I **always** recommend users to actually try the speakers in a store before buying them.
Why? Simply because different people have different tastes in audio. What may sound fine to one person will no doubt sound awful to another. It's all a matter of taste.
the JBLs suck if you are going to be more then 3 feet away from where the speakers are.. after seeing/hearing them @ MWNY I can tell you that the sound sucks... but I was never closer then 3 feet to them... so YMMV
The creature satellites are really tiny, just looked at them today. About the same size as the ones in the Soundsticks...except there's only one and not four...
& is it significant over the other?</strong><hr></blockquote>
i heard the JBL ones 2 days ago at the apple store,and they were decent, but i wasnt that impressed. so i bought the iSub instead to go with my pro speakers.
I say this in every one of these speaker threads. Don't get JBL Creature, iSub, or any other Harmon-Kardon product. Go to <a href="http://www.av123.com"; target="_blank">http://www.av123.com</a>; and buy a pair of Swan M200s for $200. They are probably the best multimedia/computer speakers on the market.
Yeh except they look like ass. I don't care how good they sounds, I would never buy those. They have fricking wood paneling on them for christ sakes! Obviously I'm not a true audiophile, but I would buy a pair of Monsoon's or Kplisch Pro Media 2.1s or even Sound Sticks before I bought those.
<strong>Yeh except they look like ass. I don't care how good they sounds, I would never buy those. They have fricking wood paneling on them for christ sakes! Obviously I'm not a true audiophile, but I would buy a pair of Monsoon's or Kplisch Pro Media 2.1s or even Sound Sticks before I bought those.
Looks are pretty subjective...i think they look good. They look like pro speakers. But I don't really care what they look like. I'm one of those crazy types (who apple doesn't market too) who buys speakers for sounds, not looks. If you'd listen to these, whether or not you're an audiophile, you'd realize these are the best computer speakers you've ever heard.
LOL I guess Apple has tainted my mind with form before function. They do look good...if you have an ugly computer but they would be an eyesore sitting next to a clear Apple Flat Panel Display and Quicksilver Power Mac G4.
<strong>Looks are pretty subjective...i think they look good. They look like pro speakers. But I don't really care what they look like. I'm one of those crazy types (who apple doesn't market too) who buys speakers for sounds, not looks. If you'd listen to these, whether or not you're an audiophile, you'd realize these are the best computer speakers you've ever heard.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'm not real partial to the looks, either -- something tells me that for $199, that ain't real wood, either.
A number of years ago, Bose offered a system called the "Accoustimass Multimedia Sound System" or some such -- a pair of white colored Accoustimass cube speakers, stands for your desk, and a rather massive bass unit/power supply that sits under your desk.
They no longer offer this system as near as I can tell, but I picked on up for my office years ago when they were available. Man does it have some kick-ass sound. The SoundSticks I have at home, while nice, don't even come close.
This may help you guys looking for speakers. I'm an audiophile, so my opinion doesn't really matter because all of my friends think I'm crazy for being particular about sound. BUT, since you guys seem to be on a search for good acousitcs, here are my suggestions.
Whatever you do, don't buy setup's designed for computers. Here is why- They are overpriced, underpowered, and cheaply constructed. Your best bet is a pair of decent bookshelf speakers and a small amp (most likely a receiver with a TRUE 50watt RMS output). I chose Infinity speakers for my set up and an inexpensive 2 channel receiver (plus subwoofer out) to run them. From there I built two bookshelf sized boxes to put them in (for best results you'll need to base this off the Q of the speaker) and a subwoofer box to sit next to my desk on the floor. The only caution is to remember to keep the speakers a foot or so away from the monitor, as the speakers won't be sheilded and may cause your monitor to change colors (this is better anyway since true sound should be spacial and not a few inches from your ears). With this type of setup you get much more improved smooth sounding music, on top of snappy snare drums and punchy bass. In addition you get a clean amplifier with a volume control that is rotary (so you can keep your Mac's volume at the same level and adjust the receiver) and for when you watch DVD's a few feet back you can adjust the volume with its included remote (most come with a basic remote at minimum). Creative Labs does have its external box which decodes into 5.1 for surround sound, but unfortunately for us it's only for PC, so your stuck with stereo sound from Apple.
