Product Reviews

Hercules' XPS 2.1 Lounge is an affordable speaker set with unobtrusive looks and clean, high-quality sound. The curved treble satellites and solid rectangular bass subwoofer are fairly attractive. They're unlikely to win any design awards, but they wouldn't look out of place in your sitting room.

Volume and bass controls are on a separate unit, which also has microphone and headphone sockets. There's also a 3.5mm stereo jack cable, which can be plugged into the headphone socket of any MP3 player, and a cradle to hold your player in place. A button on the side of the unit allows you to switch between audio from your PC and the auxiliary source. The speakers sounded clear and detailed, with plenty of volume, while bass tones were rich and powerful. Audio output was well balanced between the speakers, while surround and 3D effects gave a surprisingly convincing impression of depth.

The XPS 2.1 Lounge sounds great for the money. Our only complaint was that the remote control unit left messy cabling on our desk. It's a minor gripe, though, and these speakers are good value.