[Hi I'm Ben]

Worth dropping 2 bills for? Or would i be much cooler with some Klipsche? or however you spell it.

[Scotttheking]

off to peripherals.

[vasu]

I had the soundsticks. I'm really dissapointed that a company as great as Harman/Kardon dropped the ball with these speakers. They look great, which is fine..but the sound is a bit lacking for an audio system of this price. For the same price, I think you'd be better off with the Monsoon MM702's. That's what I did last year after having Soundsticks for 3 months. I bought them at Macworld Expo New York '00, and was dissapointed when I got them home. When I turned the bass up, all I could think was, "Hmm...can the knob go any further?" Plus the sound is a little tinny and flat at times. After 3 months, the system fried it self, and I sent it back. They sent me a new boxed unit, and I sold them on ebay and got the Monsoons...even made a few bucks in the process. (they were called the Monsoon MM700 back then).

If I could do it all over again, I'd go straight for the Monsoon's, the bass is cleaner, tighter, and can be louder if you want it to be. The sound is just better in every way.

Now you are looking at the Klipsh...are you looking at the 2.1 system or one of the surround systems? Either way, those are the Mercedes of computer speakers

I don't know how much the Klipsh are going for now, but assuming you are looking at the 2.1 system (as the others are) and they are all similarly priced... then basically Klipsh>Monsoon>HK Soundsticks.

I really wish I could of liked the soundsticks better, I have a lot of admiration for Harman/Kardon's home and car audio....but for the price, they are just lacking.

-vasu

[ 12-24-2001: Message edited by: vasu ]

[Matsu]

USB audio is crap. If you can avoid it, go for something using traditional line out.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally posted by Matsu:
<STRONG>USB audio is crap. If you can avoid it, go for something using traditional line out.</STRONG>

USB audio is crap, but I love my Cube.

i'm not a huge audio fan, i just wanted some decent speakers.

i like to plug in other speakers through the head phone jack in my "Pro" speakers.

[fulmer]

I just got a set of soundsticks this morning. They're nice, but I agree-the sound could be a bit better, and the volume louder (perhaps this is a Mac shortcoming). I'm happy with them b/c they sound good; the above suggestion might be one to look into, however. Maybe you could try them before you buy 'em.

I'll put in my vote for the klipsch. They're amazing speakers. Clean sound, deep bass, and best of all, have a volume control knob! Cheers.

J

[Michael T. Doyle]

I have Sound Sticks collecting dust under my TV cabinet. They are highly directional, meaning, while they have (I think) great sound, it only sounds great if you're sitting at your monitor with the Sticks pointing directly at you. As soon as you stand up and walk around the room, the sound becomes awfully poor and muddy. There are cheaper computer speakers that give you good omnidirectional sound. These aren't them by any means.

If you want to spend $200 on speakers, make sure they're omnidirectional. I opted for a set of bookshelf Bose speakers running through my stereo amplifier. Works very well.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by Matsu:
<STRONG>USB audio is crap. If you can avoid it, go for something using traditional line out.</STRONG>

Absol-friggin'-lutely.

Boston Acoustics BA 635's - or a better model. The 635's are much cheaper than the SoundSticks, and yet so much better...

[fulmer]

just out of curiosity, but why does USB audio suck? The internals not in place? Not a clear signal through the port? What exactly?

[r-0X#Zapchud]

WTF? You want louder sound?
...
Opinion of course, but I can never turn the sound on max unless I want to damage my hearing, which I dont. They are the absolute perfect LAN speakers, since they are so directional as they are, meaning I can have decent volume without waking everybody up.

Wellwell, a meaningless post, but I simply dont have any complaints...

[driven]

I love mine.

I listen to them when I'm sitting directly in front of my cube. They sound great ... (especially when I don't want to wake everyone up at night. )

But .... audio is very subjective. If you can, audition them (and others) before you make your purchase.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by fulmer:
<STRONG>just out of curiosity, but why does USB audio suck? The internals not in place? Not a clear signal through the port? What exactly?</STRONG>

USB requires processor time; it's digital (requires SOFTWARE INTEGRATION), or drivers. Drivers. For speakers! Bah.

What happens when your system stalls with USB audio? *skip* *skip* *skip*

USB is awful. It is extremely shoddy; MANY crashes I attribute to USB. I won't add another USB device if I can avoid it; let alone one that will be so active. USB bites hard.

