Hercules XPS 2.0 60 30 Watts RMS 2.0 HiFi Inspired 2.0 Multimedia Speakers Set

Pros: Sound overall. Mids and highs are clear and undistorted. Good stereo separation.
Nice look.
Choice of connector cables (long and short).
Headphones jack easily accessible.

Cons: Not much bass, obviously.
Bright blue power LED (tolerable, though).
A bit pricey (mine was $98).

Other Thoughts: These things are compact. They take little space on the desk, that's the point. Due to this, they can only reproduce rather limited bass. Enough for an acoustic guitar to sound natural, which is great considering the size. But not nearly enough to produce a 'boom' that is felt by your entire body. (If you're into bass, you're interested in a system with a subwoofer anyway.)

Power brick is separate.
Volume knob is also the power switch, and is located in the middle, between bass and treble knobs.

If you turn the volume all the way to the max, sound gets somehow distorted, especially if you max out the bass, too. No wonder. The sound is pretty loud at 30% volume anyway, usually you don't have to to max out the volume.

Pros: These speakers are large with quality construction. Very good range across all frequencies. They sound better the further away you are from them.

Cons: The 3.5 mm sound cable (green handle) that comes with this set is not good. When connected to the output on the computer it was loose and caused some problems over time. I eventually lost sound to the left speaker. I replaced it with a slightly larger version and it improved the sound quality and I can hear out of the left speaker.

I would have preferred if they angled these speakers slightly upward to improve the sound from the tweeters when sitting at the desk. Nothing a small block propped underneath each speaker could not fix. Not a problem for shorter people, or if you are generating the sound for the entire room.

Other Thoughts: If you plan on placing speakers right in front of you and don't need loud speakers for games or music these are not for you. Stick to the low end like logitechs lower cost brands.

If you want good sound out any speakers do not forget to raise your sound level on the computer to over 90%. Too many times I have seen others complain about speakers and they never check the sound level or sound effects (if enabled) on the PC.

Pros: Small size, great quality, very loud(in a somewhat large room, but can clearly hear from other side of the house). great bass for such a small size

Cons: not sure i really like the hi-fi like connectors on a computer desk but not a big deal, makes getting new connectors very easy

Other Thoughts: when i opened up the package I thought the cones would be bigger but they're like 2.5in but hooked them up and they blow a couple of 6in ones i have out f the water

Pros: The sound was very nice...

Cons: while they worked for about 2 months. Mine had multiple manufacturing defects. The motherboard (what they call the PCB) died. Furthermore, instead of using the plugs on the board, the person who assembled the device decided to solder the wires directly to the board, so I was unable to work with tech support to fix the speakers.

Other Thoughts: They actually wanted to me to ship the speakers back to France by courier for warranty replacement. The cost of shipping that method was more than 150 percent than the typical cost of the speakers. Give me a break. I recommend sticking with companies that can competently manufacture speakers and maintain a support presence in the United States.

Pros: I bought these for a Mobile Samsung 23in LCD on my porch. They replaced a 10yr old Altec Lansing 2.0 speaker set which is way more muffled in comparison. Voice clarity was important and the Hercules XPS didn't disappoint. Ball games are very good to listen to from both the announcer and sound effects. Movies sound good, New Pundit, Cooking shows all sound Crisp & Clear

Tested Music thru Directv XM stations and determined they would be excellent for low level office music you can't crank up anyways. You will hear the details of the music at low & mid low levels. If you want to party, get a set with a sub.

Cons: For a 2.0 speaker, none

Other Thoughts: While I couldn't compare these to the half cost Hercules 2.0 Model, I am glad I spent the extra as I was mainly looking for clear crisp voice clarity and I got just enough in this higher cost set. Plenty of Volume but even at low volume levels there is no ear strain. I would recommend for non-portable external set for laptop speakers without hesitation as well. Tested it with a Dell company owned Laptop for a Web Meeting Presentation and didn't miss a word - I did yawn though (-:
Dimensions apx 4 1/2 wide - 5 1/2 deep - 8 1/2 high

Pros: Not a bad sound for so relatively small 2.0 speakers. There are even traces of bass.

Cons: None really, when they work.

Other Thoughts: The first pair NewEgg sent me was abominable. There was random static noise in the left speaker, crackling noise when turning the pots on the right one, plus there was something loose -- a bolt or a nut -- in the left one. The replacement process was seamless, though.

If you use KMPlayer to play your music files through them, I recommend turning the Boost Audio and True Bass settings on.

Pros: These speakers have all the quality I was looking for, and I am pretty picky (though not very experienced or educated). The sound is full and rich. The bass is strong and the treble is clear and crisp. I also like the modular nature of the wire connections. No permanently attached wires. Everything can be unplugged and replaced if necessary. The speakers also come with two different lengths of speaker wire to connect the speakers. Also, if you, like me, are trying to learn the frequency response of these speakers, it is reported in the manual as 50Hz - 20kHz, which is quite good, and accurate because I tested it using test tones I found on the internet.

Cons: The first set I purchased had a defect in the left speaker that caused it to buzz badly when playing certain high-frequency tones at moderately high volumes. I noticed this particularly when playing the piano piece, "Sunlight on the water" by Phil Coulter at 0:25. I also noticed it when playing certain voice recordings. The replacement set does not have this defect and only exhibits any distortion at very high volumes, and even then it's so slight that I can't be sure I'm hearing it.

Other Thoughts: I purchased three speaker sets in the past few weeks priced at $26, $65, and $90 (the Hercules). The Hercules sound much better than the cheapest and slightly better than the mid-priced set. They also sound much better than two old, cheap speaker sets I have. That is the most I can say about their quality since I am not an audiophile and do not have a lot of experience with speakers. But when I test speakers, I play many different kinds of audio files including music (instrumental and vocal with varying ranges of tones), audio books, and nature sounds such as rain, thunder, and spring peepers. These speakers are superior in all of my tests. They sound both richer and more realistic. The $65 speakers have a plastic casing (whereas these have a wood case) and I think that I can actually hear the difference in the material. The plastic ones sound like plastic - sort of artificial. The wooden Hercules sound, in comparison, more like real life.

Pros: Wide open sound. Not distant, muffle or tinny sounding. Puts out plenty of sound for most applications. These have a full range of sound which is hard to find for speakers at this price.

Cons: Not really a con for the price. These have limited bass but plenty of it for most music playback. People who listen to rap will be disappointed.

Other Thoughts: Got bored one day and took the back off one. Although i would not recommend this unless you know what your doing but I noticed that the speakers that are in it are very well built with a large magnets for the main speakers, this means they'll last for years to come. Anyway if your looking for a well built pair of speakers that have a wide sound and enough bass to give the music your listening a full sound then these are the speakers for you.

Pros: Strong bass sound. Sturdy construction. Nice glossy black finish.

Cons: Doesn't have digital input.

Other Thoughts: I bought these over the 2.1 speakers, and I'm happy with them.