As observant Head-Casers will note, I am a fan of  I often end up taking 45 minutes or so during the process, and I like to listen to podcasts while doing so.  My laptop sits on a shelf that's about 4' away from the sink where I shave.  I have some really (really) crappy speakers right now that are USB powered and have a 1/8" audio cable.  They have two modes "too quiet to hear" and "so distorted you can't make out speech."  

 

I'd like a USB powered speaker (singular or pair, it's irrelevant), ideally one that has a built in DAC so it's only connection to my laptop is via the USB cable.  I've never particularly liked the analogue output on any Macintop that I've owned.  1/8" jacks seem to live to crackle and drop out.  Bass response is utterly irrelevant, but clarity in the upper frequencies is essential.  I'm dyslexic, and therefore have really bad auditory processing of language.  I need to be able to understand what's being said in a podcast while running water in the sink, etc.  I tend to leave the speakers in the bathroom when I'm not using them, so something that's at least vaguely moisture-resistant would be a plus.

 

My budget is under $100, but the farther below that number, the better.  I have to buy a bunch of other things this fall, like a new car.

 

Any HCers have experience with products like this?  Got any suggestions?  I'd prefer something available on AMZN, as the 'Egg has made me (and many other 'Casers) quite angry.

This is the kind of product I'm looking for.  That particular model looks a bit fiddly and like it might break the USB port on my lappy if it got torqued. 

Yeah, I did a whole thread on it.  Ended up realizing having it pointed out to me that my problem was unsolvable.  The noise floor in the situation was higher than I was willing to overcome with speakers.  A problem you don't appear to have.  If you want one of my Nuforce Cubes, you're welcome to it.  PM me your address again.

 

Here thread: 

I liked these:

 

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/ufi-ucube-usb-powered-computer-speakers

Bumping this thread because I'm still in need of such an item.  Are the UFi UCubes OOP?  AMZN doesn't have them, and neither does the AAPL store or Crutchfield.  UFI's website is up, but none of the purchase links work.