Getting high-quality sound by spending a small fortune is relatively easy to do — all you need is the money. But getting good sound at a relatively affordable price is a great deal more challenging.
I should note that I started the product testing for this piece before the bottom dropped out of the economy, which drastically changed the definition of "affordable." So equipment discussed here that might have been a nice holiday shopping indulgence only a couple of months ago now may be a reckless extravagance.
Quality computer speakers have been hard to find — and some of the better ones that were on the market have been discontinued. There are an endless number of pretty good speakers for $100 or less. Then there are a few $400 systems from such companies as Bose and Logitech that are frankly disappointing. While they are little better, they aren't so great that the extra expense seems worthwhile. Meanwhile, at the other extreme, specialty audio suppliers can outfit you with an audiophile-caliber system for $2,000 or more.
Now, there are two alternatives to meet the needs of discerning listeners without being totally outrageous.
France's Focal-JMLab has introduced the Focal XS system ($600), a sleek silver and black three-piece system (two satellite speakers and a subwoofer) that matches the styling of Apple's current generation iMac computers and — just in case you didn't get the idea — includes an iPod dock in the right-hand speaker. It has its own onboard audio circuitry, bypassing the noise of PC or Mac circuit boards, and plugs into your computer via USB.
California-based NuForce Inc. has produced its Icon component system, also USB-based. This one is a la carte — the Icon amplifier is $250. You can use it with small bookshelf speakers of your own or with NuForce's purpose-built S1 speakers ($250 for the pair). That puts its price below Focal's. But it does not have a subwoofer, and in my testing, the sound lacked depth without one. That adds about $100 to $150, and NuForce also recommends an upgraded power supply ($45), bringing the total price up to nearly $700.
For aesthetics, the edge goes to Focal XS, which is sleek and compact and complements most modern PCs and Macs. NuForce S1s have uncovered speaker cones (some will find that a high-tech look, some will see it as garish), and the speakers are large bookshelf-style designs that take up a lot of desktop real estate.
Sonically — which, after all, is the object of the exercise — it is an even battle. Which one sounded better depended entirely on the particular recording I was playing, and in many cases the specific track. If pressed, I would give the Focal XS a slight edge in clarity, while NuForce had better sound staging (spatial placement of the music — you hear sounds coming from left, right, center, and not some muddled mix).
Bear in mind that speakers of this caliber are a total waste of money if you do not have high-caliber audio sources to play. I converted a big batch of my CD collection to Apple's "Lossless" format using iTunes. Microsoft also has a lossless format, and there is the free FLAC lossless format. All of these cut file size down to roughly 50 percent of a CD, but preserve all audio information so the sound is identical to the CD and comes through brilliantly on the XS or Icon. If you are using MP3 or like formats that compress files by discarding some data, that lost data effectively negates the speakers' higher fidelity.
ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ
Al Gordon is a Massachusetts-based writer who specializes in technology and consumer electronics. You can read more of his articles at www.algordon.com/techblog.html and e-mail him at eagle@algordon.com.
