Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

bought 24 imac, what are some good speakers?

M

mith

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 26, 2006
103
0
Montreal, Qc, Canada
ok so what would be some nice speakers to go with my new 24-inch imac core 2 duo,,speakers must be white LOL...////u know it gotta go with the style lol

any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated

money is not a big factor , i want good speakers that go nicely with the imac and sound good ofcourse ,,,but am not a millionaire either lol

so if u can all post your pics or anything u know showing me how it lookz in your setup,,,thx :D toooo happy with my imac!!
 
You can actually get the JBL Creature II speakers for 58 dollars today at the Black Friday Sale (Only on the west coast now I guess since it's 10pm). But yeah, that's a real deal (and I just ordered mine as a xmas present). Can't beat the price. Hope this helps.
 
If these are just for casual listening to music or hearing the soundtracks to your games and DVD's then I'd go for the Klipsh system.

If you want more accurate sound, then the field is wide open for
true near field monitors.

Check out the offerings from M-Audio, Yamaha, Mackie and Dynaudio at your local guitar center or favorite music store.
 
Also check out the recently introduced JBL Spot speakers. I've read the sound quality isn't quite as good as the Creature II, but they've got a really great, skinnable design. They don't seem to be widely available for purchase yet... Apple seems to be one of few places that has them in stock.
 
altec lansing fx6021's...the others that were listed are all low-end consumer toys.
 
JBL Creatures or Spots will do a very nice job. :) If you can still get your hands on some Encounters, you would love 'em. I have a pair and have never looked back to my ex-Creatures. Although, the Creatures have great sound for only $99.
 
Ladybug said:
Klipsch THX Promedia 2.1 gets my vote. Best speakers I've ever owned. Nice highs and a lot of base to boot. Sold in many places...For details & specs see the link.

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/promedia-2-1.aspx
Click to expand...
Those would get my vote too but I don't think they come in white which is a prerequisite of his.

Too bad Boston Acoustics doesn't make multimedia speakers anymore because theirs usually came in white or black. I have a great sounding 2.1 digital set that gives Klipsch a run for its money (they were half the price, $80).
 
b000ard9pg01ss400sclzzzvu7.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Z-4I...0/ref=sr_1_2/103-2024358-4215853?ie=UTF8&s=pc

saw these next to an imac in the apple store they look so good together and sound quality seemed good too there going cheap on
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
personally, i like the soundsticks because of the look, but there are definitely better ones that you could get
 
Those are very nice looking speakers, clearly well designed to look great
with Apple products.


The near fields I mentioned above range from $300.00 per pair up to $1000.00 per pair which is still considered very reasonable in entry level
near field monitors.

Now if sound is everything, that's where the near fields from Barefootsound
and ADAM make all the difference.

The BareFootSound MicroMain27 runs $6500.00 EACH

http://www.barefootsound.com/

http://www.mercenary.com/adstudmmon.html
 
the Klipsch THX Promedia 2.1 also get my vote. these are the speakers i currently use and i love them. i don't have an apple computer yet, but i plan on getting an imac by the start of the next school year, and these will be the speakers i will use. i think these run about $150 a set, although my girlfriend picked my set up for me on ebay for around $70 or so after shipping.
 
MSM Hobbes said:
So, for aobut $350 per pair, what would you recommend?
Say sound quality first, and then looks last [putting the white colour second]?
Click to expand...

Lots of musicians start off with the M-Audio BX5A's as an affordable solution for thier first pair of powered nearfield monitors, but things have changed rapidly with many other "affordable" offerings.
I'm also hearing good things about the Yamaha's, and Tannoys,and the Tascam VL-X5 but you really must hear them before you make any purchasing decision.
Dynaudio's are generally considered the best in the "affordable" range, but that's not etched in stone. The ADAM A7's seem to be getting lots of attention lately.

Nearfield monitors are meant to product a flat reference for accurate mixing.

