Sony SRS-A3 External PC Speakers

EDIT: Still have these 5 years later. Moved multiple times, and they survived. Still going strong.Original Post:First off, the positives:The main selling point to me was the fact that the power and the volume controls are separate. This way I can leave the speakers alone and just adjust the volume from my PC.The sound quality is good and they go fairly loud. Louder than I need for my purpose but worth mentioning.They are not unattractive and they don't stand out against my other entertainment devices.The Negatives:The cord connecting the two speakers does NOT disconnect. They are stuck together forever. Which isn't, in itself, a bad thing but...The cord connecting the two speakers is so short, its impractical. Which again, isn't bad for everyone. But this combined with how you can't add an extension, it totally works against my setup. So now, instead of having a speaker on the far left of my desk and another on the far right, I have one right in front of me and the other a bit off to the side.The shortness of the cord and the fact it can't be unplugged really limits your options for setting these up.The location of the power switch and volume dial are in an awkward spot. I need to get up and use two hands to turn this thing on and off or else I'm pushing the speaker all over the place trying to get a hold of it. And because of the shortness of the cord, I'm yanking both speakers across my desk just to turn the thing off.Finally, They are poorly balanced. The speaker with the power button on it has three cords running to is, and its always leaning slightly to the back. I had to place something on top of it to keep its base touching my desk.If you have a small desk and plan on leaving them on all the time, I think they would be perfect. But they do not fit my needs.

My Sony Vaio notebook has such crappy speakers that I finally decided to buy some small speakers for that computer. Didn't have expectations for home theater or audiophile type sound quality and really didn't want to spend much for this particular computer (I had bought some Klipsch speakers with subwoofer for my office computer and those have been great, but were much more expensive), but have been pleasantly satisfied with these speakers. There is a useful volume control on the side of the left speaker and that, in combination with the equalization and adjustments that Windows 7 and the sound card drivers provide results in a set-up that is very, very nice for casual listening or video soundtrack while working or in the kitchen, etc.I would not even try to rate these at high volumes, but for normal listening level, I am very pleased with the product. Bass is not totally absent, speakers do not rattle or vibrate, and appearance and size next to my laptop is just what i was looking for. Again, I need to use the equalizer to make these sound more like I thought they should, but once I did that, they've been great. Much nicer looking than most of the inexpensive speakers I've seen on Amazon..Be sure that the fixed cables and lengths work for you - I have the speakers next to my computer and so didn't need much cable length, but you are limited as to how far apart these speakers can be placed because there's a fixed cable running between the speakers.

I'll qualify my opinion by stating that for the price, these speakers sound very, very good.I'm also of the opinion that when it comes to speakers, headphones and other audio devices, opinions will run the gamut as people's taste in what they hear varies by what a person likes in a speaker.Now, all of those qualifiers out of the way, I'll move on. I went to a simple set of twin speakers after years of monkey-ing around with computer speakers that had a subwoofer. There's no doubt they sound better than the Sony SRS-A3 speakers, but I just got so tired of swimming through all of the cables, controllers and knobs that come with such a set up. So, for simplicity, I returned to the simple two-speaker set. These speakers are a snap to set up and get running (although I agree with another review that the cable leading to the computer could've been a foot longer). These speakers were clearly designed for laptop use (based on the short cable lengths), but I don't think they'd travel well. So, I think Sony envisioned these remaining on a desk where the laptop was frequently used.So, I'd recommend the speakers heartily, but add that you'll probably need a cable extension.The sound is good through most ranges, but I'm of the opinion that these speakers actually offer better sound for games and internet browsing than they do for listening to digital music. Sometimes, playing MP3 files seem to come through a bit flat. But, to someone else's ear, these speakers may sound just fine. However, I've knocked them another star because I've heard better sound coming out of much older model speakers in the same category (particularly with regards to bass).For what you're paying, these speakers are excellent. For what you're hearing... well, they're really not too bad. They're not "big sound" speakers in the least, but if you're actually researching the SRS-A3s by reading these reviews, I'm guessing you're not looking to thump a house party with your computer speakers anyway.