[Adam E]

I've had the Soundsticks for about a year and got them for about $150.
I've been running OS X 24 hours a day since September and it's never crashed, so I don't think you'll run into USB issues. I've also never noticed CPU slowdown when using the speakers vs. not.
That being said, if you want to use the speakers for anything else, like hooked up to a receiver or just a cd player, usb is not the way to go.
I've been very happy with the sound quality (bass is sufficient, if not overpowering) and volume--plenty loud enough for my tastes.
The sound is directional but i listen while seated at my desk so it's easy to set it up correctly. Having roommates, I plug and unplug them from my keyboard usb jack constantly to switch to headphones, and the response is instant using OS X.
Before I bought them I read reviews and basically decided I couldn't get noticeably better sound quality without spending lots more. Provided only having usb is ok, I would highly recommend them.

[seanyepez]

Especially in OS 9, USB audio is pure crap.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by Adam E:
<STRONG>I've had the Soundsticks for about a year and got them for about $150.
I've been running OS X 24 hours a day since September and it's never crashed, so I don't think you'll run into USB issues. I've also never noticed CPU slowdown when using the speakers vs. not.
That being said, if you want to use the speakers for anything else, like hooked up to a receiver or just a cd player, usb is not the way to go.
I've been very happy with the sound quality (bass is sufficient, if not overpowering) and volume--plenty loud enough for my tastes.
The sound is directional but i listen while seated at my desk so it's easy to set it up correctly. Having roommates, I plug and unplug them from my keyboard usb jack constantly to switch to headphones, and the response is instant using OS X.
Before I bought them I read reviews and basically decided I couldn't get noticeably better sound quality without spending lots more. Provided only having usb is ok, I would highly recommend them.</STRONG>

USB in OSX is far superior to OS9.

Yeah, that was the other thing I forgot to mention; I can plug my speakers into my CD burner, the PC CD-ROM drive, the PC sound card, my other PowerMac, my Discman, whatever I like... try doing that with USB.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally posted by Michael T. Doyle:
<STRONG>I have Sound Sticks collecting dust under my TV cabinet. They are highly directional, meaning, while they have (I think) great sound, it only sounds great if you're sitting at your monitor with the Sticks pointing directly at you. As soon as you stand up and walk around the room, the sound becomes awfully poor and muddy. There are cheaper computer speakers that give you good omnidirectional sound. These aren't them by any means.

If you want to spend $200 on speakers, make sure they're omnidirectional. I opted for a set of bookshelf Bose speakers running through my stereo amplifier. Works very well.</STRONG>

want to sell your speakers? Sapherion@mac.com

I'd buy em depending what you want to sell them for

[ajprice]

This isn't really a problem for me, more of a quirk. When I shut down my G4, the blue light stays on on the iSub part of my Soundsticks, so I unplug them from the power socket. When I plug the Soundsticks back in to the power, it turns the computer on! What gives?

Apart from this quibble, I am happy with my Soundsticks, but is it possible to take off the pepperpot speaker covers in the same way as Pro Speakers?

[waffffffle]

I believe Cipher has not actually used a SB audio device in person. I can say from my experience that my soundsticks NEVER skip. I have had USB audio-related problems, but none regarding sound quality or cpu slowdown. The soundsticks sound great, although it is an obvious difference if you get up from your desk. However when girls come into my dorm room they are really impressed by them, and the blue light emminating from the subwoofer makes it easier to see what we're doing when all the lights are off . . .

[pete.z]

I love my soundsticks with isub!
Good sound,and the usb never give me problems.
I can turn up the volume so loud,it hurts.......

[pete.z]

Oh,and then off course the real cool looks!I love the blue light in the sub.......

And you don't have to install drivers to use them,btw!

(i'm using 9.2.2,btw)

[VR6]

I have to disagree with many of the posts here complaining about soundsticks. I have the SoundSticks hooked up to my Pismo at work (set about 3 and half feet apart) and I'll say the following about them:

1) Sound quality and sound stage (i.e. separation and placement of stereo) is incredibly precise when seated at the computer. I know quite a bit about sound quality - I have $10,000 Martin Logan speakers at home. While the SoundSticks don't quite match the clarity of those Martin Logans, I must say I am very impressed with their performance given their size, and am generally very satisfied with the sound quality.