The are not meant to color the sound or boost certain frequencies like
many of the consumer grade speaker systems.

You also need to consider room size and room accoustics.

Musiciansfriend.com has most of them listed and so does Samedaymusic.com

Don't get me wrong, the Klipsch system sounds great for the money, really
but it's not what you want for mixing.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-VLX5-BiAmped-Studio-Monitors-?sku=607982

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-HS50M-5-Powered-Studio-Monitor-Each?sku=601417

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-TRUTH-B2031A-Active-Monitors-Pair?sku=600601

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-BX5a-70-Watt-Active-Studio-Monitors?sku=603707

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tannoy-Reveal-5A-Active-Studio-Reference-Monitors-?sku=604102

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dynaudio-BM5A-Powered-Studio-Monitor?sku=605002

http://www.mercenary.com/adama7.html

Your choice not only depends on budget, but on how many hours a day you'll use them and whether or not you are using them to generate income.
 
FFTT - thanks much for the recommendations and links. Silly question, what does a person need, anything different/extra to hook these 'nearfield monitors' to an Apple? Just plug and play?

Good reviews on more here too:
http://emusician.com/speakers/

Myself, I'm not going to be generating income [ie: mixing, etc.], just a very deep strong desire to have the "best" possible sound from a computer. Main computer room size is ~15x20, with other rooms slightly larger nearby.

The Fostex PM05MKII seem to be quite a good performing:cost monitor.

From the above emusician site, there is this guide, altho' somewhat dated:
http://emusician.com/tutorials/emusic_build_personal_studio/index2.html
 
If you have anything like a Guitar Center near you with a pro sound listening
room, you can audition all the better systems side by side before you make any decision. They generally have ProTools, Cubase and Logic all set up
ready to go.

Take a reference CD or 2 with you so you can hear the difference of something you are used to hearing.

The guy that listens to nothing but metal or Hip Hop is going to have a different perspective of what sounds good compared to the composer
who wants to hear every detail of his string section and so on.

That's one of the problems reading reviews from music equipment catalogs.

I would suggest Peter Gabriel Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped DVD
if you want to check bass response, mids and highs.

The listening rooms generally have a pretty good collection too.

Active or powered monitors only need the line out from your computer's
speaker jack and that's why they've taken over where passive monitors
require amps and pre-amps.

You control the volume and output from your computer.

Active monitors have a matched built in amplifier, some with and some without volume controls. The better one's are bi-amped to produce more favorable results in highs and lows.
 
I was thinking of someday buying an iMac because it has less clutter than my Powermac. How are the built-in speakers? Does the screen shake like the old eMacs?
 
BornAgainMac said:
I was thinking of someday buying an iMac because it has less clutter than my Powermac. How are the built-in speakers? Does the screen shake like the old eMacs?
Click to expand...

Honnestly, I like the built-in speakers... :eek:

They are more powerful than the ones included in the previous (G5) iMacs, and the sound is quite fair. I find myself using them a lot when in the house, instead of plugging in the external sound system. But you need to keep the clutter under the screen away, of course. No paper piles...

Now, for better sound, you might need better speakers. And no mp3/aac anyway.

Shaky screen? Never had that on my iMacs, previous ones included. Could be a problem of the cathodic tube of the eMac, I guess. Esp. if you put the power supply or the speakers veeeery close to the screen...
 
Btw, for my external power system, I use a Logitech system, two speakers and one bass, no idea about the name. Good stuff, although I think there are always too much bass, even with the bass setting at the lowest.

And I've got a 20m audio cable running from my computer to the sound set (which is also plugged to the TV), so that ruins everything, catches all parasites, I hear a faint "mmmm" even when nothing's being played on the mac... :p
Lucky I don't catch transmissions from the baby-phones from the neighbours...

I'd like a better (digital?) connection for that length, but I haven't found a (cheap) solution yet. Airport express to expensive just for that. Not interested in :apple:TV yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back