[Robe]

I have both the HK Soundsticks and the Bose MediaMate speakers. I like them both. Does anyone here have a recommendation? and which speakers are "technically" better.

HK Soundsticks or Bose MediaMate

Thanks all - and I know that I should pick what is better sounding to my ear, but I am having a hard time picking!!!

[zigzag]

Originally posted by Robe:
I have both the HK Soundsticks and the Bose MediaMate speakers. I like them both. Does anyone here have a recommendation? and which speakers are "technically" better.

HK Soundsticks or Bose MediaMate

Thanks all - and I know that I should pick what is better sounding to my ear, but I am having a hard time picking!!!

Don't the SoundSticks come with a subwoofer? I'd go with those. Plus they're much cooler looking.

[Robe]

Originally posted by zigzag:
Don't the SoundSticks come with a subwoofer? I'd go with those. Plus they're much cooler looking.

I agree - I guess I need practice being an audiophile. Which should sound better? To my ear, the bose sound "live" and the HK's sound "crisp" - make sense?

[zigzag]

Originally posted by Robe:
I agree - I guess I need practice being an audiophile. Which should sound better? To my ear, the bose sound "live" and the HK's sound "crisp" - make sense?

I can't say because I haven't compared them. However, Bose designs a kind of reverberation/dispersion effect into some of their systems, which might be what you're hearing. It can make a small system seem richer-sounding.

Audiophiles tend to dislike this sort of thing - they usually want speakers that are "accurate" (i.e. "crisp"), not speakers that employ sound effects. An audiophile would probably prefer the SoundSticks for that reason. Also, the subwoofer should give the SoundSticks a deeper bass response than the Boses.

But even as an audiophile, I think people should get what they like, not what audiophiles tell them they should like. "Accurate" is a very relative term - for all I know, the Bose system creates a more life-like experience in the end.

[AliP]

I've had my soundsticks and sub for 6 months now and they are great both sounds wise and asthetically. I'm not an audiophile but coupled to my iMac they have replaced my old Kenwood stack as my hifi.
KRO
Ali P

[bkatran]

i have the soundsticks, for casual listening and movies they are great

im doing a lot of dv editing so im going to upgrade in a year or so

sonica theatre-promedia 5.1

[MichaelB43]

Originally posted by Robe:
I have both the HK Soundsticks and the Bose MediaMate speakers. I like them both. Does anyone here have a recommendation? and which speakers are "technically" better.

HK Soundsticks or Bose MediaMate

Thanks all - and I know that I should pick what is better sounding to my ear, but I am having a hard time picking!!!

I have heard that Europeans think us Americans are way too uptight about wine. Many Americans critique a $20 bottle of wine as though they were tasting an extraordinarily rare and expensive wine worthy of such an effort. To Europeans, a $20 bottle of wine is just for casual drinking, and they save their critiquing for special bottles.

Well, I think the same philosophy holds true with computer speakers. A $100 or so speaker system will always sacrifice some level of overall performance relative to the "ideal", so just use what YOUR EARS prefer. It's as simple as that. Since they sound very different, you should be able to pick one that you prefer.

I have not heard the HK's, but have heard the MediaMates. The MediaMates sounded excellent for a 2-piece speaker system, with more bass than many 3-piece systems I have heard.

Good luck!
Mike

[Robe]

Originally posted by MichaelB43:
I have heard that Europeans think us Americans are way too uptight about wine. Many Americans critique a $20 bottle of wine as though they were tasting an extraordinarily rare and expensive wine worthy of such an effort. To Europeans, a $20 bottle of wine is just for casual drinking, and they save their critiquing for special bottles.

Well, I think the same philosophy holds true with computer speakers. A $100 or so speaker system will always sacrifice some level of overall performance relative to the "ideal", so just use what YOUR EARS prefer. It's as simple as that. Since they sound very different, you should be able to pick one that you prefer.

I have not heard the HK's, but have heard the MediaMates. The MediaMates sounded excellent for a 2-piece speaker system, with more bass than many 3-piece systems I have heard.

Good luck!
Mike

I agree - but there is something to be said for learning what to listen for - when it comes to critiquing music (the actual notes, harmony etc...) I can do that well, but I LEARNED how to do that. The same goes for speakers and sound quality, I assume. I am wondering what a person that knows about sound quality thinks about these two systems and how they compare.

I also agree w/your wine analogy. same can be said for cigars!!!

[MichaelB43]

Originally posted by Robe:
I agree - but there is something to be said for learning what to listen for - when it comes to critiquing music (the actual notes, harmony etc...) I can do that well, but I LEARNED how to do that.

Very true. There's a middle ground...somewhere.