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Which is better: Soundsticks or Creature Speakers?

dsharits

dsharits

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 19, 2004
1,639
1
Plant City, FL
Well, my title pretty much explains it all. I am looking to buy a set of speakers for my iBook, and I would like to hear some opinions as to which ones (between the Soundstcks and the Creature Speakers) sound better, have better features, and are just plain cooler. Thanks in advance!

Daniel
 
Whilst the Sound Sticks look undeniably slick go for the Creature Speakers. They're not too bad on the looks department, you can get them for great prices, the white ones will match your ibook nicely and they will sound a lot better than the Sound Sticks without clogging up one of your USB ports. Since Sound Sticks are USB powered they will not take advantage of your soundcard for any type of audio input or output, all sound will be processed through the USB bus. Plus, with a convential headphone jack you're not limited to just hooking up your speakers to a computer.

If you're a serious audiophile I would suggest looking at the Klipsch ProMedia range as well. Not the prettiest speakers in the world but they sound great and I'm very happy with mine! :D
 
I'd definitely go with the Creatures (although the Creature I units are better than the newer Creature IIs are). From my experience, the iSub that comes with the SoundSticks is weak. The subwoofer that comes with the Creatures puts out a lot more bass. Plus funky things were always happening with the SoundSticks due to their USB connection, but I don't think the newer ones (SoundSticks II) are USB any longer though so that wouldn't be an issue anymore. The Creatures however have gone cheaper now with their "II" designation. The white ones no longer have the cool blue lights and the silver ones were replaced with an ugly flat gray color.
 
munkle said:
If you're a serious audiophile I would suggest looking at the Klipsch ProMedia range as well. Not the prettiest speakers in the world but they sound great and I'm very happy with mine! :D
Click to expand...

how would you say the klipsch compares to a pair of good quality bookshelf speakers and a decent amp?
 
altec lansing ...

the altec lansing f6021 2.1's are amazing. They sound as good as a full-on, amped up system. Apple store sells for $299 but you can find them a lot cheaper elsewhere. A stylish aluminum finish, too.
 
I have a set of the JBL Creatures, and my only complaint is that I had to re-encode my iTunes library at a high-bit rate, since the sound reproduction was so accurate that all my low bit-rate mp3/aac files sounded their quality. :p :eek:
 
i would ALWAYS say get the soundsticks2 over creatures... the sound quality is much better... and the sub isnt anywhere near as bad as alot of people think they are.... it gives amazing sound looks cool and isnt driven by the usb like the soundstick1 are...

gets my vote over the creatures everytime.... best thing to do is pop to your nearest retailer (john lewis in the uk have them both on display) and listen to them yourself... they soundsticks have the apple look to them...
 
hmm

I was almost positive the soundsticks and iSub were on firewire, but oh well. I did a side by side comparison at my Apple store, and the Soundsticks and iSub are far superior to the creature speakers. Harmon Kardon owns JBL I think, and they pump all their lower quality products through JBL i think. I'm not 100% positive on that though. Harmon Kardon definitely makes a great product.
 
I have both types on different Macs.

I find the sub on the SoundSticks 1 to be very good. I do have some issues with the USB nature of the SoundSticks, but not since I updated to 10.3.x, in 10.2 I had issues all the time.

My creature speakers are nice, but for DVD and games they do not deliver the richness.

That said, neither play all types of music well at loud volumes, especially music with high tones or lots of bass.
 
I can't speak about the creature speakers, but I have the soundsticks 1 and I really love them. No complaints at all. Look great, sound great, what more could you ask for? (I've never had any problems with sound quality at any volume... but then, I rarely really blast music.)
 
-All

Don't forget there are Soundsticks II now that have touch volume control on the right speaker and are 1/8" audio, not USB.

BTW- the iSub is adjustable, the knob is a funny little grey bobbin-looking thing and usually comes turned all the way down and is subtle as heck. Some people overlook this, and therefore don't have much bass.
 
where do you find the knob for the isub? I looked all over it and didnt find any knob to adjust the base.
 
My friend uses the Creatures with his PowerBook and they sound really amazing. I have heard the SoundSticks as well (the original ones) and they sounded okay, but I would probably vote for the Creatures based on my limited exposure. However, with new SoundSticks out now, I am not sure if they are essentially the same as their predecessor, or if they are improved. In the end, you definitely can't go wrong with the JBLs though!
 
Aragorn said:
where do you find the knob for the isub? I looked all over it and didnt find any knob to adjust the base.
Click to expand...

-Aragorn

Right on the back, just to the right of the cords.

I've had Soundsticks I's and II's and they all have had this knob there.
 
Jopling said:
I was almost positive the soundsticks and iSub were on firewire, but oh well. I did a side by side comparison at my Apple store, and the Soundsticks and iSub are far superior to the creature speakers. Harmon Kardon owns JBL I think, and they pump all their lower quality products through JBL i think. I'm not 100% positive on that though. Harmon Kardon definitely makes a great product.
Click to expand...

FYI - JBL is a pro audio line. It's got nothing to do with 'Cheaper Product'. If you go to a club, cinema or hall theres a very good chance you'll be listening to JBL. When it comes to computer audio it doesn't apply but you'd be wrong to think of JBL as low quality.

I have Soundsticks (v.1) and love the looks and sound. With 4 times as many HF drivers as the creatures they have a broader sweetspot and the bass is real (not overamped like the Kilps.) They won't give you 'teenage-car-stero bass' but that's not something people ever actually record anyway - that's a sound you make yourself with subs and a tone control.
 
I have used the creature speakers and found that the speakers that came with my dell (harmon kardon hk-206) have better sound quality as the creatures. The HKs are a 2.0 system.
 
I have soundsticks (the usb ones) and i must say they are fantastic. the subwoofer is incredible. the new ones (soundsticks2) do not use USB, they plug right into your audio jack. my only complaint is that your cant shut off the damned blue light in the subwoofer
 
patrick0brien said:
-All

Don't forget there are Soundsticks II now that have touch volume control on the right speaker and are 1/8" audio, not USB.

BTW- the iSub is adjustable, the knob is a funny little grey bobbin-looking thing and usually comes turned all the way down and is subtle as heck. Some people overlook this, and therefore don't have much bass.
Click to expand...

I had the Soundsticks and even with the bass cranked up all the way it wasn't enough. Plus they had a problem with working one minute and not the next. I'd have to restart to get them to work again. I bought the silver Creatures and have been happy with them.
 
i have the creatures and liked them a whole lot more than the soundsticks when i used to have both set up. if you want to spend the extra cash upgrade to the invaders. lot more speakers and wire, but they are awesome. for the mean time, i am waiting for these beasts to come out.

http://www.directron.com/encounter51.html

iJon
 
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