Opinions on Creature speakers?

[faithfulFrank]

I just ordered a set of JBL creature speakers for my son, who will use them with his ipod and his 12" powerbook.
They are $129 at the Apple store, $85.00 from amazon with no tax or shipping.
Now I read that Harmon Kardon is coming out with the new Creature II speakers to replace these next week at the Mac show.
Does anyone know about these? those of you who have a set of creature speakers, are you pleased with them? Amazon will not ship these to me for a few weeks yet, so I guess I will get to see about the new ones in time to decide weather I take these speakers, or cancel and get the new ones. Any opinions? Thank you.

[iJon]

wow, i didnt hear anything about that, but i have some and i love them. we started carrying the new invader speakers which are only 50 dollars more and you get a hell of lot more sound. you get 4 sticks with 2 speakers in each and a much bigger sub.

iJon

[KBFinFan]

Glad to hear positives about the Creatures- I was thinking about picking up some through Amazon as well. I currently have Z-560s from Logitech, but they are just too large for my new PB and I don't take advantage of the 4.1 setup (although they sound wonderful!).

I'm trying to slim down as far as speakers go...

[jzieske]

I also got my Creature Speakers for about $85 and I think they are weel worth the price. They sound great and look very nice sitting next to a powerbook.

[kuyu]

creatures are pretty good for tunes, but i think they have 10% THD. that's why they kind of get distorted at loud volumes. If you're an audiophile, get some with <1% THD and you should hear a huge difference.

This is also the case with home surround systems. Those $200 "all-in-one" pakages have 10% THD, whereas the $400+ systems usually have 0.7% Total Harmonic Distortion. I believe this is the most important stat when comparing speakers (and receivers also). Hope this helps.

BTW, the klipcsh THX certified 2.1 systems sound incredible, but they cost about $180.:)

[destroyboredom]

Faithfulfrank-

I work for a large US computer parts distributor, and from what I was told in our sales meeting is that the creature 2 will be the same spec wise as the regular creature. The only difference will be the finish on the outside of the speakers(and sub). Apparently the paint and gloss used on the original creature was pretty expensive, so they are switching to something less expensive to bring the cost below $100

[iJon]

Originally posted by destroyboredom
Faithfulfrank-

I work for a large US computer parts distributor, and from what I was told in our sales meeting is that the creature 2 will be the same spec wise as the regular creature. The only difference will be the finish on the outside of the speakers(and sub). Apparently the paint and gloss used on the original creature was pretty expensive, so they are switching to something less expensive to bring the cost below $100
wow very interesting, thats really good to know. do you know if they are doign the same with the invaders.

iJon

[bdguyton1]

I recieved a set of white Creature Speakers for Christmas, and I love them. They look very nice next to my iPod and computer. They have a very nice sound to them, also. I think that anyone would be happy to have them.

[Wombatronic]

I have a pair of the white creatures, and while they look really nice, I think they sound terrible. I much prefered my $50 Cambridge Soundworks set-up.

Specifically, the mids on the Creatures seem completely absent. I am not really an audiophile, but it is just painfully obvious to me (and others) that there is a sub, tweeters, and nothing else.

I got them because they came highly recommended, and people still seem to like them a lot, so maybe I got a bum pair or am just cranky. Dunno :)

[Koodauw]

I love my Creature Speakers as well. While they don't give you spectactular sound, they are fine for me. Not to mention they are really cool looking. Just out of curiosity what color does everyone have?

[jzieske]

Originally posted by Koodauw
... Just out of curiosity what color does everyone have?

I have the silver speakers, to match my powerbook.

[KBFinFan]

Hmm.. so does anyone know when the Creature IIs are coming out?

And if all that is changing is the finish to something cheaper, would it be beneficial to just get a pair of creature 1s?

Thanks all..

[redAPPLE]

how about an alternative to the creatures? i am looking to give away my room stereo and use speakers with my iPod.

any suggestions?

[stoid]

I sure hope HK doesn't release awesome Creature IIs soon! I just got my Creatures in the mail! They are perfect for my dorm room because they are so small and can still produce a lot of volume!

[hulugu]

I really like mine. They sound great (THD numbers notwithstanding) the bass is strong and the range seems very good, they look cool next to my Powerbook, especially with the little blue lights underneath, and the touch volume buttons are very cool.
I've been happy with these, and it's easier than going into the living room and hooking my iPod to the 5.1 et. al. system I have.
A good set of multi-media speakers really.

BTW, I have the white ones.

[rdas7]

I recently got a pair of JBL white creature speakers for use with my iBook and iPod. They are perfect. The sound is great for most uses (hey, if I want pristine audio I'll go to a recording studio), I pump tunes and movies through them and they sound great. They're not earsplittingly loud, but then again, I gots neighbors :)

They're priced a little below those huge cd dorm-room stereo systems, and take up very little space in my room. Take into account the little blue LED's that light up underneath the satellite speakers and they win on coolness factor alone.

I've looked around at the alternatives, and I'd say to anyone looking to turn their iPod/dock into a stereo system, these are the best sound quality for the money - and they look great too!

[jrv3034]

I agree with most everyone on this thread. I got the silver Creature from Amazon, same deal as you did, and am completely satisfied. They sound wonderful for something so inexpensive, and you can't find more stylish speakers anywhere.;)

[Counterfit]

Originally posted by KBFinFan
Glad to hear positives about the Creatures- I was thinking about picking up some through Amazon as well. I currently have Z-560s from Logitech, but they are just too large for my new PB and I don't take advantage of the 4.1 setup (although they sound wonderful!).

I'm trying to slim down as far as speakers go... I'll trade you my Z-540 system for your Z-560! :D

[Engagebot]

the creature speakers are cool, but a lot of it is styling...

Check out Monsoon speakers, you wont be dissappointed there at all.

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Engagebot
the creature speakers are cool, but a lot of it is styling...

Check out Monsoon speakers, you wont be dissappointed there at all.

the url would be monsoonaudio.com right?

if so, i somehow cannot find the products.

[Engagebot]

hmm, i'm having trouble finding the monsoon site now. google shows that its monsoonpower.com, but it doesnt load.

anyway, the ones i have are like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2782614570&category=3702

but mine are one revision older (the power on the sub is shaped differently). these are the most fantastic sounding PC speakers i've ever heard. My friend has that $399 logitech surround system, and man he was pissed to find out that i got these 2 years ago for $70 on ebay.

if you're about to buy the creature speakers, do yourself a favor and buy these. they look way cooler because they're just a super thin panel mounted on stands, and they sound like a million bucks.

[Engagebot]

Originally posted by Engagebot
hmm, i'm having trouble finding the monsoon site now. google shows that its monsoonpower.com, but it doesnt load.

anyway, the ones i have are like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2782614570&category=3702

but mine are one revision older (the power on the sub is shaped differently, mine are MM700i i believe). these are the most fantastic sounding PC speakers i've ever heard. My friend has that $399 logitech surround system, and man he was pissed to find out that i got these 2 years ago for $70 on ebay.

if you're about to buy the creature speakers, do yourself a favor and buy these. they look way cooler because they're just a super thin panel mounted on stands, and they sound like a million bucks.