Best speakers for a 20'' iMac?

[xfusejc]

I've been checking the different speakers offered by the Apple Store and wanted to get an opinion on which were the best?

Sound wise, aesthetically pleasing and overall life expectancy.

I was looking at the JBL Creature speakers as well as the Harman Soundsticks. Obviously (or not so much obviously but more according to the reviews they've both received over at Amazon) the Soundsticks sound better than the Creature speakers, but I wanted to have some more input.

Otherwise, which would you recommend? (I'm looking for ones that match my iMac. Everything else around it is white, so the speakers might as well share in on that party. Yes, I'm anal.)

Thanks in advance :)

[BilltheCat]

Im interested as well. I think the soundsticks look elegant!

[Zwhaler]

I would recomend the Altec Lansing FX6021's. I use them and they are the best sounding speakers ever. I swear they are such good quality, they pwn all other brands. They are silver, but they look soo nce next to the iMac, I think they look better just how they are than if they were white. Give em a shot.

[juanster]

i think the creature just look so coooooolll.. its like a bass ghost looking thing love it..

[queshy]

Soundsticks II sound incredible and match the iMac quite well.

[emac82]

I would recomend the Altec Lansing FX6021's. I use them and they are the best sounding speakers ever. I swear they are such good quality, they pwn all other brands. They are silver, but they look soo nce next to the iMac, I think they look better just how they are than if they were white. Give em a shot.

I was going to suggets the same speakers, they look great and sound FANTASTIC!! they aren't very big speakers (tall, but not wide) so they won't take up too much room at all.

Or, I also have the Bose Companion 3, they cost about the same as the Altec's and they are really nice speakers as well.

Don't go JBL...I don't find they sound all that great for the money u spend.

[juanster]

I was going to suggets the same speakers, they look great and sound FANTASTIC!! they aren't very big speakers (tall, but not wide) so they won't take up too much room at all.

Or, I also have the Bose Companion 3, they cost about the same as the Altec's and they are really nice speakers as well.

Don't go JBL...I don't find they sound all that great for the money u spend.

REALLY? i love and have always loves JBL s im not audiophile tho so i dunno..

[Mr MacBlue]

I like the design of the JBL Spot. Haven't heard them yet.

[xfusejc]

I would recomend the Altec Lansing FX6021's. I use them and they are the best sounding speakers ever. I swear they are such good quality, they pwn all other brands. They are silver, but they look soo nce next to the iMac, I think they look better just how they are than if they were white. Give em a shot.

Those are a bit over my budget.

So far, the Soundsticks seem to get the best rep.

[Cheese]

Have the Creature II's. They are ok, not great, but not bad. They match the iMac, nice glossy white. I agree the soundsticks have better defintition, and more powerful bass. The best sound quality I have heard is from Klipsch. Their GMX A-2.1 system really rocks, takes up a modest amount of space, and while it is not shiney white, it has a cool look that isn't trying too hard to blend into everything else in the room.
See it here:
www.klipsch.com/products/details/promedia-gmx-a-2-1.aspx


PS: I do not work for Klipsch. Their speakers work for me.

[xfusejc]

^ That's a lot more hardware than I need. In all honesty, I just want regular speakers with good volume. In my old PC, the speakers I had attached were great in that I could put them up really loud and scream along with the songs. I can barely whisper with the internal speakers on my iMac :p

[G.Kirby]

We have a set of Creature Speakers and H&K Sound sticks at work. We have got them because they look sweet and are quite portable. The Creature Speakers are nice but distort when you turn the volume up high. The H&K speakers are better as there are more speakers to push out the sound. However, they are still relying on little speakers to do the job of a larger speaker.

When it came to spend my own personal money on a set of speakers for home use on my Mac I went with the ‘Klipsch, ProMedia GMX A-2.1’. I have not regretted this move one bit. The sound quality is outstanding and the bass could rattle your teeth out and bring the house down around your ears if you wanted it to. There is plenty of power and I am yet to find distortion. Another plus is that there is a separate desktop controller that manages both bass and master volume so you don’t have to fart around under your desk to turn the bass down.

