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

brendanryder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2006
654
0
Calgary
so im looking for a pair of fairly good speakers to hook up to my iMac to use in my room.
im no audiophile, and know nothing about speakers. so i was wondering what do u use/recommend? i will take all the advise i can get. ive been looking into a pair of Evolve speakers. but havent done much reserach, they just look neat:p
the speakers would be used mainly for music and videos, no editing stuff.


So..... what do u have/recommend?
 

nateco

macrumors regular
Sep 5, 2006
134
0
I spent months looking for good speakers.

Most of the ones out there are either ugly or overpriced.

I went with m-audio studio3..they're small-ish, cheap and look ok...and sound pretty good. They're not eq=ed funny and have good bass...pretty clear, don't crap out and have a even response....one of the best bang for the buck speakers going.

Got them at the local guitar store for 70 bucks.


Skip the computer designed speakers and get some cheap monitors from guitar center.

they look better in person and the risers were a nice touch....they're included.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudioPro3-main.html
 

4DThinker

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2008
2,033
2
I've got the griffin evolves, and recommend them. They'll let you position the drivers for best stereo effect. You can park most iPods on them. They come with a remote control. With a bluetooth dock adapter you can even park the base unit up to 10 meters from your iMac.
 

brendanryder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2006
654
0
Calgary
I spent months looking for good speakers.

Most of the ones out there are either ugly or overpriced.

I went with m-audio studio3..they're small-ish, cheap and look ok...and sound pretty good. They're not eq=ed funny and have good bass...pretty clear, don't crap out and have a even response....one of the best bang for the buck speakers going.

Got them at the local guitar store for 70 bucks.


Skip the computer designed speakers and get some cheap monitors from guitar center.

they look better in person and the risers were a nice touch....they're included.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudioPro3-main.html

thaks for the suggestion. i will keep those in mind if i dont have much $$$ to spend:D
I've got the griffin evolves, and recommend them. They'll let you position the drivers for best stereo effect. You can park most iPods on them. They come with a remote control. With a bluetooth dock adapter you can even park the base unit up to 10 meters from your iMac.
woa, wait. bluetooth?!?! i had no idea they had bluetooth. that might be the seller for me. hows the L and R speaker placement? thats the part that is kinda holing me back. how do u know which speaker is L and R, are they labeled? say you wanted to take the music into another room, do you have to take both speakers?
Thanks for your replies
 

cherry su

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2008
1,217
1
JBL Creature II. They cost around $50 and sound great (to my untrained ears)!
 

nateco

macrumors regular
Sep 5, 2006
134
0
here's some crappy pics of the studio3 on my desk...takin with my iphone..in really bad light.

img0037kp3.jpg


img0038sg8.jpg
 

kixsand

macrumors regular
Jan 25, 2007
191
0
Toronto
Wow. Those Acoustic Energy Speakers look amazing!

I just bought the Bose Companion 3's or I would have been all over those...better looking in my opinion and it would have been interesting to compare them on sound quality.

I'm quite happy with the Bose speakers though -- can't beat the foot print of the satellites for a cramped work space like I currently have.

darren
 

brendanryder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2006
654
0
Calgary
I highly recommend the Acoustic Energy Aego M's 2.1 setup..

their sound is really impressive for the price..

and you can get them in black or white ;)

I was uncertain when I first ordered them, but never looked back when they arrived..
wow, those are some pretty simple speakers haha. although the huge bass or w/e that big speaker is would be really annoying on my desk. and i want something that looks .....er....... 21st century...looking:p
thanks :D


I gave up and gave in to Soundsticks..
im looking into those. i love the design. hows the sound quality?
 

Xander562

macrumors 68000
Apr 2, 2006
1,625
0
I have the AudioEngine A5s paired with my Macbook Pro. They're a bit excessive and expensive but boy are they worth it. :D I've had them for a couple months now and have still not turned them up past 50%. They're a 2.0 bookshelf speaker system with the ability to expand into a 2.1 if you so choose, but the bass seems adequate enough as it is. They're solidly built and have silk dome tweeters with kevlar woofers. If you're serious about audio these are certainly worth looking at. :cool:
 

Schtumple

macrumors 601
Jun 13, 2007
4,905
131
benkadams.com
I'm sat at my girlfriends family PC (a Dell sadly...), she was given some Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II for her macbook, but it being a laptop, she never has it hooked up to the speakers, so she donated it for the family PC...

I have to say they are by far the clearest sounding speakers I've heard in a while, I'm not an audiophile, but these are pretty great.
 

Kiedoy

macrumors member
Aug 18, 2008
40
0
I use logitech z2300 on my iMac. They are AMAZING. They are dolby digital certified. These things are amazing. You can crank them all the way up and there will be NO distortion at all.
 

