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What do the Macrumors folk like to use to play their music loud?

I have 2 pairs of Altec Lansing and COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!

If I were you, I'd go to Altec Lansing's website and check out what they offer.
I have 2 sets of Altec Lansing speakers and... i'm just B L O W N away.

Check it out :)
 
The question is, what type of music do you like to listen to?

For what I listen to, the JBL creature speakers were not good at all.

On my PowerMac, I have a set of SoundSticks (You would need the SoundSticks II for an iPod).

What you really need to do is have a selection of assorted music you like listening to on a CD-R and go to a computer store to listem to the speakers.

For really loud, I prefer to use my main stereo which has Mirage Speakers hooked up to it.
 
I used to use a pair of Boston VRM-60's, along with the VRM-c and bravo surrounds and Klipsch KSW-12; but since heading to grad school i've been working on slimming things down.


The Logitech Z-2300 was arguably the best 2.1 system around; and I listened to nearly everything (Including the altec FX-6021 - talk about dissapointing low end). The z-2300 sub outperforms the mammoth sub in my promedia 2-400's, (model before the 4.1's). It doesn't quite outdo the KSW-12; but it really is quite amazing. Mind you, i'm not going for senseless boom boom; I like well behaved low end that extends down there for all those wonderful electronic low notes. The sats are crossoverless so they are nice and smooth. Really really amazing stuff for the around $100 I paid. (And my budget was around 300-350 - the z-2300's were that good!)


Everyone's ear differs, of course - though I don't know too many with "discerning" ears that like the MDR-v700's or the Bose triports. They aren't terrible, but they aren't what enthusiasts would call good, either. Senn HD-590's deliver low end without getting ugly, and for closed cans, check out the sony mdr-v6 (NOT v600). Or just waste days here.
 
Well, I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but I use a set of Klipsch ProMedia THX 2.1 speakers hooked up to my iMac G5 and they sound awesome. 200 watts of power, amazing sound, and they costed $140 US at NewEgg (link). A nice little extra is that they have a secondary input for stuff like iPods and such.
 
As far as audio quality of mp3/aac/m4a you probably will not notice the difference. As long as you encode at a decent bitrate you should be fine. If your iPod sounds fine to you so will this setup, just remember the louder music is played the more the limitations of the recording/encoding/equipment are shown.
 
ok, so what i like to listen to is some punk rock, rock, classical, and hard metal... lol a pretty broad spectrum! But i hate rap, and that constant 'boom boom'

Seriously.... there is much i can choose from, just from talking to you guys! Another question: do you guys recommend going to a store, and buying them there? or would you buy it off the internet? I like the store idea, because i can see the condition of the box, and hear the speakers b4 i buy them. So if you guys think otherwise discuss the pros/cons. I just got back from vacation, like 5 mins ago, so probably tommorrow i'll head on down to A&B Sound, and see what they have.

oh yes... our stereo system upstairs: Yamaha RX-595 (reciever), Mordaunt-Short bookshelf Speakers. I like the speakers, but i find they just aren't as loud, and full sounding (when turned up really high).
 
For my macs, I have pretty small speakers. I have a Logitech 2.1 system with about 70 watts. This system is great. I live in an apartment, and they fill the entire 3 bedroom apartment. I save the goods for my home theatre system. Yummy.
 
I have the Logitech Z-680 which is wonderful, IMO.
They've been replaced with the Z-5500 set. Don't know what differences there are.

I also had the Z-2300 set for a while, which was very nice. A better choice, I think, (and much, much, cheaper) if you don't want or need 5.1.
 
