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faithfulFrank

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 31, 2003
114
25
Central Florida
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

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
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

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2003
283
0
Connecticut, USA
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

macrumors regular
Jun 28, 2003
223
0
Bloomington, MN
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

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2003
694
0
Louisville
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

macrumors 6502
Dec 16, 2002
382
101
Washington, DC.
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

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
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

macrumors newbie
Jan 1, 2003
24
0
Creature Speakers are sweetness.

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

macrumors newbie
Apr 10, 2003
22
0
Creatures

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

macrumors 68040
Nov 17, 2003
3,951
190
Madison
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?
 

KBFinFan

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2003
283
0
Connecticut, USA
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..
 

hulugu

macrumors 68000
Aug 13, 2003
1,834
16,455
quae tangit perit Trump
JBL Speakers

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

macrumors regular
Nov 17, 2002
165
22
London, England
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

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2002
802
0
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

macrumors G3
Aug 20, 2003
8,195
0
sitting on your shoulder
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
 

redAPPLE

macrumors 68030
May 7, 2002
2,675
5
2 Much Infinite Loops
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

macrumors regular
Dec 10, 2003
192
0
LSU - Baton Rouge
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

macrumors regular
Dec 10, 2003
192
0
LSU - Baton Rouge
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.
 
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