Trouble1

macrumors regular
Nov 18, 2007
132
21
Thailand
Good To Hear

I use logitech z2300 on my iMac. They are AMAZING. They are dolby digital certified. These things are amazing. You can crank them all the way up and there will be NO distortion at all.

I ordered a pair yesterday from NewEgg $91 shipped, they should be here by Monday.
Lookin forward to setting them up and jamming.

I've been using some cheap Dell speakers that are going to my wife to use at her desk once she buys her new MBP.

They come highly rated from cnet, Amazon and NewEgg (738 reviews with a 5 egg rating).
There are some complaints, but for the most part they jam and jamming is what I'm looking forward to doing with them.

If and when I want to play crystal clear sounding instrumental, then I use my quality in ear phones.

Anyway, once I've had a chance to run them through the music I'll post something about them for others that might be interested.
 

macsander

macrumors regular
Feb 18, 2008
219
0
I have the AudioEngine A5s paired with my Macbook Pro. They're a bit excessive and expensive but boy are they worth it. :D I've had them for a couple months now and have still not turned them up past 50%. They're a 2.0 bookshelf speaker system with the ability to expand into a 2.1 if you so choose, but the bass seems adequate enough as it is. They're solidly built and have silk dome tweeters with kevlar woofers. If you're serious about audio these are certainly worth looking at. :cool:

Yes I would deffinetly say the Audioengine A5's, if you don't believe me, check out the pro reviews on http://www.audioengineusa.com. Let me know what you choose.
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
I bought some Logitech X-240 2.1 speakers for the office and like them a lot; they only cost me about $40 on sale at Best Buy. The are small, unobtrusive, with decent sound. I have Klipsh ProMedia 2.1 speakers at home and love them too (different price category though).
 

benzslrpee

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2007
406
26
perhaps if you gave some more detailed guidelines to follow we maybe able to narrow down your choices?

what's your price ceiling? are you looking to save space or do you have ample room? what kind of music do you like?

a 5.1 system will work great for videos, giving you the surround sound experience. check out the Logitech Z 5500's, they are THX certfied, Dolby Pro Logic II, blah blah blah and they run $189 on Amazon. these babies are loud enough to ruin any relationship with the spouse/gf/neighbor :D and they sound great.

if you're looking for a 2.1 then check out Logitech, Klipsch, Harmon Kardon, Creative...again, looking on Amazon there's a lot of great deals to be had right around the $100 price point. i personally use the Soundsticks II and i find them to be of excellent performance and value, they've lasted for 2 years now without a hitch.

the above will pretty much work with most musical genres, from classical to rap, for the majority of the people out there.

however, the speakers above are a little bit "colored" in the sound they deliver. if you're looking for something with a flat response then start checking out M-Audio and Audio Engine for some basic studio monitors. just be forewarned that these are a bit bigger than regular computer speakers and are often more expensive.
 

4DThinker

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2008
2,033
2
Woa, wait. Bluetooth?!?! i had no idea they had bluetooth. That might be the seller for me. Hows the L and R speaker placement? thats the part that is kinda holding me back. How do you know which speaker is L and R, are they labeled? Say you wanted to take the music into another room, do you have to take both speakers? Thanks for your replies
You need a bluetooth dock adapter if you want to make the base wireless to your iMac. Your iMac has Bluetooth built in. You can also hook the base up directly to the iMac using a 3.5mm to L/R RCA cable.

The speakers assume Left/Right status depending on which side of the dock you set them on. The one set on he left becomes the left channel. The one set on the right becomes the right channel. The dock uses it's own form of bluetooth for a 10 meter (30ish feet) rangeto the speakers. You can take both speakers and set them however you want for stereo, or take just one. Someone else can take the second speaker somewhere else. There's a "mono" switch on the dock that sends all audio to both speakers.

Best Buy used to sell an Insignia bluetooth dock adapter, but I think they've discontinued it. You'll have to do some digging to find an adapter. If you don't need the seperation of the Evolves, but like the bluetooth wireless, you might consider this Philips dock. It's got a CD slot, bluetooth, SD card slot, USB connector, iPod Dock, Line in, and cell-phone speakerphone capability. You can find them almost everywhere. I have one, and it sounds great relative to the other docks I own. Reviewed on my blog.
 

AppliedMicro

macrumors 68020
Aug 17, 2008
2,081
2,244
I have got the SoundSticks II, too. They look nice and and provide great clear sound. I am not an audiophile, but I heard "some" difference to my previous speakers

They do have a some directional characteristic, maybe a bit more than some other speakers in the same range. There might be slightly better models if they are intended for the whole room. So make sure the SoundSticks are adjusted to point at your ears ;)

However, this really isn't meant to dissuade you from buying a pair. They sound still quite good when not perfectly adjusted, and I'd definitely recommend them for a PC.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.