JBL Duet 2.0 Speakers - Aluminum

When I heard these in the Apple store, I couldn't believe what i was hearing. I was looking at expensive iPod speakers from all the big name brands. You know the ones, Bose, Klipsch, Altec Lansing. They had them all and I listened to them all like only a man who has the day off and nothing better to do can. I saw the Duet and tried them just because they were there. I had low expectations and was prepared to be disappointed. When the music started playing, I could not believe what I was hearing. I tried different song and styles. Blown away. The sales people didn't seem to be as enthusiastic about the sound as I was so I went home and started reading every review and opinion about these things. There are actually some people who don't like these speakers. Still, overall, the reviews were positive. I went back to the store the next day to listen to them again and this time plugged my ipod into them. In that noisy environment and surrounded by more expensive speakers, I was still blown away. So I did what any rational person would do. I bought them.

Once I got them home, I plugged them in, hooked them up to my iPod and let it rip. They sounded twice as good at home than in the store. My eyes literally started to tear up. I brought my wife in to hear them. She, too, was blown away. She said she could hear things in the music that she had never heard before. I have now got them hooked up to my computer and have officially retired my old Altec Lansing 4.1 DDS kit which was $300.00 in its day. These Duets sound even better. Way better. I went in to listen to portable iPod speakers and came out replacing my desktop speakers. If you are still on the fence, get off and run to your nearest Apple Store and buy two sets. Once you hear how good they are, you will invent a use for the other set.

Now that I am done gushing, here is a bit of objectivity. Highs and mids are exactly where they should be. I do not detect much by way of coloration. I would describe the sound as clean, crystal clear. I mention the lows separately because that is an area where the speakers have gotten a bad wrap. If you are wanting more bass than what these speakers produce, you are wanting too much bass. Music should not, for the most part, rattle the floor or make your ears bleed. It should take your breath away, not knock the wind out of you. The base these speakers present is well balanced and way more than the size of these speakers have a right to give. I used the base boost preset in iTunes and had to turn it off because it was too much base.

Once caveat. I am not a gamer. I know that gamers and movie watchers want and need a lot more bass than music listeners. These are not gaming or movie speakers. They don't pretend to be. If you need your floor rattled and neighbors annoyed, these are the wrong speakers for you. Otherwise, you really can't do better than these. …More

1027 of 1373 people found this useful

For 50 bucks? I think these are great. They only plug in (no batteries), but I use them with my Macbook for watching movies, move them into the kitchen and plug them into my iPod when cooking, etc... very nice, balanced sound I think (don't be expecting sub-woofer bass response, though) …More