Customer Reviews

Harman Kardon SoundSticks Computer Speakers

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

(Update: I've now had these speakers for 3 years, have had no issues and I'm still very happy with the system.)

The industrial design is striking, and a perfect complement to the 17" Studio Display I have. The satellites, sub (with a blue glowing LED), and even the cabling shares the current Apple design cues.

The sound is quite clean for computer speakers, and clearly superior to the old, cheap Labtecs I had before. These are not audiophile speakers, but very good for casual listening of MP3s, internet radio, etc.

The subwoofer (like all subs) is sensitive to placement, moving it further or closer to the wall changes the way it melds together with the satellites. Regardless of the sub level setting, there is a bit of a hole in frequency response between it and satellites. The sub doesn't go very deep, so you'll miss the lowest registers of pipe organs or the deeper tremors of ambient techno; and the high bass / lower midrange is a bit boomy.

The satellites are extremely directional by design. The high frequency sweet spot is very narrow both vertically and horizontally; sitting 2 feet away from them the highs dim out quite a bit just 5 inches off the direct line from the speakers. This is nice for quiet listening in cubes or with significant other watching TV in the next room; but the crisp sound is definitely aimed at the person at the screen, and won't fill the room for a party.

The max sound level is plenty to cause floor-wide Nerf-missile wars in a cubicle environment or evil looks from downstairs neighbor of apartment dwellers; but not really enough for that stadium feel.

If I sound negative after all this, don't get me wrong: these are great speakers for the purpose and money. Just make sure you're planning to use them for what they were designed for: getting clean sound directly in front of the screen!

All I can really say is"Wow!" What nice speakers. They look absolutely stunning next to my Apple display (cinema) and the color scheme and clear plastic match the G4 enclosure perfectly. Nice execution. The sound is fantastic for an average size room and will rival most upper end bookshelf sized systems. Setup is extremely simple (plug em in) and the speakers show up in the Sound control panel with no software to install. Amazon also has a very good price on these, especially when combined with one of the online coupons. I am very satisfied.

Any drawbacks? Well, the satellite speakers are somewhat directional, so they don't really "fill" the room (they could have staggered the speakers on the stick, but still make no mistake- these are loud!). There is no volume control on the unit so you have to use the Sound control panel or iTunes or similar to change the volume (not a big deal unless you want a remote or instant volume gratification). The iSub (woofer) has an adjustment, but it only sets the relative bass level, and not the satellite's volume. There is no headphone miniplug so you still have to use the one on the back of the CPU. You trade a little function for a lot of form.

If you are a hard-core audiophile, you may miss a few features like high, mid, and bass control and should maybe look elsewhere. If, however, you love your Mac and want the best for it, look no further. The sound is clear, penetrating, and powerful for such a small package. You will not be disappointed. These are performance art.

5 stars for the average user (me), 4 stars for the true audiophile.

I'm sure these speakers work great on OS X, but I couldn't resist getting my hands on these puppies after hearing about them working in Win XP. And let me tell you, I don't regret it for a second.

The design is sweet to look at, but completely unobtrusive when compared to blocky Windows speakers. The installation is as easy as they come (plug it in - sheesh, my mom could do this).

The sound was great out of the box, but the real trick for XP users is to maximize their sound output through a combo of the Windows Audio settings in the Control Panel, and through your MP3 software (I find WinAmp3 works best.) Once you've got the finer settings down, the fidelity is UNREAL.

I'm hearing things in some songs that I only hear on my expensive home audio system. Instrumental tracks especially are something to marvel at. And these speakers do it without flinching, even at fairly high volumes.

Can't recommend these bad boys enough. =)

This systems kicks butt! In addition to the great looks and convenience of the USB interface, these speakers speakers can really crank when needed, yet are balanced and neutral in frequency response, making them a good bet for any type of musical tastes. I have gotten many compliments on these, and definitely recommend them.

Let me get some things straight. First of all, this product does work with Mac OS X. How would I know? I myself run OS X, unlike some people I know, and my Sound Sticks work fine with it. I've been running OS X ever since it came out. My Sound Sticks have worked with every version of Mac OS X I've used! It is absurd to think that the new Apple operating system does not support popular Apple-related products!

Yes there is an external power adapter, however, it is very small, light, and concealable. I presently live in London, and need to use a 240-120 volt converter. The power adapter hardly compares to the converter I have to use with every 120 volt appliance I own.

