[Circa]

I am giving them one final look over before I make a decision on some speakers. Do they really cause this many problems, or so people have been saying over the last months. I have been told by numerous amounts of people that I should stay away from usb audio. I mean is it really this bad, can any owners of these speakers comment on them? I think they look just awesome and I would love to have them. But if they really cause alot of problems like slowing my computer down and everything I would rather get some monsoons.

And I have heard them and they aren't that bad...

Thanks,
Circa

------------------
Circa

[zigzag]

Circa, you're in a place where every problem, real or imagined, gets magnified because (1) the average user who is satisfied with their equipment doesn't even come here, and even those who are here don't typically report satisfaction - it's mostly problems that get attention; and (2) this place is full of geeks (God bless 'em) who sometimes overstate problems that don't affect the vast majority of users and tend to think that anything they don't use themselves is crap.

My advice is to get the Soundsticks (or whatever speakers you happen to like) and enjoy them. If they don't meet your expectations, just exchange them for something else.

Also, ignore the "sound like crap" stuff. No one can make that judgment for you. All small speaker systems have limitations, but there are lots of good ones available, including the Soundsticks and Monsoons. Get the ones you like and that serve your particular needs.

[This message has been edited by zigzag (edited 06-01-2001).]

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

I have used my soundsticks on my Cube for 4 months/ 10 hours a day. Not 1 problem. No hogging the USB bandwidth, no stuttering, no CPU usage. They sound awesome, they look awesome.



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[exa]

Well, it does use CPU cycles and uses some USB bandwith (though they are so insignificant it doesn't matter). I think USB support is getting more refined and better, shouldn't be much of a problem. USB audio is promising though, just that the current equipment isn't as good as it should be.

Having 4 1" drivers per speaker and a wimpy plastic sub as a system, I dont think so but if you like it, so be it. I dunno, for $200 I would get some Klipsch Promedia 2.1s or the Boston Acoustics 4800 system.

[Circa]

Wow what a thread pics and all!!

Ya it sounds like people make a huge deal about them even though they don't do anything really. I had people come up to me and swear by it that these are really the worst ever for speakers. I dunno, I am considering this or some monsoons. I have to make a decision soon though...

BTW can the sub be placed on the desk? It is so damn cool or will it vibrate everything?

Any other owners?

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Circa:

BTW can the sub be placed on the desk? It is so damn cool or will it vibrate everything?

Unless I have a Zip disk sitting right next to it, nothing vibrates.

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[Cipher13]

I'd definately take the BA4800's as exa speaks of...
www.bostonacoustics.com

Absolutely amazing speakers...

USB audio... well, I don't like it. Because I don't like USB. Its very unstable, and I have had nothing but problems with USB in general. Its a shoddy design, and putting something like speakers (something with constantly streaming data) is all bad.

Uses CPU cycles (so what?), uses bandwidth (as exa says, not much), but also, having to use a USB port for them annoys me, but mostly, its just how crappy USB in general is. I mean the quality is no better, as the sound is converted to analog regrdless (at that box that the speakers plug into), so theres no quality advantage, and infact, its a disadvantage, cause when you convert something like that, there IS a depreciation in quality...

If you have a line-out (headphone) jack, get a set of Boston Acoustics speakers. They're just awesome.


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AIM: Cipher1387
ICQ: 48111606
mail: cipher13@mac.com

[exa]

Cipher, the delicate art of converting digital signals into analog signals is a very important thing; the DACs inside the computer are horribly interfered with by all the RF emissions, plus they suck as they are. One major point of USB was to move the DAC away from the computer... unfortunately the DACs and transducers found in USB speakers aren't that great. Doing something like getting a good external DAC, like a USB DAC and then plugging analog speakers in would give the best results. Not all DACs are the same, analog conversion differs dramatically from bad and good DACs.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Cipher13:
I mean the quality is no better, as the sound is converted to analog regrdless (at that box that the speakers plug into), so theres no quality advantage, and infact, its a disadvantage, cause when you convert something like that, there IS a depreciation in quality...

This is Cipher13 opinion of something he does not own. In other words, his guess.

------------------

Don't be afraid to get the SoundSticks just because they're USB. I have a set of SoundSticks hooked up to my 450MHz Cube running Mac OS X 10.0.3, and they sound very nice (not as good as my $25K home theater system in the next room, but very nice, considering their size and price ).

The only problem I've ever had with the SoundSticks is that the sound sometimes drops out for a fraction of a second when the CPU is very heavily loaded (e.g., when I compile code). This is probably a case of CPU starvation, not USB bus saturation. 99.99% of the time they sound just great...and most people don't compile code on their Macs.

YMMV. I don't have a USB scanner or printer hooked up to my Cube -- that might affect USB speaker performance if you are listening to music while scanning or whatever.

