LAPTOPS are great but they aren't noted for their music playing capabilities.

When a manufacturer has crammed in a hard disk, a DVD drive, a processor with its fan and all the other gubbins a portable PC requires there's precious little space for a couple of speakers.

Most laptops therefore have tiny little speakers capable of producing little more than a pathetic squeak.

Edifier reckons it has the solution to this problem, a 2.1 speaker system that's small enough to fit in a coat pocket but beefy enough to fill a room.

At the heart of the system is a sleek cylindrical sub-woofer made from brushed metal that connects to a couple of tiny speakers about the size of a golf ball.

Plug the sub into your laptop's soundcard and you'll be amazed that something so small can make such a big noise.

In fact, the Aurora is more than good enough to replace full-sized speakers in a desktop PC set-up.

They look fantastic, too, and come in a wide range of colours to match your mood or décor.

The Edifiers can plug into an MP3 player as well, making them perfect for parties where a full-sized music set-up would be inappropriate.

And if you're a student they make a great portable music system that won't take up too much room in a bedroom.

Edifier reckons the sub is good for 15-watts of music power and the satellites kick out 3.5-watts each.

Their sound is clean and clear, with deep bass and a nicely detailed top end capable of reproducing all types of music. The secret is in the 2-inch magnetically sealed woofer which manages to reach the depths lesser systems cannot and fills out the sound beautifully.

Of course, you could buy a bigger set of speakers for fifty quid but the Edifier Aurora system looks, feels and sounds like the quality product it is.

* EDIFIER AURORA 2.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM. Price: £49.99.