Computers are already set up to handle the visual side of multimedia, but handling the sound is something else again. Like, where do you put the speakers?
Combining its strengths as a maker of good audio gear and great video monitors, Proton has put them - and an amplifier - into its 15-inch SVGA computer monitor. The 3-inch speakers fire out the sides. Aiming away from your ears means they lose some high-frequency response, but that just helps the sonic balance: small speakers like these don't have much bass anyway. The bass is actually a bit better than expected from small speakers. Plugging good headphones into the front-panel jack shows that the Proton's built-in stereo amp, delivering only two watts per channel, can go down as low as most good headphones.
The video side has limitations, but not serious ones. The 15-inch picture isn't much larger than a 14-inch screen and the edges of the picture taper in a bit. Colors in VGA (16-color) mode are less saturated than with my old 14-inch monitor, but in 256-color mode they deepen up again.
You can buy a better monitor, a better amp, and a better pair of speakers, but the reasonably priced Proton yields good quality and an uncluttered desktop.
PM1561: US$799. Proton: +1 (310) 404 2222, fax +1 (310) 404 2322.
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