In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy. On the other hand HK, JBL and Infinity are all the same company, so unless you go higher up the line, purchasing computer speakers won't make a huge difference soundwise between the companies.
If you feel you don't have much time to research speakers and just want something simple and easy to use I suggest Altec Lansings. I've been pretty familiar with the line for a couple of years and my girlfriend has had two different models on her computers. In my opinion they are pretty decent speakers for the money (although they still lack midbass and some mid range and of course everything below 40Hz like the rest of the computer speakers).
In any event, I hope this helps someone get into a pair of speakers that make them happy. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments by posting below. I apologize if I stepped on anyones toes, that wasn't my intent at all, nor does being an audiophile make me better than anyone, just makes me more choosy which is almost worse. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
<strong>In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I liked everything you covered but I feel I have to leap to the defence of BOSE because they are one of the few audio companies 'thinking different'.
Yeah, they get a hard time from audiophiles but that is because BOSE has different goals, which the audiophiles do not accept, rather than because BOSE fail to achieve what they set out to do.
These are the same audiophiles that helped undermine minidiscs (great tech, btw) because they could not comprehend the trade-off of using lossy compression versus portability (playing & recording), ease of use, rewriting up to a 1000 times, text-entry, track skipping, simple editing and small size amongst many other things.
A guy on an audio mailing list made the point that BOSE caters to people with money who don't want to feck about with audio setups. Question: how many homes have you visited where correct speaker placement is a high priority? In my experience, one. Mine. If people are going to hide speakers behind furniture then sod it, they simply aren't cut out to be audiophiles and they should buy BOSE systems where they can hide the subwoofer and the satellite speakers will blend into the decor. They'll probably get more bang for their bucks than investing in audiophile equipment that they are just going to misuse and it is less embarrasing to own than some piece of crap 'hi-fi' with lots of flashing lights.
audiophile equipment == unix
so-called hi-fi from chainstores == Windows 98
BOSE == MacOS (pre X)
Yeah, I know it's a terrible analogy but at least it doesn't involve cars.
Comments
Might as well just keep what you get with a system.
I'm still waiting for Apple to fully support 5.1
but which ever sounds best is the one i go with....
Why? Simply because different people have different tastes in audio. What may sound fine to one person will no doubt sound awful to another. It's all a matter of taste.
Same goes for monitors...
Pro+iSub seems to be the better option...
what is the price difference?
<strong>I think "pro" speaker is made by Harmon Kardon</strong><hr></blockquote>
I believe they're both the same company.
<strong>Which one would be better? audio-wise?
& is it significant over the other?</strong><hr></blockquote>
i heard the JBL ones 2 days ago at the apple store,and they were decent, but i wasnt that impressed. so i bought the iSub instead to go with my pro speakers.
Read reviews if you wish. They really kick bum.
[ 08-19-2002: Message edited by: progmac ]</p>
[ 08-19-2002: Message edited by: wolfeye155 ]</p>
<strong>Yeh except they look like ass. I don't care how good they sounds, I would never buy those. They have fricking wood paneling on them for christ sakes! Obviously I'm not a true audiophile, but I would buy a pair of Monsoon's or Kplisch Pro Media 2.1s or even Sound Sticks before I bought those.
[ 08-19-2002: Message edited by: wolfeye155 ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Looks are pretty subjective...i think they look good. They look like pro speakers. But I don't really care what they look like. I'm one of those crazy types (who apple doesn't market too) who buys speakers for sounds, not looks. If you'd listen to these, whether or not you're an audiophile, you'd realize these are the best computer speakers you've ever heard.
<strong>Looks are pretty subjective...i think they look good. They look like pro speakers. But I don't really care what they look like. I'm one of those crazy types (who apple doesn't market too) who buys speakers for sounds, not looks. If you'd listen to these, whether or not you're an audiophile, you'd realize these are the best computer speakers you've ever heard.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'm not real partial to the looks, either -- something tells me that for $199, that ain't real wood, either.
