iBook G4 Speakers - Opinions

[Scott Baret]

The iBook G4 that was mine and then my uncle's is about to become my cousin's in a few days. My uncle insisted that he buy her a pair of speakers for the laptop.

My question--do any of you feel she really needs external speakers on this laptop?

I used this computer for two years without them (although I admittedly used headphones quite often). When I put it on internal speakers the sound seemed fine to me.

She does listen to iTunes (gift certificates are the other big item we're getting her) but besides that she uses the computer mostly for web surfing, e-mail, chat, word processing, etc. Not a gamer, not a DVD watcher (though she does watch a lot of YouTube and trailers for movies online).

I personally think the internal speakers will suffice (which will save $50). However, I'm going to open the doors to you guys to give some opinions.

 

[Bunsen]

A small subwoofer perhaps? I have a 10 watt IBM branded one (probably came with an Aptiva or some such) that complements my laptop speakers nicely.

 

[wood_e]

You can get a halfway decent pair of speakers and a sub for $50 these days os why not? When i had an iBook G4 I always felt the speakers were poor - very tinny and no range.

I have a pair of baby boston acoustic speakers and sub that I picked up from the goodwill for $10 - they compliment my MBP very well.

 

[MultiFinder]

Most laptop speakers leave something to be desired, especially consumer-grade ones. I've not listened to an iBook in a good while now, but I know that the speakers in my old MacBook were good for "casual listening" as His Steveness would say.

 

[Bunsen]

I can't speak for the G4 iBooks, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the speakers in my Lombard, and in G4 Powerbooks - the "Small Speakers" EQ setting in iTunes helps a lot.

 

[~tl]

The iBook G4 speakers are passable... but they're not that great. I couldn't see myself listening to music on them for any significant period of time. But then again, I am a bit of a closet audiophile. A set of speakers would certainly help things significantly. The only thing to consider is where your cousin is likely to be using the laptop for the majority of the time. If it's on a desk then speakers would be fine, but if it's on the go or lounging around on the sofa (etc) then speakers may just sit unused since they are a bit of a hinderance. Maybe a decent set of headphones would be a better purchase for those situations?