Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System
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List Price: Our Price: $118.88 You Save: $51.11 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System
Customer Review: great sound and looks, don't last long
Summary: 3 Stars
It is simple:
They sound great if you like clear sound and not an overload of bass. Most audiophiles would like them. If you like more boombox style bass then you need something else.
They look great and the satelites do not take up much space, I put a premium on that.
The controls are a disaster. The sub adjustment is in the rear and the satelite controls look great but are hardly usable.
For the worst part: I have researched these on the net because mine blew out and I wanted to replace them with another set. Lo and behold I find out many people report that these do not last very long. Just about after the warranty expires the amplifier dies. It cannot be repaired as they cannot be opened. The blue light is always on and flies and moth and other critters are drawn to the light and they short circuit the exposed electronics. This is a major design flaw. So if you buy these expect them not to last longer than 2 years. Then you will be forced to buy new ones.
I just now put the soundsticks in the trash bag and reflected on that joyous day only 14 months ago when I excitedly opened the box and took out that special purchase for myself.
Well here is an update: I just received the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 and hooked them up. Out of the box they are very heavy and solid. They feel like they will last forever. The sound is different than the sticks. The sticks were very musical and balanced, they seemed very precise and able to convey emotions in the music. The promedia seems less able to convey this, bass and mids/treble are more separate, it feels less integrated.
If you don't mind landfill and your budget is in good shape then the sticks are the musical heaven your ears and heart are looking for. I wish I did not have to say it. So I dove back into the trash and took out the satelites and hooked them up together with the promedia satelites. Now it is great again. JJ Cale sounds so good on these sticks!
A thought about what makes the soundsticks satelites work so well. The four one inch speaker domes push a fair bit of air as they move in sync. There is a port in the bottom of the stick and air moves in and out through this port creating vibrations that must equivocate to a mid size tweeter. Somehow it just works.
Customer Review: Harmon/Kardon Soundsticks will impress any critic
Summary: 5 Stars
I have purchased other Harmon/Kardon products in the past, and they have all impressed me, everything from the looks, the price, to the sound. SoundSticks II are no different. Two years ago I wanted to get my sister and her husband a set of new computer speakers for Christmas, so naturally I was pleased to find out that Harmon/Kardon also made a product for this mission of mine. After extensive online research, I decided these were the best when considering price, quality, reputation.
I was deployed so I couldn't look at a floor model until I returned home. Anyway, my sister was more than ecstatic with this great product! When I had a chance to see compare this at Bestbuy with other, more expensive THX-certified computer speaker systems, I was astound that these sounded better than any other system they had there. The crisp, clear highs, the robust natural mids, and the deep-*distortion free* lows. Other systems may have a bigger subwoofer and my go lower, but the bass will not sound as realistic and clean. The "20watts" this system runs on is a reflection of Harmon/Kardon honest power measurements; this will sound as if it were at least a 50 or 100 watt system if measured by other manufactures.
The satellites are on weighed ringed-bases so they sit sturdily; the rest of the construction is built to the same expected quality. The bass knob is on the back of the sub, and small soft touch buttons control the overall volume on the right speaker. Some complain about the lack of big knobs and other convenient extras. What makes this system unique, is its elegance; Harmon/Kardon intentionally wanted to eliminate unnecessary "fluff", so every penny you spend on this product is it's realistic, high quality sound and the elegant appearance. The tactful logo "harmon/kardon" is labeled on the front of the subwoofer and the upper portion of each satellite which complements the overall look.
When I had the chance to listen to this at my sister's apartment, I was so pleased by it's performance, that I now entertain the thought of buying one for myself!
For whoever is interested in this product, and even those who are not, will be universally surprised with the quality and will enjoy this unique product for years to come.
Customer Review: Hi-fidelity sound at an affordable price.
Summary: 4 Stars
After much deciding between these Harmon-Kardon speakers, Klipsch Promedia 2.1's, and the Logitech Z2300 I finally settled on the H&K's.
Aesthetically I find the organic shapes to be more appealing and fit in well with my room and theme of simplicity. This is something entirely subjective, and your milage may vary.
Build quality-wise, the speakers are encased in a ABS plastic material that feels very rugged, more so than that of medium density fiberboard construction of other speakers. The power button is on the subwoofer - I always leave the unit on anyhow, doesn't have that much draw. One thing that is a small annoyance is the mute (pressing the two electro-sensitive buttons at the same time) just feels uncomfortable and awkward to my fingers as most of us (humans) our pointer and middle finger of different lengths.