I think I've got a fairly unique set up. I have a Gen-Exxa CD player which has only been used to play 3 CD's in my time with it (Moby- play, Bon Jovi- crush, bloodhound gang- hooray for boobies... incidentally).
A 1970's Teleton amp. god knows the serial number. its very old but has a godly awesome sound. I would not trade this for any new amp. maybe a dual-mono... i always knew this was rare, can only find one on eBay, and Google brings up few results. All i know is it was a mid-high end Amp in the 70s, or something.
a set of Wharfedale Modus speakers, got 4 with a Sky TV package in the early 90's. not sure if my parents bought them at the same time or if they were included in the package. the other 2 are lying around the place...

and of course my iPod mini to top it all off.

but i have to be awkward and not have one of those nifty Bose docks :p

i tell thee, my uncle is a huge sound buff. Might even be buying these B&O speakers off him that were apparently voted 'worlds best' back a few years ago. £800 each. i think?! meh. £150 for both isn't too bad for some high quality speakers. :)
 
raggedjimmi said:
I think I've got a fairly unique set up. I have a Gen-Exxa CD player which has only been used to play 3 CD's in my time with it (Moby- play, Bon Jovi- crush, bloodhound gang- hooray for boobies... incidentally).
A 1970's Teleton amp. god knows the serial number. its very old but has a godly awesome sound. I would not trade this for any new amp. maybe a dual-mono... i always knew this was rare, can only find one on eBay, and Google brings up few results. All i know is it was a mid-high end Amp in the 70s, or something.
a set of Wharfedale Modus speakers, got 4 with a Sky TV package in the early 90's. not sure if my parents bought them at the same time or if they were included in the package. the other 2 are lying around the place...

and of course my iPod mini to top it all off.

but i have to be awkward and not have one of those nifty Bose docks :p

i tell thee, my uncle is a huge sound buff. Might even be buying these B&O speakers off him that were apparently voted 'worlds best' back a few years ago. £800 each. i think?! meh. £150 for both isn't too bad for some high quality speakers. :)
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lol Do you know what kind they are?
 
I have the AL FX6021's with my PowerBook and love them - 128 AAC files sure don't cut it with these though.
 
mkrishnan said:
Hehehehehehehehehehehe...no, no, my friend. No, no.

Speakers are like... hmmm...what's a good analogy? If you have a poor photograph, and you blow it up to poster size, the larger it gets, the more obvious the flaws in it will be, right? So the larger you want the copy, the better the original has to be, so you can blow it up and it will still look good. Speakers are the same way. The louder you want your music, and the more definition you have, you need a good amplifier upstream. The receiver is a very underestimated important part of a good audio setup. The amplifiers built into those computer speakers really can't compete with dedicated receivers.
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[REPLY TO ABOVE]
I hear what you're saying loud and clear, but what I could really use is a good ol' sports analogy! JK [/REPLY TO ABOVE]

I simply use harmon/kardon sound sticks /w sub. They work pretty well, quite clear and pretty good range. But I would really like to get a system and then I could use it for TV/Movies too!
 
My suggestion is to go to your friendly neighborhood high end audio store and tell them your budget and they can let you listen to their speakers. I'm in the process of doing that now, but I'm deciding whether to restore my B&O S45s or chuck them and get something new. Keep in mind that the environment in the store is much different than in your home and the equipment that they have powering the speakers is far out of the budget that you mentioned. If you are going to spend more than $100 on speakers, you should listen to them first before you buy them.
 
I have two Airport Expresses in my flat that I use with 'AirTunes'. The one in the lounge is connected to my home cinema system, which is a few years old now but i still think the sound is very good - a Sony A/V receiver-amplifier and a Mission 5.1 cinema speaker system. Then in another room i have a very old Pioneer amp and Mission bookshelf speakers. So basically i recommend getting an Airport Express. Or an even cheaper (but not wireless) solution is just to get a decent quality cable to connect your PowerBook to your existing stereo! Personally I wouldn't bother getting cheap speakers just for the PowerBook.
 
Powerbook> Airport Express > NAD 3225PE Amp > Tannoy E11 speakers

My next step is to buy a big LaCie Triple Interface hard drive, encode my CDs lossless and consign the CD cases to storage.
 
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