Altec Lansing, one of the leading companies in speakers in case you didn't know, usually takes a back seat in popular culture to companies like Bose and Beats By Dre who do more in terms of advertising and other ventures to get their name out there. But with the Altec Lansing Orbit USB Stereo IML247 speakers, any distinction in your mind disappears as these mobile computer speakers are fantastic and clearly outclass their competition, namely the Chill Pill Mobile Audio speakers.
They even look similar to the Chill Pill speakers as one of their main usage positions can be in that familiar pill formation. But appearance is really where the similarities halt. Chill Pills are hard to set up, charge and just figure out how to use at all. These are the exact opposite.
You just plug the audio cable into the speaker with the line out function and plug the USB cable in and you're ready to go. Once you plug the USB cable in and the drivers install, these speakers just work right away. A light goes on and you're ready to go. It's really amazing compared to the Chill Pill system where one has to charge and there's a complicated cable system and by the way no directions. There aren't with these either but they aren't necessary. Just plug them in and they're ready to go.
They aren't as small as Chill Pills but emit a much more robust sound as there's more infrastructure with that increased size. Mobility isn't their main function as Altec Lansing rightfully just focused on the sound. Compared to Chill Pill and most other small laptop/PC speakers, the difference is ridiculous. When you listen to audio with these as compared to stock speakers in your laptop or PC, the difference is stark.
I'm far from an audiophile and usually have a hard time telling the differences in sound but here it's obvious. You can jack the bass up all the way and the sound will remain just as strong. There isn't a bass adjuster as there was with the Chill Pills but unlike them, these actually work so it's not a problem to me.
Portability may be a problem with these as they're kind of bulky but it's not like they're massive either. They look like spotlights strangely and honestly look like there can be some kind of light coming out but there's just speaker protection at the fore. And because of that and the general strong plastic that protects the whole device, there's basically no way that anything's going to happen to these. It's not like the Chill Pills where the speaker could easily be pierced. Trust me, nothing is going to happen to these; everything's protected.
All in all, these are the best computer speakers I've reviewed even though that's not saying much but they easily outclass other strictly mobile speakers like Chill Pill and are just fantastic. The audio and structure are just fantastic for these speakers and while they may not be the most portable speakers, they're some of the best you can get.