Good luck with whatever speakers you decide upon.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by <HT Guy>:
<STRONG>I don't have a USB scanner or printer hooked up to my Cube -- that might affect USB speaker performance if you are listening to music while scanning or whatever.
</STRONG>

Here is the clincher, you know how each Mac within the past 2 years or so has2 USB ports. And how both ports have the same USB bandwidth for each, they do NOT share one. Well you have to plug the soundsticks into the port directly into the computer and not a hub. All your other devices go into the other port (and the monitor, keyboard). Thus, the soundsticks have one bus all to themselves and the other bus is for all the other junk. I figured this out when I would hog the bus by coping stuff to my USB ORB drive, and scanning and the soundsticks would not skip a beat. I looked it up in the Cube technical specs and found out about the 2 bus’.
I never had the SoundSticks skip even on very high CPU usage, maybe compiling an app causes the app that is playing it to skip, such as iTunes has no more CPU.

[IceEnclosure]

Circa, I say get 'em..

I am 100% pleased with mine on my G4 533.. they never skip or anything like that, for me at least.

I have a 250 zip drive hooked to my computer (USB, back of computer), and the soundsticks are on the monitor USB port..

I've even had them on the keyboard, and daily, I transfer data to and fro the Zip USB..

I scan with my UMAX USB..

I print with my Epson 880..

All the while listening to my mp3's through my soundsticks at full bore..

I've never found them to take up too much bandwidth or to skip(but i don't write code )

Sure, the Bostons may sound magnificent, but I say the Soundsticks do as well, and with matching style.

Only thing--they don't get so loud as to blow you out of your house.. But hey, they're computer speakers.. and they really do rock.. and the highs are magnifico.

[The Placid Casual]

I bought a set of Sound Sticks when they first came out...They broke down within a month....I was also unimpressed with the sound quality compared to other set-ups.

I was reluctant to buy another set, so I purchased a set of Yamaha YST 540 speakers...they are superior in every way apart from looks....also they are 1/3 of the price. I would recomend them unreservedly...

(I run a printer, a zip 250 drive and a scanner through a hub, as well as the speakers, and can report no problems with either the Soundsticks (when they were working) or the Yamahas)

[ 06-03-2001: Message edited by: Marc2211 ]

[imacaholic]

I've got them hooked up and they sound great! If you can, I would check out the June 2001 issue of MacFormat (published in the UK) they reviewed several different systems. They rated the iSub and Soundsticks 8 out of 10. VideoLogic Scirroco system was given 10 out of 10 (a must have). But, of course, there is a price difference between the two. Hope this helps.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by IceEnclosure:
<STRONG>I have a 250 zip drive hooked to my computer (USB, back of computer), and the soundsticks are on the monitor USB port..

I've even had them on the keyboard, and daily, I transfer data to and fro the Zip USB..

I scan with my UMAX USB..

I print with my Epson 880..

All the while listening to my mp3's through my soundsticks at full bore..

</STRONG>

You should read this: http://kbase.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/...?extKCID=58676

[ 06-03-2001: Message edited by: Severed Hand of Skywalker ]

[as2]

I have a set of SoundSticks hooked up to my iMac, through a bus powered hub, with my Epson printer and UMAX Scanner connected through the same hub. They work brilliantly in both OS 9 and 10, and have given me nothing but audio pleasure.

They also look cool, and get a few 'Ahhh's' from some of my Uni friends, who wan't them but can't have then as they have PC's

I reccomend you get the SoundSticks.

[waffffffle]

When I first saw the SoundSticks at MWNY last summer I knew that I had to have them. I ordered my Pismo 400 and SoundSticks from the Apple Store soon after. I found that the only thing that was annoyance was that my PowerBook's volume controls would not be very responsive when using the soundsticks as compared to analog audio. Also I sometimes found that after unpugging and plugging my soundsticks a few times a day they would refuse to be recognized. Gladly OS 9.1 fixed all these problems and now my SoundSticks work flawlessly in 9.1.

OS X is a bit of a different story. They originally weren't supported in the public beta without a wierd hack that would make classic unusable. Although nowadays they work well (but I find that iTunes in X doesn't sound as good as in 9.) There are a few quirks with USB audio in OS X that really only affect PowerBook users. It seems that in OS X each application decides which audio output it will use when it launches, so if I launch iTunes while the soundsticks are plugged in then I will get music through the SoundSticks (but if I unplug them iTunes is silent unless I restart iTunes.) If I launch AIM without the soundsticks plugged in I will get IM noises through the internal speakers even after plugging in the SoundSticks afterward. This is one quirk that I really enjoy because I hate hearing those loud IM noises while listening to music, so it's nice to hear them only from the small internal speakers. The keyboard volume controls seem to only like to control certain apps, like iTunes.