I got them for £89 and in the USA you should be able to get them for around $130. Well worth the extra $’s in my eyes. :) :)

http://www3.shopping.com/xPC-Sys-PROMEDIA-GMX-A2-1-PC-AUDIO-SYS

[Tarkovsky]

Buy an outboard DAC and a proper amp with some nice second hand hi-fi speakers. You could do it all for about £250 and it would sound a hell of a lot better than a couple of bits of shiny plastic which fit in well on the desk.

[jasko]

I got the Soundsticks II for my 20" iMac. Looks great. Sounds great.

[juanster]

i ll be using air tunes to hook it up to my surround system... but i love the JBL like i ve said before.. why dont you go to the apple store and try them out yourself?

[Counter]

Buy an outboard DAC and a proper amp with some nice second hand hi-fi speakers. You could do it all for about £250 and it would sound a hell of a lot better than a couple of bits of shiny plastic which fit in well on the desk.

Currently looking at this myself for the first time. Especially since I came across really affordable amps like the Sonic Impact 5066 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009W44B) getting great reviews. It's a bit of a minefield for a newbie to it. I'd like to get that or something like it and some Polk bookshelf speakers like the R15's (http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Two-way-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B00006I5O4/). But I don't think that amp could drive the speakers. The amp states it's compatible with speakers up to 20watts and the Polk speakers say they require a minimum of 20watts.

It's a whole other ballgame when you want to make the step up in sound quality from computer speakers. What's an outboard DAC? lol.

A sort of midway option between the above setup and just computer speakers is to get some active bookshelf speakers. No need for an amp. But the lines seem hazy, these tend to fall under 'monitor' speakers....speakers which are best for monitoring audio production and not just for recreational listening. With no character or sound projection.

I have no idea which of the three options to go down.

[szsiddiq]

I was looking at the JBL Creature speakers as well as the Harman Soundsticks.

i've had both, and i love both. in the end i like the soundsticks better, but they both have a similar sound. the soundsticks just have greater range and are more powerful. but, they also cost almost twice as much :)

IMHO Harmon makes the best audio products, but Bose lovers would smack me if i said that :)




PS: Bose is overrated :p

[1dterbeest]

I use Logitech z2300 speakers. They are definitely
the most power for the money, THX certified, and
they are just all around wonderful. If you want,
the bass will knock your house off its foundation.
This is pretty good for a $100 set of speakers.

[szsiddiq]

I use Logitech z2300 speakers. They are definitely
the most power for the money, THX certified, and
they are just all around wonderful. If you want,
the bass will knock your house off its foundation.
This is pretty good for a $100 set of speakers.
i think logitech and altec will give you more power for your money, and they still have a nice sound.

[puckhead193]

I would recomend the Altec Lansing FX6021's. I use them and they are the best sounding speakers ever. I swear they are such good quality, they pwn all other brands. They are silver, but they look soo nce next to the iMac, I think they look better just how they are than if they were white. Give em a shot.

save up and buy them...you'll thank us later ;)

[FullCollapse]

i have a set of klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers, and i love them. i had a set of altec lansing's, i'm not sure of the model though as i bought them years ago. they were decent, but these ones are awesome.

however, those speakers come in black. so if you really want white speakers just go with the creatures or the soundsticks. you probably won't be able to tell the difference in sound quality anyway. most people can't (myself included).

[thebrain74]

I wouldn't get the Creature II's http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=D0C1CD7C&nplm=T9077LL%2FA. ya they look pretty good, but the sound is only o.k. I got the Creative I-Trigue 3300(good comp. speaker brand IMO) http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs-I-Trigue-3300-3-Speaker/dp/B00007AKC1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9613631-0893628?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1174280930&sr=1-1and theyre were much better for the same price and the speaker stands are made from metal and look good. Besides that with the creatures you get one speaker per satelite the creatives give you 3/per and the system is louder with better (and easily adjustable)bass. Has separate wired controller for on/off/volum/bass instead of building the volume into one of the speakers (which sucks a$$0
my $.02

[rema]

Have you considered these

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3525/238380833b4276c2067oc46qo6.jpg

There the Logitech Z-4i Speaker White - 2.1 Speakers I’ve recently purchased an 20" Imac and I will be getting these when I get paid heard good reviews and there going cheap in the uk £50.25 Shipped.