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bookofjames · Sep 12, 2004, 11:20 PM

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a nice set of speakers for my home to go with my powerbook 12". been looking around and kinda like the JBL creature cos it looks cool and its cheap.

How would you rate these speakers? any other suggestions for a nice, good sounding, not too expensive speakers that doesn't take up too much space?

cheers

Lancer409 · Sep 12, 2004, 11:45 PM

i dont know about you, but i would rate them on a 1-10 scale .. seems to work better than 0-5 stars .. that's a wierd system

chessplayer · Sep 13, 2004, 03:54 AM

I love my Creature speakers. I'm not an audiophile but I enjoy listening to music, and to me it sounds wonderful on the Creatures.

Searching this forum for "Creature" or for "speakers" will give lots of discussions of the Creatures and other speakers.

Luca Rescigno · Sep 13, 2004, 05:12 AM

The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system is far more powerful, and costs about the same. Not quite as pretty, but it's very good:

chessplayer · Sep 13, 2004, 08:58 AM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
[B]The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system is far more powerful, and costs about the same.

Maybe it depends where you get them from, but on Amazon at least the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system costs over twice as much as the JBL Creature II ($149.99 vs. $71.94).

Landos Mustache · Sep 13, 2004, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system is far more powerful, and costs about the same. Not quite as pretty, but it's very good:

Yuck, I wouldn't want that on my desk. Also, all this power talk bothers me. I have soundsticks and I almost never have them above 50% volume.

The range is great and they aren't boomy like most overpowered systems.

Markovich · Sep 13, 2004, 01:57 PM

I have a set of the Creature 1's ( not sure what the difference is between them and the new 2's). I like them, good sound and look good too.

You can buy them for $69.99 at Megamacs.com

http://www.megamacs.com/v1/hk.php

Mark

I'm thinking of buying a nice set of speakers for my home to go with my powerbook 12". been looking around and kinda like the JBL creature cos it looks cool and its cheap.

How would you rate these speakers? any other suggestions for a nice, good sounding, not too expensive speakers that doesn't take up too much space?

cheers [/B][/QUOTE]

Turnpike · Sep 13, 2004, 02:03 PM

Originally posted by Lancer409:
i dont know about you, but i would rate them on a 1-10 scale .. seems to work better than 0-5 stars .. that's a wierd system

if you aren't an audiophile... get a nice set of altec lansing 221s... they're nothing special, but I'm always listening to music or something else, and I can't imagine spending any more for anything else. I think when I got them (a year or three ago) they were 40 bucks, but I got mine on sale for 30ish. I listen to a fairly wide variety of music. Classical, techno, rock, spoken word... the fact that some of it is encoded at 192kbps is definitely the limiting factor. MP3s at 320 are much better. The limiting factor is NOT the speakers.

Although they definitely don't look as cool as the Creature Speakers. They look respectable, though

MacmanX · Sep 13, 2004, 03:30 PM

I just wanted to weigh in as another happy Creature owner. They are loud and clear enough for my house and the form factor is great. It fits right in with the Airport hub and iBook.

Cheers!

cmoney · Sep 13, 2004, 04:45 PM

Here's another vote for them.

I've got an iPod hooked up to a set of JBL Creature speakers setup in my living room and it's impressed everyone at parties (not rip-roaring keggers mind you but social gatherings with 20-30 people, providing background music). It's loud enough to fill a 20'x15' room with a 20' ceiling while still sounding decent.

Overall definitely worth the money.

teknik · Sep 13, 2004, 05:28 PM

I've had my JBL Creatures next to my dual G5 for about 4months, and they play all my music flawlessly, just don't expect to be blown against your wall with sound, while the speakers are very clear, and loud, they easily get drowned out from other sounds due to their small footprint.

kcourt · Sep 15, 2004, 12:00 AM

Just want to put in my "two cents". I own the creatures (in silver) and they are very nice. Good sound and they don't take up too much space. I have the new G5 and they work very well and look great next to my 20" screen (last year's model). I am very happy with them.

Kathy

OzarkMtn · Sep 15, 2004, 12:05 PM

I'd go with the Edirol MA-20D. Very nice looking, but what is really important is the sound, they sound great! I have these hooked up to my G5 with the optical connectors, the sound is stunning.

