[volcano]

I'm shopping around for a speaker system for my new iMac G5 that I will be getting shortly. But now I need a good set of speakers and nice subwoofer to maximize my experience. What kind of speakers does everyone have? I'm quite flexible with the price and the number of satellites, and I really want to get the best I can afford. My maximum price point would be at around $250-300, and currently I've only really looked at 3-piece systems.

I am considering the following:
Soundsticks II (coolest speakers I've ever seen)
Altec Lansing FX6021
Altec Lansing MX5021WHT
JBL Encounter
JBL Creature II

I'm not going to lie either. Although sound quality is my top priority, style is definately number two. It'd be blasphemous to place 2 average-looking black on black satellites right next to my shiny, white, and beautiful iMac. I just couldn't do it!

[Macpilot]

While those are all good speakers, I chose the Bose Companions. Just ordered them. Will let you know how they sound.

They have style, ability to mount to the iMac itself, and small size. Although they are pricey for a 2+1 system, and they won't blow the doors off the house, they should be fine for a small room, which are my needs.

I did not want a system that looks like a freakin' space ship next to my iMac.

No other system has the understated look that I think will (hopefully) look nice with the iMac. The Creatures are nice, but everybody has them!

Plus, you get 30 free iTunes when you buy one.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Macpilot

While those are all good speakers, I chose the Bose Companions.
(…)
Plus, you get 30 free iTunes when you buy one.

30 free iTunes songs you mean?, now that is cool marketing !

[Link]

at the freaking space ship comment *pokes klipsch speakers and the old pro speakers* I need some creatures to complete my set!

[the_glassman]

The new Klipsch iFi looks pretty nice.

[wuzup101]

I have a pair of logitech z5500s and they work very nicely. A noticeable improvement in both satalites and bass quality from the already good logitech z680s. Enough power to piss everyone in your neighborhood off if you want, but sound very good a low volumes. I only really have experience with a few sets of speakers (the origional creatures, logitech z560 z680 and z5500 models, klipsch 5.1 ultras, and the bose 2.1 comps mentioned above). Of those I've owned the z560 and z5500 system. I have very good friends who have the other systems so I've heard them all quite often for the last 2 years (living in the dorms). I would go with the z5500s over the klipsch ultras only due to some of the newer features on the z5500s... sound wise they are both very good. The bose system is nice, makes you wonder how they got all that sound to come out of 2 little speakers. Then you realize the sound quality still isn't as good as the logitechs or the klipsch set and they hardly have the power (also only a 2.1 system) that the other systems do. I can't recomend the creatures or for that matter the sound sticks if you actually are going to use them for listening to music and not just to look at... but I wont even go into that. Another system that has got great reviews is the logitech z5300 which are lower power and slightly less feature rich that the z5500 set but are a great bang for the buck system. They will definitely fill a room with plenty of sound.

[Macpilot]

OK. Just hooked up my new Bose system and I am impressed.

First of all, the box: very much like a high-quality Apple experience. Plenty of nice documentation, well packaged.

The build quality and solid feel of all the components is awesome.

The little satellites can be mounted on the actual iMac but I chose to just keep them on the desk.

The sub unit is on the floor and it is amazing.

The control pod thingy is very cool. Super nice feel and touch mute feature, where you just gently touch the top of the pod and it mutes the system....classy. Volume knob is killer. The ability to plug headphones or another device to it great. Now I don't have to remove the cord coming out of the back of the iMac to hook up my Shure earphones when playing music late.

This system may not have the sheer power of other systems, but it sounds and looks wonderful.

[westrock]

Maybe the Swan M200 powered monitors. They get real good reviews. For another $125 you can get a 10" 100W powered sub from Parts Express.

$175 + $10 shipping for the M200
$125 + $0 shipping for subwoofer

$310 for full size full sounding speaker system.

[Hodog16]

I've done some research on matching prices and reading reviews on places like Amazon and other Mac sites, and it came down to two 2.1 speaker sets for me with the cheapest price I found for both:

-Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $125
-Altec Lansing FX 6021 $205

With the Logitech Z2300 in distant third place that I found for under $100. I listened to all three in person.

I ended up ordering the Altec's from newegg.com which was the cheapest I found online. The speakers look great and sound great too. More than 1 reviewer said they were the best 2.1 speakers money could buy, and this was based off the $300 MSRP price, not the $100 off you can get online.

Bottom line with any of the speakers listed in this thread, you probably can't go wrong.

[wuzup101]

mmm... the Swans are awesome too... if you have the money

[MaxPower2k3]

Originally Posted by wuzup101

Another system that has got great reviews is the logitech z5300 which are lower power and slightly less feature rich that the z5500 set but are a great bang for the buck system. They will definitely fill a room with plenty of sound.

I've got a z5300 system hooked up to my PC. They do sound pretty good for the cost (I think I paid around $130, and this was probably a year ago) although they don't have an optical input, so to use them with an iMac, you'd have to buy an external sound card with multichannel outputs (I just ordered an iMac for college next year, so I'm in a similar situation).

They're not the best-looking speakers, but they are rather small.

