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• Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

  

  Perfection Personification

  Written by BR from Bridgewater

  6/01/2007

  You have no idea how much I agonized over choosing the correct speakers to match my new 24" Imac. I did all the prerequisite research on the weeb and listened to a dozen systems, from the inexpensive cool looking Creatures to the high end clunky Bose. When I learned about these, they were like a gift from God. They were designed by HK engineers in conjunction with Apple, and so equal the coolness factor of the Imac and as Steve Jobs would probably say- makes computers sexy again. That subwoofer is just too good lookin' to sit under a desk! Having said that, the sound experience took me by surprise, even though that is why most people buy them. Very crisp, clean highs with a smooth midtone. Adjust bass to annoy spouse or neighbours. Final word: other more expensive systems are for audiogeeks. These will satisfy your pocketbook and your aesthetics. Enjoy. …More

  1095 of 1358 people found this useful

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• Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

  

  You can get better for less

  Written by KK from Lafayette

  2/08/2005

  This system is sub-par for what you can get from Altec or Klipsch for the same price. The 150 dollar Promedia 2.1's are superior to this Harmon Kardon overpriced plastic junk. The sats have very little midrange and pretty much hang on 200hz leaving that job up to the subwoofer. This makes for extremely distorted and muddy mid-bass as well as a horrible transition to the subwoofer which in turn causes undesired localization of the subwoofer itself. The sub is small, underpowered and over ported. It doest have a whisper below 50hz so don't actually expect any real bass out of this thing, and the port is conveniently facing upward to allow dust to enter at will - great design there!
  
  Seriously, this system would be ok at 70 (edit: 50) dollars, but for this price, you can get some serious power from Klipsch or Altec Lansing. Don't consider this product.
  
  Scan the user reviews.. Not one person has actually compared this to an equivalent 150 dollar system. What's to review if you have no experience in the rest of the market? I do and the market puts this mishap to shame. The GMX 2.1, THX 2.1 or Altec MX5021, all would lay waste this little HK junker. Have you ever heard of a plastic subwoofer? Anything with modest build quality uses MDF which all of the above do. Please, this system is not for anyone who takes audio seriously. If you own a Mac or iPod you already take it too serious to consider this awful conglomeration of a speaker system.
  
  In all fairness, I don't own the product; however, I tested it at my cousin's house and felt a need to report my opinion. …More

  1287 of 1937 people found this useful

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• Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

  

  Excellent sound quality with high volume potential

  Written by TC from Purchase

  30/07/2005

  The quality of acoustics of this speaker set is extremely high. The speaker set can be hooked up to a desktop computer, laptop computer or only to an iPod. It is important to note that this is not a highly portable speaker set, as compared to a one-piece speaker system; it obviously can be transported, but with some care and bulkiness. One of the SoundSticks has volume (+) and volume (-) buttons, and the subwoofer has its own volume knob. Also, the wires connecting the SoundSticks to the subwoofer are very long, allowing for a proper "spreading" of the sound. There is no need to ever buy an old fashioned component stereo system any longer with equipment like this available. …More

  766 of 1043 people found this useful

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