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/ma20d.html

Luca Rescigno · Sep 15, 2004, 12:52 PM

Eek, didn't know the creatures were so cheap now. That's probably a good thing. Last I checked they were like $120. And as far as I know, the only difference between the Creature I and Creature II is the colors.

Anyway, I've seen the Klipsch ones as low as $120, but back when the Creatures were $120 the Klipsch were $200. So you're right, they are almost twice as much. Just in a different league, really. It's not just the "power" though. Those speakers sound NICE. A friend of mine has a set. They are amazing.

Macola · Sep 15, 2004, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
Last I checked they were like $120. And as far as I know, the only difference between the Creature I and Creature II is the colors.

And the green LEDs on the II vs the (cooler) blue LEDs on the I. I have the Creature II and have been very happy with them.

G4ME · Sep 15, 2004, 02:51 PM

pretty much every 2.1 system will sounds great to many different, the components involved are so cheap that price that you see on them when they first come out is 50-70% markup.

i say head to a place and hear them and judge for your self.

Casper Crane · Sep 15, 2004, 02:55 PM

i had Creatures for a month and found the sound to be lacking. certain mid-range sounds did not come out at all.

so i returned them and bought a cheaper Creative set. while they sounded kind of muffled, at least everything came through.

since then, my wife splurged for me and bought the Bose Companion set, which sound excellent, but they are expensive, over $200. i couldn't have bought them for myself. if you are interested, they are here:

Bose Companion 3

Landos Mustache · Sep 15, 2004, 05:41 PM

Get the soundssticks, they have better mids.

chessplayer · Sep 15, 2004, 06:31 PM

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Get the soundssticks, they have better mids.

The soundsticks cost a lot more than the Creature, and look a little too... umm.... phallic for my tastes.

teknik · Sep 18, 2004, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Get the soundssticks, they have better mids.

And not to mention the nastiest, sloppiest bass I have ever come across

AC Rempt · Sep 18, 2004, 09:37 PM

I have the Creatures set up with my G5, and I like them a good deal. they sound clean and get as loud as I need in my office.

I also love the look.

gbarill · Sep 19, 2004, 09:26 PM

Originally posted by G4ME:
...the components involved are so cheap that price that you see on them when they first come out is 50-70% markup...

i'm not too sure about cheaper speakers, but the markup on most home audio speakers is more like 100%. if you're a dealer who sells, say audio and tv, the money is in the speakers, they have huge markups compared to tv's

OzarkMtn · Sep 19, 2004, 10:45 PM

My signature says it all...

Krusty · Sep 19, 2004, 11:05 PM

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...CONTENTID=7170
logitech z-2200. Can be had as cheaply as about $107.

Search for both professional and customer reviews on these -- practically every source I found rated them higher than the Klipsch and they are THX certified.

V12 · Sep 20, 2004, 12:50 AM

yea i just ordered the JBL Creature II speakers in gray for my PowerBook, got them for under $70 shipped at buy.com

from what ive seen theyre good enough to get the job done and look sweet, i personally love the design, plus they were designed/tuned by Harmon Kardon

Luca Rescigno · Sep 20, 2004, 02:02 AM

Originally posted by Krusty:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...CONTENTID=7170
logitech z-2200. Can be had as cheaply as about $107.

Search for both professional and customer reviews on these -- practically every source I found rated them higher than the Klipsch and they are THX certified.

The z-560, which is not advertised much, is actually often sold for CHEAPER than the z-2200! Even though the z-560 is basically a 4.1 version of the z-2200. It doesn't make sense really, but I'd say look for both, don't just automatically look for the z-2200.

Krusty · Sep 20, 2004, 02:25 AM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
The z-560, which is not advertised much, is actually often sold for CHEAPER than the z-2200! Even though the z-560 is basically a 4.1 version of the z-2200. It doesn't make sense really, but I'd say look for both, don't just automatically look for the z-2200.

Good point. As you say, the z-2200 is really just a z-560 minus 2 speakers. If you can find it cheaper (or even really close) to the same price then definitely buy them instead. Even if you're machine only supports 2.1, it can't hurt to have 2 extra speakers