USB speakers have been around for awhile now; these devices basically take advantage of Windows XP's (and later operating systems') ability to output audio via the USB port ­rather than the ­traditional 3.5mm stereo audio component.

As such, most of these speakers are powered by the computer's USB slot, which means they tend to be quite low-powered and consequently, the volume levels and audio quality aren't all that great.

The Edifier M20-USB seeks to change all that - it's one of the few USB speakers I've seen that has its own power supply, which means there's more power to drive a pair of more powerful cones.

Externally, the Edifier M20-USB looks like a pair of regular white multimedia speakers; the speaker cabinet is solid and each speaker unit has a weighty feel to it.