What speakers will work with iMac?

[napolean hill]

Very nice setup what did you apply to the mouse and the laptop? where can i buy it?

thanks man! Its a carbon fiber skin from sticker boy on the mouse and a bodyguards skin on my macbook pro, i also have it on the top and bottom but you can see that in the pic. Keeps it from getting scratched at all.

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Nice, what mouse is that?

I have a pair of KRK Rokit RP5 G3. They're amazing.

thanks man, yea its a carbon fiber skin from sticker boy

 

[napolean hill]

thanks man! Its a carbon fiber skin from sticker boy on the mouse and a bodyguards skin on my macbook pro, i also have it on the top and bottom but you can see that in the pic. Keeps it from getting scratched at all.

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thanks man, yea its a carbon fiber skin from sticker boy

the laptop is a carbon fiber skin from bodyguards, I've got the top covered and the bottom too. I go with them for the laptop because they seem to be the only people still leaving the cutout on the top of the laptop so the logo still shows, all the other companies cover it up. But they don't have the mouse skins so i go to sticker boy for those.

 

[silvetti]

This

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harman-Kardon-Soundsticks-Channel-Multimedia/dp/B003ZXDOMA

 

[Lastmboy]

harmon kardon soundsticks 3, I've got them on my setup and for the price (around 170) they absolutely can't be beat.

They're analog, though, aren't they (not digital)?

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Audiophile = 2 channels
Home Theater = 5.1 channels

Actually, I would have normally agreed with you. However, you would not believe the difference when switching from the iMac analog output to the digital output. It was unbelievable. They sounded like a whole new set of speakers (regardless of whether you play them in 2.1 or 5.1). I never would have expected that.

 

[Lastmboy]

Your friend could also buy a USB sound card equipped with 5.1 analog outputs that would allow him to use the cheaper PC surround systems such as the Logitech Z506 that don't have a digital input.

Excellent idea! Thanks. I hadn't thought of a USB card with a 5.1 decoder, but I guess they likely exist. That would do the trick.

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harmon kardon soundsticks 3, I've got them on my setup and for the price (around 170) they absolutely can't be beat.

Dumb question, but how do you connect a 2.1 system to an iMac? From what I could tell, you either have an analog stereo out or a 5.1 digital out.

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Thanks, everyone, for all the great suggestions.

 

[iSayuSay]

Audiophile = 2 channels
Home Theater = 5.1 channels

Not really. A good AV receiver paired with a good set of speaker sounds as good as most stereo setup out there. And that's 5.1 system.

Just like iMac, AV receiver is an all in one package. Amplifier, DAC, video switcher, preamp in one compact package. You may set it to stereo 2.0, Prologic IIx or true surround when watching movies.

I personally use an old Yamaha RX V 659 paired with B&W stereo floorstanding decomissioned from home theater upgrades with my iMac. For center and surround I bought a cheap Infinity set. All connected through TOSLINK.

And boy does it sound good than any so called "multimedia speakers" wannabes out there

 

[Irishman]

ugly?! ugly according to who? YOU?

Yes, amazingly there's no industry standard for beauty.

Oh, and btw, the Audioengine A5+.

Do it. Love it. Live it.

 

[IA64]

Not really. A good AV receiver paired with a good set of speaker sounds as good as most stereo setup out there. And that's 5.1 system.

Just like iMac, AV receiver is an all in one package. Amplifier, DAC, video switcher, preamp in one compact package. You may set it to stereo 2.0, Prologic IIx or true surround when watching movies.

I personally use an old Yamaha RX V 659 paired with B&W stereo floorstanding decomissioned from home theater upgrades with my iMac. For center and surround I bought a cheap Infinity set. All connected through TOSLINK.

And boy does it sound good than any so called "multimedia speakers" wannabes out there

Well to be honest with you, I've invested a lot in Stereo systems ( more than $90k ) as my I'm an audio freak, more like an obsessed audiophile.