Installation was easy and simple. In the beginning I placed both the satellites and subwoofer at the same elevation and found the dynamic range of sound to be lacking. After I placed the sub on the floor where it belonged, the whole field changed - the difference was quite dramatic, for the better.
Sound quality - simply amazing. I'm by no means one who spends thousands on audio equipment, but I do appreciated high fidelity sound. If you're upgrading from a simple stock 2.1 system you will be impressed. It's not the most powerful (loud) system, but it's meant for home and office use.
For gaming it rocks running audio files at 44khz in 32 bit, probably not as immersive as a true surround sound system however. It reaches its peak with movies and music, especially lossless files. These speakers excel in mid-lows and high frequencies. Classical, jazz, R&B, pop, synth, house, electro all sound amazing on them.
The Promedia 2.1 offered better mid range than these speakers, but were more expensive and less available. The Logitech Z2300's were about the same price and had a higher wattage, but the SQ wasn't up to par for me - they were more of a gaming/deep bass-affinitive product.
Overall a great product, would highly recommend for multimedia and music, perhaps even gaming if you don't care about having true surround sound.
Customer Review: Clear choice - solid performace - perfect complement for a Mac
Summary: 5 Stars
These speakers are my first choice, even though it's an old design and a very familiar one. The 20 watt woofer is perfectly suited for close up listening - not too loud, but powerful enough to vibrate your pants legs.
I didn't want the awesome power of my powerful Home Theater System rocking the entire house, for content that I was viewing on a personal level. But, I wanted to still be able to hear clear, powerful, and accurate sound close in. This is an ideal solution - great full base on the floor which radiates in all directions, even up from behind my computer desk.
The side speakers ("sticks") are awesome and discreet. They have a solid base and have never fallen off the desktop, but even if they did, they are rugged and durable. They each have an array of 4 tiny one inch speakers, but they produce excellent music and ideal voice level response.
20-Watts isn't very powerful in the music world, but if you ever listened to Bose CD player, you'll agree, it's not the power, it's the way the sound is delivered to you that matters.
I found that I have no interest in using an equalizer, and I have a software application that does that for me. It turns out, that I wouldn't change a thing - I crank up iTunes and let it run in the background, which doesn't disturb anyone else in the house, but I can crank it up loud enough to hear everywhere in the house, if I choose to.
It really does look on the floor and it hides a couple does cables at the same time. You can use it as a foot rest, too!
I first noticed this clear acrylic trend in the 1990s, particularly on the stylish Macintosh computers. The basketball from about 2001 had a pair of very attractive clear plastic eyeball speaker that had no shield or protective over. They are very adult looking and High Tech Art that complemented the computer. So are these sound sticks.
These speakers not only are attractive working art, but they really do sound great. And when there is no sound source, they are perfectly silent (cheap speakers, particularly analog amplifiers, will have a faint background hiss which I find irritating and annoying).
Customer Review: Not as great as they're hyped up to be, especially for $100
Summary: 3 Stars
I was really excited about these speakers, mostly due to the rave reviews. However, now that I have them on my desk I am certainly underwhelmed.
The comments about lack of midrange are right on. The bass is nice, treble is nice, but it's very thin through the midrange. They sort of sound like they're two different sets of speakers, one all bass, and one all treble. It's quite distracting.
They also have a very directional sound. My old speakers had down-firing midrange drivers which made them sound like the music was coming from all over, with just a few indications of stereo image. These soundsticks do not provide that all-around sound, instead it sounds like two individual speakers blaring at you from a particular direction. I am not a fan of this, I'd rather not be aware of where the speakers are located.
There are some practical design issues as well. The lack of a power switch is a sad oversight, and the blue LED inside the subwoofer makes me want to hide it under my desk, especially at night, but that makes the directionality of the satellites much worse. The set also comes with absolutely no indication of which speaker is Left and Right so you have to determine that for yourself by plugging them in and playing with the balance control on the computer. Additionally the volume control is stupid, these touch pads might seem cool to a gizmo addict, but the result is you never have any indication of what level they're set to, and you can't tell when you've reached the upper limit aside from noticing that they're not getting louder anymore. Sadly, the bass adjustment is on the back of the sub where it's nearly impossible to reach, instead of near the volume control where it belongs.
Overall I am sadly disappointed. For $100 a set of computer speakers should be more impressive than this. My Altec Lansing $40 sub/satellite system sounded better than this, had better controls, and was a much less distracting design. Sure I know the primary audience for these must be the folks who want it to look cool on their desk, that's fine, but I was shopping based on the rave reviews of the sound, which, frankly, is not that impressive.