Some people have complained about the Sub volume control being on the back of it. Why does this matter? The Sub is meant to be on the floor. You couldnt access the control conveniently their anyway, even if it was on the front. In addition, the control does not even control the volume of the whole system. It is supposed to be used to adjust the amount of bass in relation to treble, since bass resonates very differently in different environments. I do not keep mine at full volume, unlike most people, because it drowns out the treble. (I do admit I used to.) The sub woofer was overpowered, for those who use their Sound Sticks in an environment in which bass does not resonate very well. Also, those who keep their woofer on their desk will be sorely disappointed with its output, because like any other woofer, this woofer was not designed to function anyplace other than floor!

Why is there no volume control? Wake up! There is! It is on your Apple Pro Keyboard, where it is most easily accessible. Sound Sticks were designed to be used with Apple computers. That is why they are best supported by Apple Computers, and even resemble Apple computers. For those who dont own an Apple, tough luck! Go out and buy some of those cheap tacky pc computer speakers! Otherwise, dont complain! PCs and Macs are not compatible, so dont expect them to be.

It seems that the people who happen to hate Sound Sticks are PC users who expect Sound Sticks to do impossible things. As far as I can tell, Sound Sticks are the perfect Mac companion. They look great, sound great, and are incredibly easy to install and maintain. Hey, you dont even have to turn them on and off! They are fully integrated into your Mac setup: part of Steve Jobs dream of the digital hub. But Im sorry to say, no they cant fly or swim, as they might appear to be able to do. No, they dont function properly when placed in a cardboard box and thrown out the window, or when hung upside-down from the ceiling, I tried placing them next to my PC, but did not plug them in, and they didnt work. So Im returning them, and am going back to those cheep beige things that look and sound like poop...

I just bought some soundsticks and could NOT find out anywhere, even the support web-site by HK if these things might work on my PC, or where I could get the drivers. They looked cool so I bought them anyway, and Windows 2000 loaded compatible drivers as soon as they were plugged in. Very cool. Just thought I'd put in a note in case anybody else felt like using these things with their PC.

Contrary to another opinion that is posted, the Harman Kardon soundsticks/iSub does work on most PCs. Has been known to be problematic with Windows 98SE or earlier, but works fine (plug and play!) on Windows ME, Windows 2000, and later.

I've had my SoundSticks for a month now and am very happy with them. They haven't met all my expectations but they are still great.

Setting up the SoundSticks is very easy (subwoofer to USB, satellites to subwoofer, AC adapter to wall socket and subwoofer) and there is no software to install. The only chore you'll have to do is click on the sound icon in System Preferences and select the SoundSticks as the audio output. The glowing blue light in the subwoofer is cool, but dim enough that it hasn't become annoying. And of course, this three-speaker set looks terrific next to my iMac.

Sound wise I'm very impressed. Everything is louder and clearer than it was with the round speakers that came with my iMac. But there is a downside to this. Things are so much louder that even on the iMacs lowest volume setting, I can hear every sound the machine makes perfectly clear. Most users will probably have to adjust volume levels in such programs as iTunes and iMovie to much lower settings so as not to go deaf. I've kept my iMac volume at two or three bars since installing the SoundSticks.

I'm less impressed with the subwoofer. Maybe I had too high of expectations, but the bass never seems to get very heavy. Could be that I'd have to get a more powerful subwoofer to achieve gut rumbling bass. I've tested the subwoofer with `The Matrix' and was not as impressed as I'd hoped to be even on the subwoofers highest setting. Still the bass it produces is MUCH better than anything the standard iMac speakers produced.

So overall, I'm very happy with my SoundSticks. They look great and are a big improvement over the standard speakers. I'm sure for a bit more money you get a system that sounds even better, but I want to keep my peripherals as in line with the iMac design scheme as possible.

After a couple of years of wonderful sound under OS 9, I upgraded my Mac to OS X (10.3.2). The "crash-proof" operating system was not USB Audio-proof: when my SoundSticks are connected and playing, my computer would more or less randomly but frequently render my USB mouse and keyboard useless, essentially freezing the computer. USB audio simply introduces another level of things to possibly go wrong. The sound is great, though, so if you're considering these get the newer SoundSticks II instead: they use the 3.5 mm audio out jack and are otherwise the same.

Found these to be very disappointing and ended up returning them. Not only is the sound poor, but I found that when using them with a new LCD iMac running OS X, you can't control the volume from the keyboard volume controls, or from the menu bar - the volume can only be controlled from the sound preference panel. Bought a set of Monsoon 702's instead which sound much better and cost way less.