Sound quality matches the style! (Harman/Kardon SoundSticks II)

Member Name: sam_mule2k

Product:	Harman/Kardon SoundSticks II
Date:	18/01/06 (1327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sound and look superb

Disadvantages: I wish i could show them off more !

---Brief---

I bought these speakers to replace an old aiwa 2.1 system for my computer. The speakers looked the part and i wanted to buy something that could equal the sound of my hifi system. The reason for this being that i now store the majority of my music on my computer and rarely use my hifi system. Sorting through albums and songs on something such as media player, is far easier than sorting through a big pile of cd's and ending up in a mess!

---Sound---

The speakers are strongly built and very soild. They sounded a little stiff brand new, but from experience with other speakers i expected that. I ran them at low volume for few hours to break them in. This is suggested by many speaker firms to prevent damage to new speakers. I put the satellite speakers on the table top, about 2 feet from each other, and the sub under the table. The two satellite speakers are heavy in weight for their size and give remarkable definition and with the bass boost twist at the back of the sub, you'll be amazed how easy the balanced tone can be adjusted. The speakers are great at high volumes. I am yet to turn them up fully! They also sound very soild even at low volume. I would almost say the sound is crisper and clearer than my £250 sony hifi.

---Appearance---

These speakers look the business! Harman Kardon share designs with Apple computers and this is shown. The satellite speakers are set in a clear casing which shows off the wiring superbly. The satellites are made up of 4 dome tweeters and have a heavy blue rubber stand. The sub is the centre piece. I am dissapointed that i do not have room for this on my desk as it looks so good! Almost like a jelly fish the sub is set in a clear casing with a blue LED that reflects off the casing, giving an almost eerie appearance. They are the future! The satellites and sub are relatively small in comparison to other speakers of the same size and quality. My brother has a 2.1 creative setup that cost around the same amount and the sub is twice the size of this however the performance is no better.

--Cons---

I'd be happier if the bass adjust knob was placed at the front of the sub rather than the back, so i can hear the difference in tone whilst i am adjusting. You can imagen how difficult this is when i am adjusting the bass level underneath my desk! The speakers also don't have any kind of indication on peak or threshold volume-wise, the touch volume control is good to use, but very often i am worrying whether i am asking too much of the speakers. This was mostly a concern to me when the speakers were new however.

---Overall---

I would recommend this system to anyone looking for a mid priced speaker set for either their comuter or ipod. The Soundsticks sound superb, and combined with artistic design make an awesome speaker set up. Thumbs up to harmon kardon!

Summary: Great looks and the sounds quality is superb

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