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

JBL Creature vs. harman/kardan Sound Sticks?

K

KevRC4130

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 1, 2004
278
0
Massachusetts
So I'm in the market for some snazzy Apple-styled speakers to go with a Powerbook. The Sound Sticks retail for twice as much as the Creatures ($200 vs. $100), but I'm pretty sure the Creatures are rated as a higher wattage. On the otherhand, the Soundsticks have 4 speakers per satelite, whereas the Creatures only have 1. They are about the same in terms of looks (in my oppinion anyways), but does anybody have any experience as to which actually sounds better? The price really isn't a huge deal, because the Soundsticks only seem to go for about $25 more on Ebay. Even if anyone has any comments on either speaker, that's fine too, it doesnt have to be a comparison. One more question, I've read that the Soundsticks light up, what part is it that lights?

Thanks
 
In my experience, the subwoofer that comes with the soundsticks (while looking cool) sounds awful..really dry, ugly sound..

The creatures are not the best but I think they sounded richer than the sticks..

Just my experience..
 
Listening to the JBL Creatures right now via my new AirPort Express! :D

I have only one complaint about the Creatures. After listening to them I had to re-encode all my CDs because I realized how terrible my 128 Kbps Mp3s sounded. ;)
 
I have the Creatures on my G4 iMac and they sound pretty good. Though you may be disappointed in a large room. You will like them, though you may buy a pair of Sennheiser headphones (or others) whenever you feel like listening to something with higher quality.
 
Mac users seem to think there are only two kinds of speakers, but if you're looking for some nice speakers that have a similar look to the Pbook (at least color wise and compared to your other choices), might I reccomend the Creative I-Trigue 3500's? Cost $129.99 retail. The 3300 are also nice, and I think are $99 (but can probably be found for cheaper). www.creative.com
 
if you're looking for speakers that go with the alBook then how about these...

http://www.bose.com/controller;jsessionid=A8j5hd2GAHlruZukTEYKjNN8qKWCTzBMyfEQhX0wgjdqnx8Pqnhm!-1478999848?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=companion3_computer_index&linksource=dropdown_txt_companion3&pageName=/index_2.jsp

bose make excellent stuff so i doubt they're going to sound lousy :)

they cost a bit more than the soundsticks, but i think they look swish!!

i wish i had them so that i could tell you how wonderful they are :D
 
Very nice speakers yinyang. The Bose marketing reminds me of Apple -> I don't see any of the wires that go to the two speakers! :eek: Even the desktop picture doesn't show them! Am I missing something?

Still, if I had $250 to spend on speakers for my PBook, those might be the ones =)
 
omg, bose speakers are incredible!!!!! 1st or 2nd best prosumer speakers in the world. if you have in the money, id diffenately get the bose. you WILL love them ;)
 
Those I-Trigues are nice, but I'm not really diggin the Bose. They have them at Best Buy, and they really don't sound that good. I mean, they sound GOOD, but not how I would spend my $250....Just not THAT good. Bose seems a bit overrated in general, and way overpriced. Bose doesnt even tell you the wattage or specs of their speakers because they are so embarassing. No highs, no lows, must be Bose. Boy Our Stuff's Expensive....Also, I really dont have $250 to spend on a system. I want to spend about $50-125 tops on a new or used system, whether it be eBay or new from the store.

I do like the I-Trigues. Does anybody have any reviews of them. They're rated at 100w, which is more than twice the power of the Soundsticks and the Creatures.

How about the JBL Invader?
 
zakee00 said:
omg, bose speakers are incredible!!!!! 1st or 2nd best prosumer speakers in the world. if you have in the money, id diffenately get the bose. you WILL love them ;)
Click to expand...

I hope that wink means that you are being sarcastic. What is a "prosumer" speaker? If you are referring to professional sound engineers, I doubt you would see Bose in any of their workstations. If you are referring to high-end audio, anyone could pick out the Bose as inferior compared to even the most modestly priced bookshelf speakers.

OFFTOPIC (sort of)
If anyone has cash to burn and wants a speaker that is aesthetically matched (in my opinion) to the brushed metal motif that Apple is pushing, I would recommend Gallo speakers. You would want to invest in a small integrated amplifier if you want to use them on your computer, but I think they would make a decent desktop/bedroom stereo setup.

Anthony Gallo

B&W also makes a very nice wall-mounted flat panel speaker that also looks great.

B&W FP Series

Both of these could serve as high end computer speakers (or mid-end home speakers), but be aware that they are going to be a much larger investment than your standard sub/sat computer speakers.
 
intrepkid21 said:
In my experience, the subwoofer that comes with the soundsticks (while looking cool) sounds awful..really dry, ugly sound..

The creatures are not the best but I think they sounded richer than the sticks..

Just my experience..
Click to expand...

are you grazy..... soundsticks are amazing...so much better than creatures.... you must have funny ears.....

;)
 
I have no problem with the soundstick sattelites..but I felt the subwoofer could not handle a variety of low frequencies as easily as the woofer on the creatures. To each his own I suppose.
 
intrepkid21 said:
I have no problem with the soundstick sattelites..but I felt the subwoofer could not handle a variety of low frequencies as easily as the woofer on the creatures. To each his own I suppose.
Click to expand...

im a am musician and i find them very good.... but as you say each to his own
 
if you're more worried about sound quality than how they'll look, and portability, i'd get the griffin powerwave usb sound card/amplifier (which i'm going to do at some point), and connect two normal stereo speakers to it. i'm not a big fan of the "tiny speakers / weirdly shaped subwoofer" school of stereo equipment, they sound really unrealistic to me.
 
zakee00 said:
omg, bose speakers are incredible!!!!! 1st or 2nd best prosumer speakers in the world. if you have in the money, id diffenately get the bose. you WILL love them ;)
Click to expand...

I've owned and used bose stuff. It's all good quality, and nice design, but it comes at a price. I just bought the best pair of 2.1 speakers out there for a computer:

Klipsch Promedia 2.1 THX certified.

Go to a BestBuy, that's how I decided between the Klipsch and Bose. The Bose ones are $250, the Klipsch are $150. You be the judge, but I'll declare a mistrial if you honestly tell me that the Bose, or any other speakers, sound better than the Klipsch. they're all about quality stuff. Freakin' fantastic! :)
 
AL-FAMOUS said:
im a am musician and i find them very good.... but as you say each to his own
Click to expand...

musician here also :cool:

Recently I thought about using airtunes through my home stereo (which trumps just about any set of 2.1s you can find)

Have you considered this if you already have a decent set up?
 
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