If you don't have a PowerBook then you won't experience these issues, and I'm sure they will be resolved, just as the USB audio issues in OS 9 were resolved. I think the only question should be price. They are still $200 speakers, and they've been out for a year. That's pretty steap, even though they sound amazing. But remember they aren't very loud, so don't expect to be blasting music out your windows. Still, I love my soundsticks and wouldn't trade them in for any other speakers on the market today. If you don't mind spending $200 then definitely go for them. I wouldn't bother listening to Cipher since he likes to spread his opinions on things that he has no experience with. USB audio is very good, although I wouldn't reccomend it for serious audio recorders.

Hope this helps.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Why does louder always mean better? Sure they soundsticks might not get that loud compared to some other speakers, but can you really listen to anything at loud volumes? My soundsticks are always at 50% volume and that is loud enough.

[Chimpmaster]

hand of luke skywalker --

Love your setup man - looks fantastic.

What video card do you have in your cube?

Tell me its a radeon - then i can start drooling.

I love my ibook, but that cube is really nice !

[powertoburn]

i absolutely love the sound sticks, I am using them with my iBook with Combo Drive. They look great, sound great even though I will admit the bass is not so thumping.

I got a pair of Philips USB speakers hooked up to my Power Mac G4 and I really like the sound that USB audio produces digital no analog conversion. The subwoofer with the Philips is really bassy which is what I like.

I will also admit I prefer watching my DVD's on the iBook just cause the SoundStick sound so good, and for night time viewing I don't have to turn on the home theater and wake everyone up.

The subwoofer for the iSub is more bassy but then I suppose that is cause there is a seperate control for the subwoofer in the sound control panel.

[powertoburn]

i absolutely love the sound sticks, I am using them with my iBook with Combo Drive. They look great, sound great even though I will admit the bass is not so thumping.

I got a pair of Philips USB speakers hooked up to my Power Mac G4 and I really like the sound that USB audio produces digital no analog conversion. The subwoofer with the Philips is really bassy which is what I like.

I will also admit I prefer watching my DVD's on the iBook just cause the SoundStick sound so good, and for night time viewing I don't have to turn on the home theater and wake everyone up.

The subwoofer for the iSub is more bassy but then I suppose that is cause there is a seperate control for the subwoofer in the sound control panel.

[exa]

USB audio produces digital no analog conversion

What do you mean, your brain is directly connected to your speaker?

Ears can only detect analog signals... I guess you mean you like the digital/audio convertor in the speaker...

[scottiB]

I got some as an Xmas present. They're at my office where I run my Pismo through them. I wouldn't use them to power a house party, but in my setting (where they don't get pushed much) they are superlative. Mingus sounds great.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by as2:
<STRONG>They also look cool, and get a few 'Ahhh's' from some of my Uni friends, who wan't them but can't have then as they have PC's</STRONG>

Actually... I'm pretty sure they'll work on PC's... but don't know definately...

[as2]

I was unaware that they would work on a windows PC, until you mentioned it. All the Harman Kardon literature says that they will only work with a Mac running OS 9 or later. I have found that they can be used on a PC with Win2k, or ME. They can't listen to CD's through them though which is a shame.

I have a solution for them though...

Buy a Mac!

[Bobincheck]

No speakers were sounding good to me until I installed a DSP/AMP from Yamaha. It is a USB device, and I use it with earbuds or headphones. It comes with some speakers, but I haven't even used them yet. I'm still jazzed by the sound from the headphones.

Originally posted by Circa:
<STRONG>I am giving them one final look over before I make a decision on some speakers.

</STRONG>

I was looking at the SoundSticks exclusivly for my current iMac (now ordered iBook). I still recommend them. The Sub isn't as nice as the iSub I had, but they do sound good. I had some hissing from them, and come to find out - it was the system that was corrupted, a reinstall fixed it. Also, unlike the iSub, they don't skip with VM turned on or RAMDoubler installed. They sound really good, and I recommend them.

[Circa]

It sounds as if 95 percent of people are loving them, and the other 5 percent are against it (even those who don't own them). I just don't know if want that bass thumping feel. I like it alot, but for a computer hmm dunno yet... Still thinking this thread has held me back and I am really stumped on what to do.

[IceEnclosure]

Circa.. what do you need to hear??

