Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Computer Speakers: They Last Forever







  1. Clayton, I've got a similar (maybe identical) set of Labtecs from that era. (If memory serves, you had to be pretty serious about sound to buy a sound card, because they were $150-200. And you had to fiddle with interrupt sequences, etc., etc., to may it play with the other hardware. It was NOT for the weak-of-heart; they'd get a newly-introduced Macintosh, instead.)

    One correction. Those external speakers do NOT run off the power of the sound card. It essentially produced(s) a "line out" signal. The speakers have a tiny built-in amplifier, and it's that amplifier that's been eating the C batteries.

    I bought a set of AR Powered Partner speakers that run off AC or (12v) DC, and I've been using them almost daily for at least 20 years. They still sound fantastic.

  2. Radioshack is a pathetic shell of it's former self. Walmart and Target have what you're looking for for about $12. But as you point out, you can get much better speakers for around the same money.

  3. Wow.

    I remember Bentley machines; I saw them advertised in Computer Shopper and considered buying one.

    I ended up building my own, with a lot of help from a very good friend.

  4. Surely you could have dug out the wall wart from an old 1200 baud modem from a box somewhere.

  5. I have a laundry basket full of old power supplies. I recently went crazy with my P-touch machine and labeled them all with the output voltage and AC / DC .

  6. I still have an HP Laserjet 4P that we bought in 1993. It is still working fine, outlasting dozens of computers. I doubt later HP gear is built to same standards.