Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System
by JBL
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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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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System
Customer Review: These things rock!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a couple of these systems.
Once I took one of these Soundsticks II on a trip with friends to a cabin. They were all very pleased with the sound quality.
But then I had a look inside the electronics and thought
I could make some changes to improve the sound quality. First
I removed the volume control IC (PT2256), an act which always improves
the sound. These IC's are notorious for bad sound. Besides, this
volume control is reduncant since your iPod has its own volume
control. Well this rendered a vast improvement in clarity and
slam. Note that removing this IC also led me to replace the 1uF
input coupling caps with high quality polypropylene caps of 2uF
value. So just tack one side of the new cap to the input pad of the
original cap, and connect the other end to the output pin location
of the IC that was removed. This step effectivly bypasses the volume
IC. Boom! Another great improvement. Note,
the best way to remove the IC is to just slice straight down through
the pins right next to the plastic body of the IC with a new X-Acto blade. Then inspect with a magnifying glass to make sure none of the legs are touching eachother. Do not use a soldering iron as this is messy and can easily damage the board.
But wait, I did have to bias this output pin locations between
the Vcc (11 to 12VDC) pin of the IC and the Ground pin location.
Without this measure, the next stage of the circuit will be railed
at ground. Just use two quality 75Kohm resistors per output pin
location. With the resistors in series, tie the top resistor to Vcc, the
midpoint is tied to the output pin location, and the bottom resistor is tied to Ground (pin 4 of the nearby 4560 opamps will do).
Do not attempt to do this modification if you have no electronics
experience! Get an electronics expert to help you do this! It will pay
big dividends in letting the music out! Also, your warrantly will certainly be voided by opening up your unit!
Mathco87
Customer Review: Great Speakers
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow.
Let me explain:
After withstanding the treacherous sound quality shoved through my ears from the imbedded speaker system in my iBook G4 (a laptop computer from Apple, all laptop speakers are this way), I perceived a change of speakers was inevitable. Prior to purchasing the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks, I invested in the Creature II speakers from JBL. Although no individual can expect miracles from a pair of sub $100 speakers, the sound quality was too poor for my tastes. I am not an audiophile, but (without adornment) an average customer who enjoys listening to music. With the Creature II speaker system, you are able to view the sleek design and intent on building a capable speaker system, but unfortunately these efforts were overly substandard for my tastes, and conceivably yours, too.
So I innately switched to the Soundsticks. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, "Wow". The Harmon Kardon Soundsticks guide you through a velvety tour of where style, substance and affordability are married into both a physical and musical relationship. The Soundsticks strike a comfortable balance of aesthetics and functionality while boasting a well-reasoned price. Other positive reactions of mine are (conveniently) expressed through the positive comments and reviews of other proud owners of these speakers.
Often I pause what I am doing on my computer to fully experience the undeniably stunning sound emitted from these speakers. It is truly an unremarkable experience. You will hear parts of your music you've never heard before!
Summed up in a few words: you will embrace your inner sense of style, your music and your ears by purchasing this set of speakers. But if you are even examining the remote possibility of pondering the purchase of the Creature II speaker system, treat yourself to what the Soundsticks have to offer. The Creature II speakers are comparable to this review: (on the surface) connecting with its audience, but lacking the substance their creators intended.
Customer Review: Beautiful form, solid function.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Soundsticks 2 to replace a set of Creatures that I bought a few years ago. The Creatures were very good speakers but I wanted a bit more of a full-bodied sound. I was hoping to get that with the Soundsticks 2.
I would say that these Soundsticks delivered sonically, for the most part, but there are definitely better sounding computer speaker systems out there (the Klipsch setups come to mind).
The sound is very clean and the satellites and woofer are well matched so one doesn't overpower the other. But on the other hand, with four Odyssey drivers per satellite (versus the one Odyssey driver per satellite in my old Creature), I expected a lot more mid-range and low-mid response. I don't think these speakers quite get you there. There is adequate low range bass and more than ample highs, and although there is definitely more midrange than the Creatures, I still think they sound more biased to the high frequencies.
