Zebronics Igloo 2.0 usb speakers review

As usual the listening was done in the equilateral triange listening position  ; 2 foot away from each speaker.

The price - Rs.300

The quoted frequency response - 250Hz to 20Khz

One reason why I decided to try these was because of the frequency response (FR). Considering the miniscule size , the quoted FR seemed to be honest , that is,  'not trying to add more bass than it can handle'. 

USB powered with a 3.5 mm jack to be connected to your laptops headphone jack.

TESTING AND IMPRESSIONS:

This is one of the better speakers in the price range and size. Having a single driver suggests at good imaging capabilities and it does image in a fun way though not accurate or pin point. The imaging is  surprisingly wide with some sources.
One thing that should not be expected from such small speakers is loudness. Cranking the volume up can damage these things very quickly.  And at this price point , accurate reproduction of tonality is not to be expected.

With certain music with strong bass and low mid content , the igloo distorts and struggles with the tonality.

They don't seem to do much to tame the high frequency harshness if the song has it ,  which to me was a particularly good thing because I bought them for cross referencing mixes on. 

That said , the sound is relatively clear and well worth the price.

Build Quality? - I've used them sparingly for about a year now and they still work as good. Which is surprising , after reading about some feedbacks from the internet stating these units died in a week or so. Not the case with mine! But these are definitely not made to be tough. They are small and fragile so use with care.

To sum up :

Pros:

Clear sound, very cheap. 

Cons:

 weak in bass , best at low volumes.

4/5

Audeze LCD-2

If there is one word to describe the Audeze sound it would be 'intimate'. Lot of respect goes to the Audeze as it stands unique in the world of headphones with its signature sound. Perhaps the most raved about headphone within 1000$ is the planar magnetic LCD-2 . A few goods and bads of this headphone :
Negatives:
-Uncomfortably heavy. Weighing over half a kilo , the LCD series headphones are probably the heaviest in the market. This is why I listen to it only when lying down which eases the weight . As long as you sit or stand , you'll be constantly reminded of how heavy they are on your head.
-Not portable. Yes . They are too big and heavy.
- In the soundstage category the LCD2 is hugely outclassed by some others in the price range. Especially dwarfed by the legendary HD800.

Positive:  (Here is where the LCD2 is hard to beat even for the hd800)
-  Liquid Midrange . Nothing in this price range can present the midrange like the LCD2 does. Liquid is the word. Swim in it. Midrange is where the human voice is mostly defined and therefore the voices through the LCD2 sound very intimate
- Bass . Without doubt the LCD2 is the mother of all headphones at any price when it comes to bass. Bam Bam! This it not pretentious overblown bass like the Dr Dre. This is tight controlled detailed bass hitting you with real muscle while staying warm and pleasant. There is absolutely no bass bleed into the midrange which is amazing .
- Easy to drive . Being low impedence , (50ohms) , Audeze can be pretty much driven through a decent headphone amp . A higher quality converter/amp will further improve the sound.
- LCD 2 presents the song without any sibilance or harshnses unlike some competitors like the HD800.
- The sound is very smooth on the ears .
- Very natural sounding . The timbre of instruments and voices and presented without any touch of artificiality. This is where many other headphones start struggling.
- The last good thing about the LCD2 is its unique warm sound . Even with its nasty weight , the LCD2 remains favourite to many because of its very unique closer-to-life sound .

Never use the cheapest soundcards

Nowadays the built in soundcards in laptops are of surprisingly good quality . Unfortunately mine fell sideways on the bed and the sound port broke. What next? Either repair it for Rs.2000 or get a USB soundcard.
So I decided to try a cheap Rs.300 soundcard... Back home , I tested it with 2 headphones . Only to regret.
Will I ever plug it in again ? Id be hard pressed to ..  After 15 mins of listening to it on the headphones , I felt nauseaous.. Unclean, distorted audio , unpleasant to the ears ... The laptops built in card sounds a lot better !
I will never use headphones with these again nor would I recommend it to anyone .. I could still use it with small speakers. . Speakers are OK since the audio is not being fired directly into your ear canal. But the sound is still terrible.

If anyone reads this, never buy the cheap ones. Give your ears something more pleasing  and get a good one. Thinking of getting the Asus Xonar U3 once I get some cash.