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: Amazing Soundsticks!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently bought the Soundsticks 2 from Amazon. I have been a music teacher for more years than I care to think about and good quality sound is really important to me.
I have a great Hi Fi system at home in the living room and our family computer is in the kitchen. I've connected the Harman Kardons to the computer and to say the least, I'm over the moon with their performance. I listen to all types of music and these speakers produce the goods. This evening I have listened to Joe Cocker, Herbie Hancock, Gustav Holst, Samuel Barber, Vivaldi and Stevie Wonder! In every instance the speakers produced clean, well balanced music. Plenty of volume and amazing sound quality and stereo image. I spent a little time in iTunes when I first got the speakers and adjusted the equalizer to my tastes. The bass is full without being boomy, the highs nice and clean and the voices come through beautifully. I find myself sitting in front of the computer listening to music more than I do in the living room with my expensive sound system! For the price these speakers are hard if not impossible to beat. They may not be what you want if you want earth shattering rumble to accompany video games but if you want to hear great music on a set of remarkable speakers, you won't be disappointed with the Harman Kardon Soundsticks. By the way, I have never written a review of any product before this one. When listening to them tonight I just had to get on line and spread the word.
Customer Review: Sexiest speakers on the market
Summary: 5 Stars
My dad had a pair of Harmon Kardon soundstick 1's for his old G5. Couple years later, I'm in college and in need of a new pair of computer speakers. There was really only one choice.
Installation is hassle free, no device drivers or anything. Connect each pylon to a joint receiver, attach that to the subwoofer, power the whole thing up and plug it in. Super simple.
The bass in this thing is incredible. It is very clear, not muddled at all. Volume control is controlled by one pillar with a touch sensitive panel... nothing actually to push down. The bass is controlled on the subwoofer itself; a little troublesome if you tuck the subwoofer in a corner and have to reach down with your hand. HK says that theres 20 watts in the subwoofer and 10 in each pylon... trust me, it won't matter because you will easily be able to hear bass.
Harmon Kardon is excellent in making audio equipment; they deck out the Mercedes S550 class so if Mercedes trusts them you probably can too.
Pros:
+ Excellent sound quality
+ Very simple installation
+ Amazing Bass response
+ Unique Design
Cons:
- Design might turn some people off
- Subwoofer control is located on the subwoofer
- Cable length is not especially long
Overall, I'm very happy I purchased these speakers. Memories of home + great sound quality (this coming from a classical musician) = happy purchase.
Customer Review: Wow! Easily the BEST speakers I've had for my computer!
Summary: 5 Stars
Over the years, I've had various speaker sets from various makers, leaning to those who are already well-known for their home stereo speaker systems. I was looking to replace my Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 speakers, which I had been very satisfied with, but the subwoofer had stopped working some months ago and a little research showed this was a pretty big problem with those speakers. So... I set about picking a new set. I had often read that the HK Soundsticks had great sound, but I admittedly was a little turned off by the clear design. I finally decided to give them a chance after getting a great deal on a new set, and boy am I glad I made that plunge! The sound is nice and crisp, the bass is strong but tight... no excessive "thudding" from many subwoofers that try to do more than they are really intended for. I honestly cannot rave enough about how nice these speakers sound. One thing I tried that was recommended in their manual was to put the subwoofer under the desk. I have it on top an old piece of shelving, behind the desk's drawer all the way back, and that seems to have made a real difference in the quality of the subwoofer's sound.
In short, if you are looking for a 2.1 speaker set, look no further than the Harman Kardon Soundsticks. They are available at very competitive prices, and are easily one of the best-sounding speaker systems for your computer that you could ever hope for.
Customer Review: Best pro value for the money for the fan on a small budget
Summary: 5 Stars
These are actually very good monitors. I bought a set for my first apple computer and used these speakers to monitor web clip content since 2003 . Both film an audio. I am going to get another set for my studio for pro use in our recording studio alongside my KRK midfields and EDEN Nemesis sub-bass studio monitors. The Harman Kardon Sound Sticks II 2.1 will be the reference monitors for web video content and audio content, to estimate how a typical fan with a good computer system with good audio will hear the music. This is how we as professionals can adjust the sound of the CDs. DVDs, Video clips, Mp3s etc... for the fan who does not have a recording studio's worth of state of the art gear, but still has a very good system for musical and video purposes. It is clearly unrealistic to expect awesome sound for under a few thousand dollars of gear. You will mainly get "loud" in that budget range... but often it is "bad and harsh loud"....On the other hand I can safely recommend this system as excellent for the money and capable of still delivering high enough quality for the fan to be able to hear all the attention to detail and all of the music that was recorded instead of being cheated out of the experience by the usual ridiculously bad computer speakers that come with most computers.
The design is killer and the looks are vintage cool-deluxe!
Customer Review: Spectacular!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very easy to set up, works great, and looks beautiful. It sounds perfect, not off in the slightest. As far as the power, it's loud enough for a very loud listening level, and loud enough to fill a floor for a casual party, but not loud enough for a dance party or to fill the entire house. The bass is actually overpowered if you turn it all the way up. I keep it at the mid-point and it's just right. You don't need 5.1 for MP3's and virtually all CD's, because they're not in 5.1. BTW the two towers have a rubbery base which prevents them from slipping. The subwoofer cylinder has a bluish light that makes it look sci-fi. Put it under the table just like the manual says.
The one slight criticism I would make is that there's no way to quickly turn down the volume on the speakers themselves. However, what I do is to keep the speakers close to the max, and then to use Apple's Frontrow remote (or the keyboard) to adjust the system volume. You can quickly go from zero to max and back and again that way with a couple of pushes of the up or down button on the remote or on the keyboard.
The price is very reasonable. I can't think of a speaker system for my computer that I would prefer to this one in terms of sound quality or appearance, and so if you're going to spend $1,500 for a computer, spending 10% of that or $150 for superior speakers is well worth it!