A number of years ago, Bose offered a system called the "Accoustimass Multimedia Sound System" or some such -- a pair of white colored Accoustimass cube speakers, stands for your desk, and a rather massive bass unit/power supply that sits under your desk.
They no longer offer this system as near as I can tell, but I picked on up for my office years ago when they were available. Man does it have some kick-ass sound. The SoundSticks I have at home, while nice, don't even come close.
Whatever you do, don't buy setup's designed for computers. Here is why- They are overpriced, underpowered, and cheaply constructed. Your best bet is a pair of decent bookshelf speakers and a small amp (most likely a receiver with a TRUE 50watt RMS output). I chose Infinity speakers for my set up and an inexpensive 2 channel receiver (plus subwoofer out) to run them. From there I built two bookshelf sized boxes to put them in (for best results you'll need to base this off the Q of the speaker) and a subwoofer box to sit next to my desk on the floor. The only caution is to remember to keep the speakers a foot or so away from the monitor, as the speakers won't be sheilded and may cause your monitor to change colors (this is better anyway since true sound should be spacial and not a few inches from your ears). With this type of setup you get much more improved smooth sounding music, on top of snappy snare drums and punchy bass. In addition you get a clean amplifier with a volume control that is rotary (so you can keep your Mac's volume at the same level and adjust the receiver) and for when you watch DVD's a few feet back you can adjust the volume with its included remote (most come with a basic remote at minimum). Creative Labs does have its external box which decodes into 5.1 for surround sound, but unfortunately for us it's only for PC, so your stuck with stereo sound from Apple.
In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy. On the other hand HK, JBL and Infinity are all the same company, so unless you go higher up the line, purchasing computer speakers won't make a huge difference soundwise between the companies.
If you feel you don't have much time to research speakers and just want something simple and easy to use I suggest Altec Lansings. I've been pretty familiar with the line for a couple of years and my girlfriend has had two different models on her computers. In my opinion they are pretty decent speakers for the money (although they still lack midbass and some mid range and of course everything below 40Hz like the rest of the computer speakers).
In any event, I hope this helps someone get into a pair of speakers that make them happy. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments by posting below. I apologize if I stepped on anyones toes, that wasn't my intent at all, nor does being an audiophile make me better than anyone, just makes me more choosy which is almost worse. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
-CFPC
<a href="http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/213/wo/WwvX92HEpslkAskUR5/2.3.0.3.34.8"; target="_blank">http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/213/wo/WwvX92HEpslkAskUR5/4.3.0.3.34.8</a>;
Just purchase a good set of bookshelf speakers, hook up to your Mac via the ProSpeaker breakout cable hub and enjoy!
p.s. Anyone know if small speaker grilles are available for ProSpeakers?
[ 08-20-2002: Message edited by: MiMac ]</p>
<strong>In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I liked everything you covered but I feel I have to leap to the defence of BOSE because they are one of the few audio companies 'thinking different'.
Yeah, they get a hard time from audiophiles but that is because BOSE has different goals, which the audiophiles do not accept, rather than because BOSE fail to achieve what they set out to do.
These are the same audiophiles that helped undermine minidiscs (great tech, btw) because they could not comprehend the trade-off of using lossy compression versus portability (playing & recording), ease of use, rewriting up to a 1000 times, text-entry, track skipping, simple editing and small size amongst many other things.
A guy on an audio mailing list made the point that BOSE caters to people with money who don't want to feck about with audio setups. Question: how many homes have you visited where correct speaker placement is a high priority? In my experience, one. Mine. If people are going to hide speakers behind furniture then sod it, they simply aren't cut out to be audiophiles and they should buy BOSE systems where they can hide the subwoofer and the satellite speakers will blend into the decor. They'll probably get more bang for their bucks than investing in audiophile equipment that they are just going to misuse and it is less embarrasing to own than some piece of crap 'hi-fi' with lots of flashing lights.
audiophile equipment == unix
so-called hi-fi from chainstores == Windows 98
BOSE == MacOS (pre X)
Yeah, I know it's a terrible analogy but at least it doesn't involve cars.
[edited for grammer]
[ 08-20-2002: Message edited by: stupider...likeafox ]</p>