Mind you, I use my speakers primarily for listening to music, not gaming, so I am a bit more critical of them for lacking a fuller sound.
Aesthetically, these speakers look great. I love how the blue LED in the jellyfish-looking subwoofer glows in a dark room. Even though Apple has moved on from the clear plastic design schema--think first generation iMacs and the PowerMac G4 series--which is the style that I believe Harman tried to emulate with the Soundsticks, in my opinion, the design still goes pretty well with current generation Macs and PCs. They are definitely not a "me-too" style like the ones I've seen from Creative and Altec Lansing.
All that said, I truly enjoy these speakers for what they are: a good sounding, and great looking set of computer speakers that will give you just about anything you are looking for in computer speakers. At full retail (which I don't think any retailer actually sells this for), I would not buy it. But at the Amazon price, I think they are a very decent value.
Customer Review: Now I view my computer as a music system--awesome product
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen pictures of these speakers at the Appple web site and I thought Apple Compputer chose them because of the clear plastic modern look. Wrong.
These speakers are the best computer speakers I've heard or seen. I tried them out at Comp USA and had trouble leaving the store.
Amazon's prices are far better, with reliable shipping, so I plan to buy some here. Don't take my word for it, but do make a special trip out just to hear these speakers playing your favorite mpeg music--you will be hooked. Bring a CD full of your favortie mpegs. If you don't use your computer for mpegs, then start today.
There are two vertical mini-speaker columns. Each has four tweaters. Close inspection reveals there is a tuned port in the base of each for more mid range--hence the reason the tweaters are stacked in a column.
The right speaker has a capacitive touch switch which I didn't notice at first. I moved the speakers around trying to figure out why the volume was so low, and suddenly the sound got louder. Then I figured out the switch--which is faster and easier to adjust volume than the computer controls. Very cool, and better--useful and handy.
The subwoofer is shaped like a hollow apple, with the cone facing downwards and a tuned port opening to the top. It is not as big as many subwoofers but delivered great sound.
All three of these would fit in a bookbag making them a nice portable system.
The sound of these speakers was awesome for such a small package. It is not often that I experience a product like this and immediately want it.
I'm a cautious purchaser. But now I'm hooked. I see myself buying not just one set, but several for myself. I've decided to buy these for Christmas gifts this year.
Finally, I can't wait to try these with an iPod. If an iPod mount was built into the woofer, this would be a perfect setup.
Customer Review: Best bang for your buck
Summary: 5 Stars
After what seems like mindlessly unending research for a 2.1 system, here it finally is! I'm pretty picky in the sense that [obviously price doesn't mean everything] I tend to stray from speakers under $100, though there are definitely good attempts if you're really under a budget.
Previously, I owned an Altec Lansing set that got a majority of great reviews. Upon hearing them for the first time in my room, I wasn't exactly gleaming. I figured I'd give it a chance, as sometimes speakers take intial break-in time or maybe I would simply warm up to them. This wasn't the case, though...which really caught me by surprise seeing as how the set I had before that was also AL and I loved them. I am a bass fanatic but the AL sub was way too much for the satellites. Not too much in that it didn't sound good, but the satellites were weak. The sound wasn't natural at all.
A first I was hesitant with the Soundsticks II because of the "lack of bass" according to multiple reviewers. Well, after looking and listening to quite a few more sets, I figured I'd take the risk since Amazon is very gracious with their return policy.
Wow, am I glad I did! The Sticks are amazing for the price range. The bass was much better than I expected, they blend very well with the overall sound, and I personally like the blue glow. The satellites, however, are where the Sticks really shine. The clarity of these small cones is unbelievable. The wattage rating must really be fooling people because these are [technically speaking] the lowest watts I've owned for a 2.1 system and by far the loudest and best sounding.
If you're contemplating whatsoever, just go for it. Amazon has great customer service and the very limited amount of faults found in the Sticks just won't be enough to take away from the sound and cosmetics of these bad boys. By far, the best bang for your buck!