[Hodog16]

Just hooked up the Altec Lansing FX6021 today to my current computer, and I'm very impressed! They match more with the powermac's than the imacs color-wise but they're very prominent on the desktop with their height.

Can't go wrong with these puppies, I think chiefvalue.com and newegg.com might have them for the cheapest right now (~$210 shipped).

[nycdunz]

the altec are fx6021 are some of the best sounding 2.1 computer speakers ive heard. they're quite expensive but when you listen to em, you'll know why. and not to mention they look beautiful!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by westrock

Maybe the Swan M200 powered monitors. They get real good reviews. For another $125 you can get a 10" 100W powered sub from Parts Express.

$175 + $10 shipping for the M200
$125 + $0 shipping for subwoofer

$310 for full size full sounding speaker system.



http://images10.newegg.com/productim...136-102-08.JPG


http://www.partsexpress.com/images/300-632m.jpg

The Swans are in a different league than the rest of the speakers posted in this thread.

I was going to recommend a used receiver and some bookshelf speakers, but since style is one of your main concerns, it may not be the best idea.

[macaddict0001]

I would highly recommend altec lansings, imho they are the best speakers you can get for the price. I have a pair I got for $50 which blow the(figurative) pants off of some $500 speakers someone I know has.

[Starry Night]

I have a pair of Creature II's. For the price, and keeping in mind that price is around $65, they sound ok. I don't care for the way they implement the volume control on the speaker which consists of two "touch" buttons. Within a couple of months the "touch" buttons stopped working and under Jag the sound was always a bit too soft, even at max volume set on the Mac. Panther fixed things as it adjusted the default sound a bit louder, so now it's ok. But nonetheless, I've vowed never to buy speakers that have this sort of touch control system, I'd rather have a knob.........

[brettcamp]

Originally Posted by Hodog16

I've done some research on matching prices and reading reviews on places like Amazon and other Mac sites, and it came down to two 2.1 speaker sets for me with the cheapest price I found for both:

-Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $125
-Altec Lansing FX 6021 $205

With the Logitech Z2300 in distant third place that I found for under $100. I listened to all three in person.

I ended up ordering the Altec's from newegg.com which was the cheapest I found online. The speakers look great and sound great too. More than 1 reviewer said they were the best 2.1 speakers money could buy, and this was based off the $300 MSRP price, not the $100 off you can get online.

Bottom line with any of the speakers listed in this thread, you probably can't go wrong.

HotDog, those are my two finalists, too! Unfortunately, I can't find a store nearby that carries the Klipsches, so I can't compare them in person. maybe you (or anyone else who's heard both) can help: are the Altecs really twice as good sounding as the Klipsches? Because that's the price difference I've found online. I listen to mostly jazz and classical music -- which speakers sound better in those kinds of music? The reviews make me lust after the Altecs, but I"m finding it hard to justify paying twice as much when so many people like Klipsch....

[Hodog16]

brettcamp: The altec's can be heard at the Apple Store, and I found the Klipsch's at Best Buy. Circuit City had the Z2300's if you're curious. Interesting that none of the stores had any of the other ones, but I digress.

I would really say to listen to them in person if you can to find your preference. It's really hard to say that one speaker is twice as good as another, but after reading so many rave reviews and listening to them both, I went with the Altec's. I've been really impressed with the treble sounds on the Altec's, and actually the bass on mine isn't as bad as people have said in reviews (which was often the only drawback people had about the Altecs). I think jazz and classical music would sound amazing on the Altec's. Good luck!

[plastiqueusa]

You can also consider these, specifically made for the iMac G5 and with no desktop footprint:

http://dvforge.com/zerosticks.shtml

[MaxPower2k3]

Originally Posted by plastiqueusa

You can also consider these, specifically made for the iMac G5 and with no desktop footprint:

http://dvforge.com/zerosticks.shtml

holy crap those are expensive. the design may be nice, but i can't imagine those small speakers made by a company with no experience making speakers could possibly produce sound quality worth $300. My vote goes to Klipsch or Logitech for cheap price and fairly good quality. I haven't heard those Altec Lansings everyone is talking about, but they are supposed to be good (if expensive)

[brettcamp]

Well, I decided on none of the above. I decided to get a Griffin PowerWave USB audio interface, which I can use with my old but very sweet sounding Polk Audio speakers. I can also use it with my iPod. It's tiny, which is important for my limited desk space. And it allows me to record into my Powerbook, which will help the next time my band makes a CD.

Using the PowerWave, my speakers seemingly sound a heck of a lot sharper and more present than they did using my old receiver, which died, but I don't know of any technical reason why that should be so. Maybe it's wishful hearing.

I may eventually get the altecs or klipsches (birthday present?) and then pass this PowerWave + speaker system on to my wife, who's currently using only a portable speaker system (Altec inMotion) with her Powerbook and iBook. (In fact, the cables that came with the PowerWave nowallow her to move the inMotions farther away from her Powerbook than the pitiful little headphone-to-aux cable that came with them.) But she says it's enough for her, so for now, I'm happy doing the 'wave with my trusty old speakers.