Recommended Speakers for iMac.

I've had a couple different sets hooked up to my Mac over the past few years.

-1st I had the Bose Companion 2 (original version) found they were too bassy and lacked a mid range.
-Had a Logitech 5.1 System Z5300 maybe? They were okay, very flat sounding. Didn't have too much depth to the sound. Not enough treble, and too much bass.
-Had a set of Klipsch 2.1 ProMedia's. Almost similar to the Logitechs as far as sound. Was fine for some music, but they got too loud. When they got loud the sound got very distorted. I found them to not be as well balanced as their 2.0 counterparts. If you simply don't care about anything but being really really loud, these are okay for you.

-Finally settled with a set of Klipsch 2.0 ProMedia's. I find that they have the best mix of everything. Great bass, amazing mids and highs, and all in a compact 2.0 footprint (no subwoofer). I found the price to be very good, they were only $100. I've had mine about 18 months now and they're great, no issues what so ever.

Also, I mainly listen to rock and some indie/acoustic folk, if that helps. I think these speakers will be all around great though.

Edit: Just did some quick research and apparently a lot of places aren't carrying the ones I reccomended to you anymore. Apple used to, but they're not anymore. I found them at B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productList&Q=396297&A=buyUsed

There's apparently a replacement/updated model, but as I haven't used them I can't comment on them.

I have a set of JBL Creature II
Picked them up for a good price and the sound quality is impressive - Plus they look cool!

Kev.

http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=373

There are simply stunning, and inexpensive too.

I don't know how much of an audiophile you are, but being very picky myself, I'd get a small home receiver with an optical input, then hook it up to two of these

http://www.soundscapeav.com/phasetech/pc11.htm
http://www.phasetech.com/products.html?product_id=PC-1.1II

They are just simply beautiful, and they have the sound of a full speaker system in a small package

Macsanity said:

I'm just look for some speakers for my 24 inch iMac and wondering if anyone can recommend me some good ones seeing as I'm not to good with picking speakers but I need the speakers for music and media but not to costly. Thanks in advance.

-Macsanity

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I wouldn't recommend you go Bose, because they are too expensive (but the Companion 5s are excellent). I suggest you try the Harman Kardon Soundsticks II or the Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass (a bit too bassy for music though).

If you want value, give Logitech speakers a try - there are plenty of them, but only your ears and choose them for you 😉

Since you are using the speakers for music and media, 5.1 or 7.1 systems won't be the best ones, just go for the 2.1

Good luck!

I have the JBL encounter speakers for my iMac G5 and I love them. I'm not sure if they are still for sale (amazon doesn't seem to have them anymore) however, in which case i'd recommend the Harmon Kardon Soundticks

My Harmon/Kardon Soundsticks sounds pretty sweet.

kevkev said:

I have a set of JBL Creature II
Picked them up for a good price and the sound quality is impressive - Plus they look cool!

Kev.

Click to expand...

I've got them too, highly recommended and a good price!

I would recommend the Bose Companion 5's if you can afford them. The simulated 5.1 is amazing! They are very expensive though...but hey so was your iMac, so it deserves good speakers 🙂

Depends on what you want. Not to costly is quite relative, cheapest HiFi is around 1200 euro (expensive HiFi around 100000)

0-100 euro: Go to a local computer shop and pick up some good looking stereo speakers. Don't look at fancy certificates, and don't go for the biggest subwoofer. The bass may sound nice at first sight, but it's irritating to have a sloppy bas beat which sounds the same with all songs.

100-400 euro: Don't know anything in this range, ask others.

400-1000 euro: Now you're spending this much, add another 200 euro to get some good speakers. You don't want to spend 1000 euro's on something you don't really like. You may want to take a look at the active Dynaudio speakers. They are HiFi and don't need an amp.

1200 euro: Get the Rotel RA-05 amplifier and two B&W 685 speakers. Attach them to your mac for the best sound you've ever heard through computer speakers, and to a CD player for even better sound (DAC of a Mac is bad, which is a bottleneck)

1200 - more euro: Go to your local HiFi shop, ask for a cup of coffee and start listening. You'll find something nice 🙂

Some other important things:
- IGNORE Bose speakers. They are expensive and only relatively good for home cinema purposes (= movies), music always sounds bad, or way worse than with HiFi speakers of the same price class.
- IGNORE Yamo speakers. They produce way to much bass, which may sound poppy in the beginning. but is irritating because it isn't what the artist wanted you to hear. Also, it's a cover for the bad high and mids.
- Don't buy 5.1, 7.1 or 5^456.1 speakers sets! You don't need 7 speakers to listen to STEREO music. Also, why pay for 7 bad speakers? You don't get a better quality by adding a speakers. Buy 2 good ones instead. You also don't need a subwoofer. Subwoofers are there to produce a good BANG during movies. They can't produce detailed low sounds in music, and will sound bad, sloppy and irritating.

I've already answered thousands of other threads asking this same question, but basically it boils down to two things.

1) Harmon Kardon Sound Sticks suck so dont fool for them, unless you like the design which is rather sexy.

2) Bose are overpriced and suck too

3) Logitech do some amazing computer speakers for the low price (under $100). Not audiophile amazing, but acceptable.

I posted a thread about this last week. I ended up getting the Logitech Z2300's. I didn't need anything crazy for my iMac. I'm not intending to use it as a home theater so that's why I didn't go with any 5.1 speakers. The Z2300's suit me fine, and if you are looking for a nice set of speakers for a good price the Z2300's are the way to go....I got them from Amazon for 85.00.

I have some Z2300's too, they sound great. Packs a lot of power compared to others in the price range. The sub is very powerful too.

Sound sticks suck big time.. they sound terrible.

this is what you need.

ive owned a pair for 3 plus years, with no problems and they can be had for cheap.

sure the sound does get distorted and the bass does as well.
but if the sub is distorting you dont have it setup right and if the main drivers are distorting you are listening to it way to loud or it just isnt big enough for your room.

also i hope your not expecting the card from an imac to give clean pure sound might want to look into a external sound card for better tighter,accurate music.🙂

the sound is accurate and far better sounding then the z2300's.
they give you a massive sub then some crappy main drivers.
my cousin owns that setup and i dont enjoy it what so ever.

I have the Bose Computer MusicMonitor, I love using it... very rich sound and strong base from a compact speaker.