A $4000 speakers paired to a $2000 AV receiver will sound good, actually great for the majority of people in 2 channels or multichannel mode.

However you should listen to a pure dual monoblock amplifier paired to a nice set of stereo speakers . The difference is like day and nights.

DSP in receivers affects the sound quality a lot. The electrical measurements also show the equivalence (SNR, THD, Crosstalk, FR, etc). Even if you have a bypass, it's never gonna sound the same.

With surround, you're budget is limited, The most expensive around is probably a $6500 ( Denon 5xxx ). A pure power amplifier price ( depending on Class ) can start from $10k up to $200k and there's a reason for that.

There's still nothing like good separates, or even vintage. Ask any audiophile ot check audiokarma, avs and headfi forums

My current setup however is iMac -> Toslink > Benchmark DAC1 > Jh16's Pro custom IEM and FLAC ( mainly 44.1KHz/16bits and some 48 and 96KHz although you can rarely tell the difference between sampling rates ) Sound quality makes me forget about any AV receiver or low budget stereo system.

PS: I think we're hijacking this thread. Any objection ?

 

[iSayuSay]

Well to be honest with you, I've invested a lot in Stereo systems ( more than $90k ) as my I'm an audio freak, more like an obsessed audiophile.

A $4000 speakers paired to a $2000 AV receiver will sound good, actually great for the majority of people in 2 channels or multichannel mode.

However you should listen to a pure dual monoblock amplifier paired to a nice set of stereo speakers . The difference is like day and nights.

DSP in receivers affects the sound quality a lot. The electrical measurements also show the equivalence (SNR, THD, Crosstalk, FR, etc). Even if you have a bypass, it's never gonna sound the same.

With surround, you're budget is limited, The most expensive around is probably a $6500 ( Denon 5xxx ). A pure power amplifier price ( depending on Class ) can start from $10k up to $200k and there's a reason for that.

There's still nothing like good separates, or even vintage. Ask any audiophile ot check audiokarma, avs and headfi forums

My current setup however is iMac -> Toslink > Benchmark DAC1 > Jh16's Pro custom IEM and FLAC ( mainly 44.1KHz/16bits and some 48 and 96KHz although you can rarely tell the difference between sampling rates ) Sound quality makes me forget about any AV receiver or low budget stereo system.

PS: I think we're hijacking this thread. Any objection ?

Well in that case some high end AVR can also act as pre amp which you may connect each channel through separated monoblock power if you wish. Though I'm not that freak since there's limit and diminishing returns of how much improvement I'm going to enjoy for the extra money I spend.
Step over the line too much and I might end up being audiophool with empty wallet instead. It's your money though so whatever.

But all in all AVR hit my sweet spot. It's already sounding much better than buying a whole active speaker system (which in many cases way too expensive for the audio quality, i.e iPhone speaker docks) or some stereo. Sure it still won't be at IMAX level but I doubt any home oriented audio product could reach that either.

 

[MacOG728893]

Eventually I will purchase these. For the price they can't be beat and they look damn sexy too.

 

[orangezorki]

Wow, if there is much more of this the automated ad servers will start offering ads for people who buy kidneys!

FWIW, I don't consider myself someone who has the time or money to be an audiophile. But I do easily distinguish the difference between decent and offensive sounding kit. And that doesn't mean needing high end necessarily and I can distinguish the difference between lossy compressed and CDs on the humble six-speaker factory setup on my Suzuki Swift. It just means having a good quality source, little noise, and 'honest' enjoyable speakers. Super mega Xtreme bass tech is not the way.

Noise on integrated audio in computers is often major. Admittedly, not nearly as bad on Apple products, but still a problem. That's why I really love the B&W MM-1 speakers. USB audio, built like a brick ****house and really tiny. They also have that neutral B&W sound that seems so-so at first, then just impresses more and more as you listen to them when you can't find a fault even when you compare them with units three times the size. Can't find a better option if your desk space is limited, IMHO.

David