The bass, as many in this post have said, isn't quite as loud as other comparable systems(a good thing for you, perhaps?).. but it's darn good

The highs sound clear and bright, and that bass I mentioned earlier? Wellll, it has a knob on it that you can turn to adjust the bass... all the way to NONE.. so there you have it.. clear highs with bass, clear highs with a little bass, clear highs with no bass.. all better than the OEM speaker(s) that shipped with whateva you got.. and they look factory... end of discussion

[aaanorton]

I have nothing to say about the Soundsticks, as I don't own them. I bought my Monsoons over them based mainly on reviews and their output specs.
That said, I love my monsoon system. I have come to relate to them as I do my Mac. They sound great and are designed flawlessly. The volume/mute puck (which I've read to be poorly designed) I now find indispensable.
I've owned this system for about 10 months. Early on I noticed that one of the speakers wasn't functioning all the time. I had to fiddle w/ the connections occasionally to fix it. While I hardly think this is a strong endorsement for them, I have to assume from the number of posts on in these forums on your part that you understand that this sort of thing happens w/ computer peripherals from time to time. Sometimes they just don't work properly.
After about 7 months of living w/ this issue, I decided to do something about it. Since I didn't even live in NYC anymore (where I bought them), I shot off an email to Monsoon describing the problem I was having. The next morning I got a reply: try switching the speaker connections to see if the problem followed the channel, in which case they would send me a new puck that would probably resolve it or if it stayed w/ the speaker itself, indicating a bad speaker. I did this and for a couple months all worked well (except that right was left and left was right, so to speak). Then I noticed the other speaker going on the fritz. It had been some time since my first email, but I replied to it and inquired what might be done. Again, the next morning I got another reply saying that it was most likely the puck and that a new one would be sent out.
I got it 2-3 days later. It must have been sent out that same day. Unfortunately, when I opened it, I discovered that it was a black plastic puck that did not match my speakers. I set it up anyway, thinking that I would get used to it. I didn't. So I sent another email in which I was appreciative of the effort, but disappointed w/ the end result. The next morning (I'm NOT exaggerating here) I got my reply. I was working on location that day, so that evening I got it PLUS another email sent only 1/2 an hour after the first. The first one said that they apologized for the mix up and would send the correct replacement immediately AND that they would include a NEW SUBWOOFER, just in case that was actually the problem (which it wasn't). The second email said that upon further consideration they would be sending it out that day via overnight delivery.
I can't even put this kind of service into context.
I got everything the next day and it all works perfectly. I emailed them back to see about returning the unused pieces and was told to "keep 'em". It wouldn't be worth it for them to pay for their shipping. Mind you, I had not paid for any shipping at all and was offering to send them back on my nickel for appreciation of a job well done, but that wasn't even an option. They obviously expect their products to deliver. Period.
Since this transpired, I've been waiting for an opportunity to blow Monsoon's horn. They more than deserve it. I'd pit their performance against any other manufacturer's product any day. They sound AND look awesome. I can't recommend them highly enough. It is a pleasure to listen to them and to do business w/ Monsoon.
Cliff

[waffffffle]

Oh one more thing I forgot to mention about the soundsticks. Since the subwoofer speaker faces down (directly into the floor) it sounds much better on a hard floor. Usually the people who complain about the lack of bass are the ones who put it on a carpeted floor. The same goes for the iSub.

One other strange thing is that I got a piece of lint in tehre permanently. i guess it came in through the top and made it's way all the way inside the subwoofer. It's red, I think from this red sweater I have, and it's pretty visable, but I don't want to attempt opening the thing up to get a peice of lint out.

[ekserb]

I just wanted to add my two cents:

My brother has the SoundSticks and they sound damn good. He has the sub on a hard desk so the bass isn't adversely affected.

I personally have used a pair or Bose MediaMate speakers for about 8 years and I love them. Small, sound great, and they don't take up one of my IceBook's USB ports. They even have a second input (RCA jacks) for a radio/VCR/etc. Expensive, but when I bought them I looked around and couldn't find a decent sounding pair of computer speakers anywhere.

Anyhow, whatever you get they will be better than any built-in speaker on any computer ever made. (Unless you pay ten bucks for 'em.)

[Dr Evil]

severed hand of skywalker
Here is the clincher, you know how each Mac within the past 2 years or so has2 USB ports. And how both ports have the same USB bandwidth for each, they do NOT share one

I know this is kinda a technicality, but the USB Macs before the Sawtooth G4 shared bandwith and were limited to 127 devices total. The Sawtooth gave each USB port its own bandwidth and 127 device support. These Macs fall just under your 2 year statement, but just barely. I think the Lombard PB G3 also had the shared bandwidth, but I don't completely remember. It is 1:40 am and time to go to bed before i make more mistakes.

[Han's Hands on Leia]

Originally posted by Dr Evil:
<STRONG>

I know this is kinda a technicality, but the USB Macs before the Sawtooth G4 shared bandwith and were limited to 127 devices total.</STRONG>

Close enough though. The point is if you have a fairly new Mac then bandwidth and USB speakers are not a problem.