These Insignia™ NS-NBBAR's are quite now, the only input is USB and this also serves as as USB sound card. This was plug and play on Windows ME, 2000, XP & Vista also older versions of Mac OS X. Now because the USB port is used to power up the speakers and the sound device that is embedded, it will most likely need some steady power to operate, meaning the battery on a laptop may not suffice, try with the laptop charger connected, or try another USB port.