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mhawker · Jul 22, 2004, 10:33 PM

Hey all,

I've had the HK Soundsticks for over a year. Everything has worked fine... up until I moved. Now they sound like K-Mart specials. VERY little bass and tinny sound.

I've checked the EQ in iTunes and tried it both on and off and different settings. They make a little bit of a difference, but not much. These used to be GREAT but something happened.

I'm pretty sure I've upgraded iTunes since we've moved, but I can't think of anything else I've changed. The setup is about the same too. Sub under the desk sitting on carpet (yes, I've tried it on a piece of wood too).

Any ideas?

Mike

Link · Jul 22, 2004, 10:36 PM

Check the volume knob on the sub man.

mhawker · Jul 22, 2004, 10:39 PM

Now why didn't I think of that? Oh wait I did.

Yup, turned it both ways (just in case). Makes VERY little difference. Keep in mind, I've had these for over a year so I know what they're supposed to sound like. This ain't it.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jul 22, 2004, 11:24 PM

Perhaps the sub blew.

Link · Jul 23, 2004, 12:41 AM

derr now that's a first. Do they sound like crap in OS 9 too?

mhawker · Jul 23, 2004, 12:50 AM

I'll have to try it in OS9 and let you know. It doesn't sound "blown". I'm fairly familiar with audio (not that I can't be wrong). It's just REALLY quiet. I just noticed a pretty large wear mark on the otherwise perfect sweet looking plastic housing (hmmmm.. wonder who packed the box this was in). I doubt it was from an impact. It looks too much like something was rubbing on the side. But it could mean something. Plus, if it was broken I don't think I'd hear any sound. Perhaps something happened to the control board.

I'll check more tomorrow. Thanks for the quick replies.

rglenn · Jul 23, 2004, 11:37 AM

Could be the dreaded (and clichéed) loose connection. Not too familiar with SoundSticks, but check connections and move the wires around some (could be a break in the wire)

ibookmark · Jul 23, 2004, 08:30 PM

I just noticed I had the same problem with the soundsticks today. I checked all connections and rebooted as well, no change. Anybody know whats going on?

ibookmark · Jul 23, 2004, 08:48 PM

OK here is what I have found. I have my Soundsticks (they are version 1 BTW) connected to my 2001 (867) G4 Tower which has two usb ports in the back. I had them connected to my first port. I merely switched my usb hub to that first location and the soundsticks to the second. I had to reselect them in preferences and lo and behold they worked. In addition, my balance control was no longer showing as available in the first position. However once I switched to the second usb port the balance control showed itself. I hope this is of some help. Take care,

ibookmark

ibookmark · Aug 2, 2004, 04:39 PM

Well it seems that what I did lasted a week. Today the problem returned (soundsticks recognized in the preferences but no balance control available). the sound has returned to very tinny and appears to be only coming out of one channel. Interestingly, this occured while I had been using various sound items (DSS reader for the Olympus digital recorder, iTunes, and Audacity). I tried switching back to the original usb port but no luck. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help,

ibookmark (hopefully soon to be Powerbookmark)

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Aug 2, 2004, 06:00 PM

Strange, try zapping the PRAM.

IceEnclosure · Aug 3, 2004, 11:00 AM

i believe.. if you go to the Audio MIDI Setup in Utilities, and (re)select the Soundsticks, that may do the trick.

I was having a similar problem a while back (around 10.1-.2), and this solved it at the time.

strange problem though.

ibookmark · Aug 3, 2004, 12:08 PM

Thanks you two. I now have the speakers through the usb port in the back of my macdisplay and it returned the balance control in the preferences and everything is back to normal.

I haven't had the time but when I do I will see if zapping the pram does anything with the other two ports in the back of the tower. I'll reply back when I do.

I had tried selecting and reselecting the speakers but it didn't change anything even when I had changed the ports.

thanks again,

ibookmark

jparisi · Aug 4, 2004, 05:54 PM

for the record, this happened to my soundsticks within the last 2 weeks as well...what the hell happened??

mhawker · Aug 30, 2004, 05:54 PM

Time flies........ Forgot all about this post.

My problem seems related to the plug in the subwoofer. I unplug it and plug it back in and the sound is mucho better (back to normal).

It's acted up twice since then, but if I do the above, everything is fine.

Mike