When I was a kid, portable audio speakers were rare and fairly poorly made. No one had started to make portable powered speakers yet, so the sound that you got was very weak and not very good. Basically, portable speakers only put out about as much sound as came through headphones. They could be cleverly designed so that they would carry through a small room, but that was about it. The sound was flat, tinny, and much too quiet.
Portable speakers, however, have come a long way since then. You can get basically anything from a portable speaker that you can from bigger home speaker systems except for the volume and some of the bass. Portable speakers actually have a surprising amount of power. I got some iPod portable speakers the other day, and I was blown away by how they sounded. They actually sound better than my stereo system, and I only bought that about five years ago. Although it is not a top-of-the-line system, it always sounded pretty good to me until now. After hearing those portable speakers, however, I wouldn't listen to anything else besides them.
Another great thing about portable flat panel speakers is how little room they take up. Back in the day, portable speakers were fairly bulky as well as inefficient. Nowadays, however, they take up very little room indeed. They have a smaller profile than your average novel, and can be fit conveniently into any travel bag if you are flying on an airline. This is a great advantage, because it allows you to take your portable speakers with you on vacation. It is much better than what you had to do in the 80s – lugging a boombox with you everywhere. Try getting that on a plan nowadays!
If you are looking for portable MP3 player speakers, the only way to go about it is to go to a store that lets you listen to them. Whatever you have heard, most portable speakers will last for a long time. Even if they are not exceptionally well made, there is so little that can break that, as long as you are careful with your portable speakers, you should have them for years. The big issue is not how they are made, but how they sound. Most stores will let you try out a floor model of their portable speaker systems, so you should definitely do this before you invest in a set.
