[P]

I like having external speakers for my iMacs, and have been using a Soundsticks setup for the last, 8? years. They still sound good, but they look very much out of place with the new iMac. Since I plan to keep using the old white iMac in another location, I might as well move the Soundsticks along with it. That leaves the problem of replacing them in the original setup.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a 2.1 setup that matches the styling of the current 27" iMac? Ideally, they should be active speakers with a USB or line out connection. Alternatively, a subwoofer like the iSub (that removes the LF audio from the main speakers) would also be interesting.

I'm also interested in a backlit keyboard that matches this styling, but that is a lower priority.

[angelmb]

Backlit Mac keyboard I don't know… but the Logitech diNovo Edge looks great.



Albeit I am not sure if you could find it with a layout other than english, so you could go for the diNovo (not Edge) keyboard Mac Edition. I have that one, really nice.

[P]

I know about those (Logitech is my go-to company for input peripherals, has been for 20 years now), and I agree that they look great, but I'm really interested in a backlit one.

[mkerr64]

How about a pair of bose?
Computer Speakers - Computer Sound Systems - Bose Multimedia Speakers

the 2 on the right would do nice

[P]

No fan of Bose, and they don't match the design particularly well. Thing is, I don't listen to music from that computer very often, and I don't watch movies there. The current setup is very good for what I do. I have an HTPC with a quite decent speaker setup in the living room (Yamaha speakers, Onkyo receiver and XTZ sub). The point here is to have something that matches the design better than the Soundsticks and don't sound terribly. 2.1 setups are good because the satellites can be tiny with a big sub out of sight, but if anyone has a better idea, I'll certainly listen.

[-Q-]

Logitech has a couple of set with the black and metallic/aluminum theme.

Logitech z-2300


Logitech LS2


I have the 2300s and I've always been pleased with their sound (used mainly for music and games and general audio - like you, I've got a home theatre for serious movie needs). You can take off the fabric speaker covers if you want a more "industrial" look to match the machined aluminum of the iMac.

[P]

Interesting - I thought I had a decent idea about Logitech speakers, but I actually didn't consider the Z-2300. The other looks a little tiny. How does the headphone connection work - is it always on, flipped on with a button, or does it mute the speakers when you plug in headphones?

The other option I found was the JBL Creature III, the black one obviously.

[brassplayersrock²]

I had to return my JBL creatures twice for rattling within the speakers.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by P 

How does the headphone connection work - is it always on, flipped on with a button, or does it mute the speakers when you plug in headphones?

The latter. On the front of the remote, you can see the headphone jack. Once you plug headphones in, audio is no longer transmitted to the external speakers. I can't recall what happens if you plug headphones into the built-in audio jack - I've only used USB headphones on the G5 for the past few years.

The other buttons (well, one button and two dials, really) are power, speaker volume and subwoofer volume.

[kylef]

Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 (in white).

Super quality, super small. What HI-FI gave them 5 stars for a reason whenever they came out. I'm using a pair at the minute and they're excellent. The bass unit is pretty big, but looks very Apple-esque.

[ajprice]

Would a small soundbar for a TV work? I've found this one, a little wider than a 27" iMac but it could sit in the space under the screen and has a separate bass. Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Subwoofer Review : Hi-Tech Review


Most soundbars are built to size for a big flat screen TV, but there are some smaller ones like this.

[P]

Originally Posted by kylef 

Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 (in white).

Super quality, super small. What HI-FI gave them 5 stars for a reason whenever they came out. I'm using a pair at the minute and they're excellent. The bass unit is pretty big, but looks very Apple-esque.

The white ones would look great with the old 17" iMac, but that one doesn't need external speakers - or possibly gets these when they are replaced. The black ones are an option, though.

Originally Posted by ajprice

Would a small soundbar for a TV work? I've found this one, a little wider than a 27" iMac but it could sit in the space under the screen and has a separate bass. Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Subwoofer Review : Hi-Tech Review

That's an interesting option. Will look in to that.

[kylef]

Originally Posted by P 

The white ones would look great with the old 17" iMac, but that one doesn't need external speakers - or possibly gets these when they are replaced. The black ones are an option, though.

I have the white, my brother has the black. Black looks good against his 24" ACD, but I'm liking my white ones with my iMac (it isn't a cheap, fading white).

[angelmb]

If only the new wireless illuminated Logitech K800 had a Mac compatible version… it is beautiful.

[P]

I finally decided on a speaker setup - this one. So far, I'm pleasantly surprised. Given the price, I thought the sound would be awful, but I find I like it. No audiophile here, and I suspect that they may be doing the Bose trick of oversaturating the midrange, but it's much better than I thought.

No keyboard yet. I think I'll try the old Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, even if it doesn't officially have Mac support.

[P]

Got the Illuminated keyboard today. Looks really nice, and works remarkably similarly to the Apple keyboard. Since it's older than Apple's, I guess Cupertino did some clever borrowing. It has the same setup with an Fn-key that hides laptop-like shortcuts on the F-keys. The Fn-key is in place of the right Windows key and context menu key, meaning that you lose the right option key on a Mac. Probably a better position than Apple's, and the key numbering matches up with Apple's now that the context menu button is removed. The remaining differences are that F16-F19 are replaced with dedicated volume keys, Delete is double size and Insert has been squeezed in one level up among the F-keys (it's missing on the Apple keyboard).

There is no Mac software, but you don't really need it. The Fn key works for the play/pause-rew-ff keys (which work like on Apple's, controlling the front app if it makes sense and iTunes otherwise) and to reveal the hidden context menu and scroll lock keys. Volume keys are dedicated. Fn with the other F-keys doesn't work. Shortcuts missing from Apple's keyboard are:

Eject. Holding F12 works.
The Exposé keys. They can still be configured to use plain F-keys in System Preferences.
Screen brightness. This is tricker, but F14/F15 are an old shortcut to that. F13-F15 aren't present on this keyboard (or most Windows keyboards really), so you'd use Print screen-Pause-Scroll lock for those. Since scroll lock is hidden, you need Fn-Pause for that. In effect, Pause is brighter and Fn-Pause is dimmer. Good thing I never use them.

The keyboard has a built-in handrest. I never liked them, and here it annoys me more. The keyboard has two positions: absolutely flat and tilted slightly up. The last position is like the Apple keyboard, but with the handrest at the bottom, the entire keyboard moves up a little. This is less comfortable, but I guess I'll adjust.

The backlight is simple and understated: While backlight on black keys, total of 3 brightness levels.

This keyboard is really remarkably like Apple's. The feeling in the keys is a little less distinct, but the layout is really similar, and none of the important keys have changed at all. I know Logitech used to manufacture Apple's peripherals - I'm seriously wondering if they're using the same innards with just a slightly reprogrammed chip. Backlit keyboards are great, and I can't understand why Apple doesn't have that as an option on its desktops yet. I also can't understand why they stay white long after the entire line has moved to aluminium with black glass, but I guess there's a good reason for it.

So far I'm happy. We'll see if it lasts.

[angelmb]

No pic? booo

[P]

I will, as soon as I clean my desktop reasonably....