Review on Enhance Your Audio Experience with the Dell AC511 USB Wired SoundBar by Kenny Shaver

I wasn't expecting much when I ordered this but I was pleasantly surprised. First, you need to moderate your expectations in the sense that you're only paying $20. It won't sound any better than the $150 Klipsch 2.0 stereo speaker or other similarly priced speakers. But for the price it does what it's supposed to and sounds great. I'm using this with a Dell U2715H monitor and haven't noticed any of the static, hissing or popping noises that others have mentioned, either when plugged into the rear USB port or the ports on the bottom of the monitor. My guess is that some of the non-Dell Ultrasharp monitors don't deliver USB power as cleanly as the Dell Ultrasharp range, which probably uses better components. If you don't have hearing problems then it's quite noisy. I can watch my video lectures and clearly hear what the professor is saying. I can watch YouTube videos from time to time and the sound quality is good enough to enjoy the content and the same goes for music. The sound also sounds good in games and was decent enough that I could still enjoy games with good musical soundtracks like Bastion and Transistor and shooters like Borderlands. It works well for movies too, the Interstellar was still a joy to use on the soundbar. If you have a great home theater system or headphones, it's probably better to watch them or use headphones if you're going to be listening longer. If you aren't an audiophile and are looking for something that will handle casual audio content then this is great. To me, this sounds better than the Logitech z200 speakers I tested at Fry's and better than the under $50 Creative speakers I found. The Creative t20 sounds better, but it also costs $90 and takes up a ton of space on your desk. The only thing that would improve things would be if it could capture audio via HDMI/DisplayPort and send it directly to the soundbar instead of having to connect a monitor to the computer. It's not really advertised, however, and I knew it was happening, so I can't reasonably deduct a star for it. So overall I give this a great score, it sounds good enough for casual audio and doesn't take up much space. Desk space to keep your desk clean and tidy. If you want better sound quality buy this, it's only $20 (i.e. 4 coffees) and invest in a quality pair of Audiotechnica or Sennheiser headphones for those moments when you want to enhance your listening experience and have a nice, want to enjoy a clean workplace