providing security for a system focuses on the confidentiality of the information on it. However, protecting the data integrity and system and data availability is just as important. For example, when processing United States intelligence information, there are three attributes that require protection: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Learn more about catching the bad guy in this free white paper.

Learn More

Sponsored by DLT Solutions