2) You are clearly paying something for looks here. I have not had a single person come into my office who has not at some point in the conversation remarked about how beautiful or cool they look.

3) The SoundSticks allow me to enjoy virtually every detail of my music at even low volumes. Many speakers don't perform well at all at lower volumes, rendering both the higher and lower notes more quietly and poorly separating the different instruments and vocals. This is not true with the SoundSticks that are accurate at even low volumes. If you are setting up in an environment where others may hear the music but not complain unless the volume is loud I highly recommend the soundsticks.

4) The above point (3) is a trade off to being able to walk all around the room and have great volume and separation. However, every single speaker system made in the world has an ideal distance between the speakers themselves and the listener. High end speaker systems actually come with an illustration of where you should place the speakers and the listening chair for best performance. It may be that those posting negative reviews here have a setup which favours other speakers' design over the SoundSticks. In fact, I found that the SoundSticks produce much clearer and more accurate soundstage when they much farther apart than the sides of my computer, and angled to point directly at my head. (This is true of all speakers.) Think about it, you wouldn't place your living room speakers only a couple of feet apart, you generally put them in opposite corners of the room. (That may be a bit too far apart for most speakers).

5) Lastly, the limiting factor in sound quality when listening to MP3s can be far more dependent on bit rate than anything else. Listening at high volume impairs your ability to hear the different tones and is why unsophisticated listeners often prefer loud speakers to accurate ones, mistaking immense stimulation for accuracy. In either event, the SoundSticks are far from limited in their maximum volume, and separation of the bass to the quality subwoofer eliminates distortion at even the loudest volumes.

I would definately recommend them on the basis of both sound quality and form.

Good luck whatever you decide.

PS I use both OS9 and OS X.
PPS - I have no idea about USB audio being poor - I know nothing about its technical merits, but I can only say that I really cannot complain about the sound quality of these speakers at all.

Cheers.

[nana2]

But where does the mid bass come from? What is the crossover point between the satellites and the sub, does anyone know?

P.S. Owning Martin Logans makes you into a audiophile, as much as owning a Ferrari means you can drive like Michael Shumi

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by waffffffle:
<STRONG>I believe Cipher has not actually used a SB audio device in person. I can say from my experience that my soundsticks NEVER skip. I have had USB audio-related problems, but none regarding sound quality or cpu slowdown. The soundsticks sound great, although it is an obvious difference if you get up from your desk. However when girls come into my dorm room they are really impressed by them, and the blue light emminating from the subwoofer makes it easier to see what we're doing when all the lights are off . . .</STRONG>

I've used them enough to legitimately despise them.

Originally posted by pete.z:
<STRONG>Oh,and then off course the real cool looks!I love the blue light in the sub.......

And you don't have to install drivers to use them,btw!

(i'm using 9.2.2,btw)</STRONG>

Yes, you need USB drivers.

[xyber233]

They are pretty good speakers but I doubt they are worth $200. I personally am not a USB audio fan. Many times while using a friends Quicksilver 733, the audio would cut out when turning on the full screen visualizer in iTunes. The Monsoons are a better deal.

[ZekeG4]

I just got sounsticks for chritsmas and i like the way they sound... the subwoofer sounds great... plus they look incredible on my desk.. =)

I'm happy

[phantomdragonz]

MONSOONS ARE THE SHIZNIT! i have im 700's the sound is good the bass is deep and rich (w/ bass volume knob) they have this "puck" wich sits between my kbrd and my mouse it is volume and a mute button. ahhh i love that thing dont know how to live with out it. but then again i also have a $100 pair of headphones that are on my head now but i am not playing any music humm.... i will turn some on now. monsoon is the sh*t go for them. they look cool and there flat! and they sound awesome.
http://www.sonigistix.com

[driven]

Originally posted by Cipher13:
<STRONG>

USB requires processor time; it's digital (requires SOFTWARE INTEGRATION), or drivers. Drivers. For speakers! Bah.
</STRONG>

Yeah ... that other sound hardware on the system board doesn't require drivers at all. It just works by magic!

Heh heh ....

[JoeG4]

Soundcards take even more CPU time, especailyl the crap PC makers use!

[ajprice]

Cipher, pete z said you don't need to INSTALL drivers, and you don't. The soundsticks dont come with a disc, you plug them in, they are recognised, they work, USB drivers are a part of the Mac OS.