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Dgysy · May 6, 2002, 07:25 PM

I already have the Apple Pro speakers, I can either purchase the iSub by itself to pair with them or get the Sound Sticks that come with the sub at extra cost.

Does anyone know if the Sound Sticks are much superior to the Apple Pro speakers?

Also, with the Sound Sticks does everything get plugged in through USB, or do you have to use both USB and the proprietary plug for the sticks themselve?

iKevin · May 6, 2002, 07:40 PM

I would heavily recommend the SoundSticks over the Pro speaker/iSub combo. OS X has some issues with the standalone iSub. The one bundled with the SoundSticks is slightly different and doesn't seem to be affected. The SoundSticks sound much better than the Apple Pro speakers and they loop through the Subwoofer so there's only one cable to attach to the Mac(USB).

Mac Zealot · May 6, 2002, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by iKevin:
<STRONG>I would heavily recommend the SoundSticks over the Pro speaker/iSub combo. OS X has some issues with the standalone iSub. The one bundled with the SoundSticks is slightly different and doesn't seem to be affected. The SoundSticks sound much better than the Apple Pro speakers and they loop through the Subwoofer so there's only one cable to attach to the Mac(USB).</STRONG>

They have worse interference problems.

Considering you do not use airport, it'll work fine.

Get the isub, $63 makes your already good sound system fantastic, why bother spending another $170?!?!?!?

May 6, 2002, 09:18 PM

Don't listen to MacZealot, stupid kid

The SoundSticks are worth it. The pro speakers lack the umph and power behind them. The SoundSticks are less likely to have problems because they come in a set (two satillites and a subwoofer). Mixing and matching digital audiocompenents via USB is not smart unless they come in a set.

BUY THE SOUNDSTICKS
or
Check out Monsoonpower.com and look into their multimedia speakers

OldManMac · May 6, 2002, 10:30 PM

The SoundSticks are far superior to the Pro/iSub combo! Just adding a subwoofer to the Pros won't equal the Sticks! I'll also second the suggestion on the Monsoons! I have a set of MM-702s on my G4, and they put out very good bass, and clear tones at the same time! They're also cheaper than the Sticks!

iKevin · May 7, 2002, 09:05 AM

Originally posted by <ender>:
<STRONG>Don't listen to MacZealot, stupid kid

The SoundSticks are worth it. The pro speakers lack the umph and power behind them. The SoundSticks are less likely to have problems because they come in a set (two satillites and a subwoofer). Mixing and matching digital audiocompenents via USB is not smart unless they come in a set.

BUY THE SOUNDSTICKS
or
Check out Monsoonpower.com and look into their multimedia speakers

</STRONG>

Thanks for backing me up Ender. The Pro Speaker/iSub combo is just asking for trouble....SoundSticks are MUCH better. But I do have to disagree with you regarding MacZealot being stupid...He(or she) has helped out many people on these forums.

xyber233 · May 7, 2002, 09:15 AM

Do you listen to a lot of mp3s? If so, what quality are they at? If you have low quality mp3s with the soundsticks, you can hear all the distortions in the mp3. I would get the iSub. It saves you a lot of money and you get a little more bass

.

Justin W. Williams · May 7, 2002, 10:41 AM

No matter if you go sticks or iSub alone, if you have Airport, you are up a creek right now in OSX, because you are goin to lose sound A LOT and have to restart. Because of this fact, my sticks (which sound great) are sitting in my closet until Apple decides to fix the issue of interference b/w Airport and Soundsticks.

Dgysy · May 7, 2002, 11:49 AM

Interesting, yes I do use Airport so I'm interested in knowing exactly what the problem is between the Airport and Soundsticks.

I'm using the Apple Pro speakers with no problems, is it the USB connection with the Sound Sticks that is the problem?

Has anyone spoke to tech support about this?

molow · May 7, 2002, 01:17 PM

Go ahead and get the sound stick with the sub-woofer. I'm using one right now, with iTune, it sound SO much better than the ipro speaker. Also, I do not have any problems with airport either, as I'm writing this message via airport.

iKevin · May 7, 2002, 04:29 PM

I did have some sound drop issues with my SoundSticks when I had them running through my Orange Micro USB card...also when I had then connected to the #2 USB port on the mainboard. When I switched my SoundSticks to the #1 USB port and my keyboard to the #2 the problem went away. I wonder if this Airport issue is actually a USB issue like what I used to have.

Dgysy · May 9, 2002, 01:26 PM

I got the Sound Sticks last night, yes they sound way better than the Apple Pro speakers!

My question is this, when I turn on my Powermac the "Mac startup hum" (for lack of a better thing to call it) comes out of the internal speaker on the front of the Powermac case, all other sounds after that come from the Sound Sticks.

I thought perhaps the USB connection wasn't recognized but when I went into Sound Preferences the Sound Sticks were listed there.

On a computer running Windows when attaching a USB device a screen comes up that says "Windows has recognized new hardware", does Mac OSX give a visual confirmation when attaching a USB device?

Mac Zealot · May 9, 2002, 06:44 PM

lol. hey i never said the pro/isub option was any better.. just that if you already have the pro speakers it's not really worth the trouble...

*shrug* I want the soundsticks but don't need them, if I want mega sound that's what the stereo sitting next to my computer is for

waffffffle · May 9, 2002, 07:30 PM

Dgysy, the Mac OS doesn't give that sort of visual confirmation everytime you plug in a USB device because Apple knows that Mac users expect the device to work properly as soon as it is connected and therefore any sort of confirmation is useless.

Windows on the other hand has this thing that the like to call "plug and play," which as I'm sure you know, doesn't work that way at all. Your Mac doesn't need to search for drivers like Windows does. THe soundsticks just work. You should expect that much out of your computer.

As for the problems with Airport, I have them too. I find that it only happens when uploading significant amounts of data, like when running a gnutella client, sending a large email attachment, etc. I switched over to ethernet and I've been happy ever since.

FTrain · Jun 18, 2002, 08:12 AM

Okay, I know this topic was exhausted over a month ago, but if any of you could ring in: What if someone already got you just the iSub because they knew you already had the pro speakers? Is it worth trying to take the iSub back and upgrade to the complete SoundSticks package? Is the sound THAT much better on the Sticks?

jules · Jun 18, 2002, 09:26 AM

The Sound Sticks do sound great, but I continue to have problems with sound going out. It is driving me nuts because only a restart will get them going again. I use airport with a Ti 667DVI and from what I have read here, it is an airport conflict...If you don't use airport, then they are worth it..
I wish this problem, what ever is causing it, would get FIXED!!!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />