Small portable speakers are great when at the beach, or when you generally just want to make some noise on the go. For the iPhone and iPad there are a lot of different dock speakers. A dock speaker is great in that it limits the amount of cords, and has quite large speakers. Computer or laptop speakers have been around for quite some time, and come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The Twisted system from Proporta is a two-piece stereo setup directly descending from laptop speakers. It is portable due to size, and the fact that they also run on batteries.
The Twisted system consists of two small speakers shaped like cubes with 7 cm depth, height and width. The package comes with a cable to power it by means of USB. Audio cords run between the main speaker, and the secondary speaker as well to the source. Cords are long enough to give you the chance to place the speakers about one and a half meters apart.
When you use the USB cable for power the blue leds on the main speaker show full charge at all time, and to some that blue shine might be a nuisance. I have not really been bothered with it, but I guess it depends on the source material watched/listened to. And of course on the lighting in the room you are in. The blue light would probably disturb watching a horror movie in a dark room. Outside or in an otherwise lit situation the led won’t even be noticed. When you run the speakers on batteries the led shows the charge left.
The speakers run on 2×3 AAA batteries. All of a sudden the setup feels somewhat heavier, and I find it really clunky having to stock up on batteries to power portable devices. I have a set of generic portable mini speakers that I charge once a fortnight using USB, and then have waiting for whenever I want to play some music while taking a bath. The fact that Proporta choose a cheaper alternative to having a chargeable pack built in is a shame, and certainly diminishes the portability aspect together with an iPhone/iPod/iPad. It of course works better with a laptop as it simply takes the power from the USB when out and about.
Sound wise these are some powerful little beauties. Mid to high range is excellent giving great reproduction of spoken sounds thus making it perfect for watching movies. Low range is weak even powered by USB power. The Twisted can suffice when watching a movie in a living room or dorm, but it can not power a party. You can actually fix that yourself by twisting them, and build your own temporary bass boost. Simply make sure to place the speakers in an enclosed space about 40 cm by 40 cm. Twist the speakers to send audio straight up, and hey presto you have a bassy setup.
The design is quite neat with the square cube look. As it can be twisted into three different positions it also changes look. Cube with sound extending upward, twist with sound extending to the left, and monitor with sound flowing forwards. There is one design flaw to it all that bothers me quite a bit. The power button is located on the bottom of the main speaker. This means you have to lift it to reach the power, and I have simply started to have the speaker lying on its side to reach the power switch right away.
The Twisted system from Proporta is portable, but not enough to make it a contender against dock speakers. The choice to go with AAA batteries instead of a built in pack makes it a hassle to keep in mind to have charged batteries ready. It is better suited as a computer or small room media speaker setup powered by USB. The sound is perfect for television, and movies but less ideal for bass heavy party music. The twist design in itself gives you the power to create your own sound, and that is really neat. In the end I can really recommend the Twisted speakers as a great laptop setup at a great price.
Final Rating
Twisted system at Proporta.co.uk £24.95
