GX Gaming SP-i250G Speaker Review

GX Gaming SP-i250G Speaker Review

We talk a lot in CPUabout good audio setups for gaming, movies, and music on your PC; there are some great headsets and 2.1- and 5.1-channel speaker sets with surround sound, subwoofers, and the whole nine yards that will take your PC leisure time to the next level. But what if you are away from your PC and need more than the sound coming from your notebook, tablet, or phone’s tiny, underpowered speaker(s)?

GX Gaming, a company that by the way makes some of the aforementioned headsets and speakers (see our review of the GX Gaming Mordax headset elsewhere in this issue), has the answer. The company’s SP-i250G portable stereo gaming speakers will put your notebook or mobile device’s speakers to shame and are both eminently portable and simple to use. Together they weigh less than half a pound, and each of them measures less than 3 inches across and just over 1.5 inches high, so you won’t have any trouble finding a nook or cranny for them in your laptop bag/backpack/gym bag. GX Gaming provides a carrying pouch for each speaker, as well.

GX Gaming designed the speakers to charge via USB, but you can connect them to your favorite device’s 3.5mm audio out jack for playback. (The single cord bundle, which ends in gold-plated plugs all the way around, also includes the USB plug for charging, and branches off into two lines ending in Mini-USB plugs for the speakers.) You turn each speaker on individually by twisting the middle portion of the speaker module clockwise. You can adjust the volume by twisting further or tone things down if need be by twisting the unit counter-clockwise. Of course, your device’s volume control has a big role to play, as well.

Once everything is connected and playing, the 3-watt SP-i250G speakers gamely do their job, pumping out a great deal more sound than your phone or tablet is capable of, and in many cases producing more sound than even a pair of laptop speakers. We tried them out in a variety of usage scenarios, including a few types of music and several phone and tablet games, and although you’re not likely to confusetheir sound with that of GX Gaming’s SW-G2.1 or SW-G5.1 speaker sets, they provide plenty of highly portable sound and did a great job of boosting the sound of several popular mobile game apps.

GX Gaming also provides a bit of a light show; the diminutive speakers sport thin LED rings that run all the way around them just above the base and just below the rotating middle cover/power and volume control. When the speakers come on, the light rings randomly cycle through several colors. Finally, there’s a red LED power indicator on each unit to the left of the Mini-USB charge/aux in port that comes on when the speakers are low on power or are charging; this light goes off when the 
speakers are fully charged.

GX Gaming recommends using its SPi250G portable stereo gaming speakers with handheld gaming systems (Sony PSP, Nintendo DS), iPhones and other smartphones, iPads and other tablets, 
notebook PCs, and MP3 players.

Specs:Drivers: 40mm neodymium; Frequency response: 100Hz to 20kHz; Signal-to-noise ratio: 80dB; Controller: power and volume controls on each speaker; Connector: gold-plated USB for charging, gold-plated 3.5mm audio plug; Battery capacity: 470mAh