Well If you already have something to cover your Serious listening then I think the Soundsticks will be fine. They are not amazing sounding but they are quite good, not too much bass not to much top end, just nice for computer stuff...
If you want hardcore LOW end then these are not for you!
I think the SoundSticks connect via USB, whereas the Creature uses a regular headphone jack. If you want to limit yourself, then get the SoundSticks, but if you want something you can connect to different things (iPod, Walkman, etc) then get the Creature.
<strong>which should i buy? not looking to really listen to lots of music or watch dvds with them, i have my main stereo for serious listening</strong><hr></blockquote>
They sound pretty good to me, esp. with that review. I'm going with the white with my iBook. No reason to spend another $70 on speakers, plus I think it's simpler and cleaner than the iSub/SoundSticks (even if they do have four transducers on each satellite). I use headphones a good portion of the time anyway.
It's a subjective thing of course, but I prefer the look of the SoundSticks MUCH more than the alien speakers.
They've been out awhile too, so chances are you can pick up a set for alot less than $199 US.
Are the SoundSticks worth the money? Depends on what you want them for. I use mine in my home office, where I never crank them way up. They sound great to me, and I really like the looks. So to ME, they're worth the money. If you want to shake the pictures off your wall, of course they won't be... that's not really what they're made for.
Besides, a Mac user should be used to paying a little more for good looking hardware.
Somewhere I thought I saw a Creature that was silver, but totally reflective. Mirror-like, resembling the trim around the speaker on the satellites, but covering the entire surface of all three speakers. Now that I would buy, but not the faux silver.
The JBL creature speakers are in the window of the Apple Store at Southpoint in Durham, NC - they are connected to an iPod, so I guess the earlier post about limiting yourself with the Soundsticks is something Apple has picked up on.
PS - the JBLs in the Apple window are the Apple matte white.
I'm not really sure why people are only considering the JBL's or the soundsticks, there are a lot of other speakers around, a lot better often... if you have a digital audio mac, take advantage of the unused 18W amplifier and get a Griffin speaker adapter so you can hook real speakers to your computer - your choices of speakers shoots up dramatically (get a pair of <a href="http://www.norh.com/products/norh3/index.html"; target="_blank">nOrh 3.0s</a> for example).
I have a pair of <a href="http://www.av123.com/diva_m200.shtml"; target="_blank">Swan Diva M200s</a>, which have a built-in amplifier (36W), I got for $200 (+shipping), and personally I think they look way better than the soundstick's or JBLs and, unlike the latter two, have phenomenal sound quality
Really? They looked pretty glossy to me... But maybe they're coming out with matte versions...</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, they're glossy in the same way that the iBook is glossy... I guess that's glossy instead of matte. But they're not shiny. <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" />
[quote]Originally posted by chych:
<strong>
I'm not really sure why people are only considering the JBL's or the soundsticks, there are a lot of other speakers around, a lot better often...
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Because those are the two that look good. C'mon... we're talking about speakers for a Mac here. Performance doesn't matter, but industrial design does! :cool:
I've listened to many of the speakers in the Apple stores, and quite frankly, none have impressed me. Sure, it was in the middle of a loud store, but they all seemed to have really weak bass even with the bass all the way up. After posting something similar to this I decided to go with Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks speakers. What's good about them is that they are designed with the knowledge that most computer speakers are pretty bad and these are really good as far as computer speakers go. You can get them in black or white and they have a lot of cords but also a lot of reach (you can put them almost anywhere in your room). They are only $40 and for the price they're probably the best you can get.
I have the Logitech Z-560 4.1 system and am quite pleased with it.
If you are concerned about bass response, the 560's have a big sub (my printer sits on it) with plenty of power (188 watts of the system's total 400 watt RMS power).
I use the speaker system's own "M3D" processing to drive the rear speakers, and that works pretty well, putting sounds with reverb on the rears. Too bad Apple has no 4-channel sound.
The control panel unit is great, with a nice blue ring of light around the volume dial. The legs can be flipped around to become wall mounts. I run the them with speaker grills off, as the grills are pretty heavy and seemed to muffle some of the crisp highs.
Overall, at the $111+S/H I paid for them they rule and sound better than most people's real stereos.
I just picked up a set of the silver creatures today. They sound "good" but of course nothing like my main system (Klipsch Legends alla round, and a Denon AVR 5800). I am satisfied, it was eitehr the soundsticks for $200 or the Creatures plus Wolfenstein and MOH, so I got the games too. Plus, they are a perfect match for my TiBook.
Comments
If you want hardcore LOW end then these are not for you!
I am happy with mine!
<strong>which should i buy? not looking to really listen to lots of music or watch dvds with them, i have my main stereo for serious listening</strong><hr></blockquote>
Here's a good <a href="http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0209/30.creature.php"; target="_blank">review</a>, which compares the JBL Creature to the HK Soundsticks.
They've been out awhile too, so chances are you can pick up a set for alot less than $199 US.
Are the SoundSticks worth the money? Depends on what you want them for. I use mine in my home office, where I never crank them way up. They sound great to me, and I really like the looks. So to ME, they're worth the money. If you want to shake the pictures off your wall, of course they won't be... that's not really what they're made for.
Besides, a Mac user should be used to paying a little more for good looking hardware.
[ 09-30-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
<strong>They sure look fab but not sure how this blue colour will go with Apple's silver/ white colour scheme
Well that's not the only color that they come in so it's ok.
<strong>They sure look fab but not sure how this blue colour will go with Apple's silver/ white colour scheme
</strong><hr></blockquote>
That would be why it is available through the website only.
Unfortunately, I don't remember what color they were. They still look great in person though!
PS - the JBLs in the Apple window are the Apple matte white.
<strong>
PS - the JBLs in the Apple window are the Apple matte white.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Really? They looked pretty glossy to me... But maybe they're coming out with matte versions...
I have a pair of <a href="http://www.av123.com/diva_m200.shtml"; target="_blank">Swan Diva M200s</a>, which have a built-in amplifier (36W), I got for $200 (+shipping), and personally I think they look way better than the soundstick's or JBLs and, unlike the latter two, have phenomenal sound quality
[ 10-03-2002: Message edited by: chych ]</p>
<strong>
Really? They looked pretty glossy to me... But maybe they're coming out with matte versions...</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, they're glossy in the same way that the iBook is glossy... I guess that's glossy instead of matte. But they're not shiny. <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" />
[quote]Originally posted by chych:
<strong>
I'm not really sure why people are only considering the JBL's or the soundsticks, there are a lot of other speakers around, a lot better often...
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Because those are the two that look good. C'mon... we're talking about speakers for a Mac here. Performance doesn't matter, but industrial design does! :cool:
If you are concerned about bass response, the 560's have a big sub (my printer sits on it) with plenty of power (188 watts of the system's total 400 watt RMS power).
I use the speaker system's own "M3D" processing to drive the rear speakers, and that works pretty well, putting sounds with reverb on the rears. Too bad Apple has no 4-channel sound.
The control panel unit is great, with a nice blue ring of light around the volume dial. The legs can be flipped around to become wall mounts. I run the them with speaker grills off, as the grills are pretty heavy and seemed to muffle some of the crisp highs.
Overall, at the $111+S/H I paid for them they rule and sound better than most people's real stereos.
<a href="http://gear.ign.com/articles/307/307333p1.html"; target="_blank">http://gear.ign.com/articles/307/307333p1.html</a>;
Go with the soundsticks. U won't regret it. They will look damn good with yr Mac!