Harman Kardon Soundsticks II - 3-Piece Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System

With the advent of the mp3 and the computer 'jukebox' media player more people now choose to use their computer to play music more than their hi-fi. With such a set up a decent sound card and speakers are essential. I shopped around reading various reviews and chose to buy the Soundticks II and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS and I simply haven't looked back. The sound I can get out of my computer is unrivalled by my £300 Sony hi-fi, the bass is clear and deep and the mid/treble oozes clarity. For a fraction over £100 these things over superb value for money. Not only do they sound quality they look the part as well, and let's face it form is equally as important as function when kitting out your 'pad'. The build quaity is superb, the wiring is neat and is shown off by the clear plastic casing. The sub is like nothing I've ever seen before, and has a single blue LED that reflects off the casing, giving an almost eerie appearance as it sits in its place below my desk. The sub may be relatively small compared to other 2.1 speaker sets out there (e.g. the creative or logitech systems) but it can surely do the business. There's also a bass level adjustment on the back of the sub. Volume is controlled via two very neat capacitance 'touch' sensors on the front of the right speaker. I read reviews from people saying that the lack of any visual indication of the volume level was annoying, but to be honest it doesn't bother me at all, if it's too quiet I turn them up, if it's too loud I turn them down. Touch both buttons at the same time mutes the sound, which is a nice touch (sorry!). So to conclude, if you're after a set of quality 2.1 speakers for your computer/iPod/mp3 player etc seriously give these some thought. I've had them now for a few months and they're one of the best purchases I've made. Just make sure you combine them with a good quality sound card, playing sound through these through the on-board sound seems like such a waste!

April 2015 update: I've had these since 2006 and have to say that I haven't heard anything better in the meantime. If anything my original review was a bit lukewarm. I'm still amazed by how good the sound is from these speakers and how stylish the Jonathan Ive design still looks. They've also been utterly reliable. Since the price doesn't seem to have gone up over the years, they're now amazing value too. These speakers get such rave reviews wherever you look that you'll expect them to be pretty amazing. In many ways they are. They look amazing, for a start, all transparent and space age, and nicely built. The satellites look particularly good, and you can angle them easily. It's odd that the little blue globules inside the satellites don't light up like the ones in the subwoofer though. The subwoofer is too good-looking to be hidden under a desk, but that's where the instructions recommend you put it. There are rather a lot of wires: one for the power cord, one to your computer, another to the satellite connector, and then cables from that to the satellites themselves. But it all worked once I plugged it in, and my immediate feeling was disappointment. I thought they sounded quite ragged. But... taking note of something I read, I let them play to themselves for a few hours. I also fiddled a lot with the volume controls (a knob on the subwoofer and a pair of annoying touch sensors on the base of one of the satellites). Turn the volume on the sub above about ten percent and you get lots of bass, but none of it very nice. The resonances drown out bits of the music and sound awful. This may vary depending on your room and particularly your floor of course. I'm used to a carefully set up, neutral-sounding hi-fi separates system. Some people suggest these speakers sound as good as a hi-fi - they don't. Nowhere near. But once I'd set the sub and satellite volumes to my liking (the sub volume way, way down) they sounded pretty good. Vocals are projected very strongly by the four drivers in the satellites, and for a lot of music this is quite a good thing. With the bass turned down, the sound is solid and focussed, and you're not too aware of the gap in the mid range. You do have to crank up the volume to get them to sound good though. At lower volumes they are quite weak. I suppose you could up the sub volume to compensate, but you really won't want to be crawling under your desk to do this all the time. The last thing to mention is that the position and angle of the satellites is annoyingly critical. Even leaning to one side in your chair spoils the effect somewhat. I'm not sure I totally recommend them, but they're not bad, and sometimes they're great. Because they're self powered, you can always take them elsewhere with your iPod so that adds versatility. Try to listen before you buy.

In spite of some reviewers suggesting that this speaker system doesn't live up to some of the more rapturous reviews, I have to add my praise for this product to that of the many owners who find these speakers to be nothing less than totally awesome. Indeed, as far as a computer sound system goes, these speakers do the business. The combined sound of the sub-woofer and desktop 'sticks' is punchy and well balanced, and I could find nothing to pick fault with here. Okay, if you're an audiophile comparing them to really high-end, hi-fi systems costing many times the price, there will doubtless be room for some valid criticisms. But even then, I'd say the Soundsticks could give a lot of more expensive speaker systems a good run for the money, and for a three-way Mac/PC solution at a very fair price for what you get, I rate these speakers as absolutely first class across the board. My only negative point is that, if anything goes wrong or comes loose inside any of the casings, it'll most likely be impossible to fix, because the transparent casings are bonded together permanently rather than screwed, making disassembly near impossible. That's a shame considering they are just so good, and if they were twice the price, I'd say give them a miss. But at just over 100 GBP, they have to be worth every penny. Pros: Great, punchy sound with superb balance and (fixed) tonal range, fantastic looks and at a fair price. Cons: Practically impossible to service if anything comes adrift inside. Hence the four, rather than five, stars from me.

Sans aucun doute le meilleur système audio pour ordinateur que j'ai eu l'occasion d'entendre. Je l'utilise depuis des années et même s'il est un peu moins rutilant qu'au départ, la qualité audio n'a jamais fait défaut et la fiabilité est à toute épreuve !

Une qualité de son surprenante pour un système plutôt destiné aux ordinateurs au départ! Le design est original, la qualité est bien là.Une fois de plus, Harman Kardon nous montre son savoir faire.

Bon produit, qui offre une qualité très pure pour certains types de musiques. Néanmoins, le plastique cristal est un peu fragile et réagit mal avec le temps, les joints se décollent vite et les câbles sont assez encombrants.

optisch top klangmässig ist für den preis nichts zu beanstanden, nicht birnen mit äpfeln vergleichen, fürs geld gibts satten sound, guten bass und fette optik schon wenn man die boxen in der hand hält und noch nicht einmal angschlossen hat fühlt man die geballte power die gleich kommen wird, lautstärke wird an einer der boxen geregelt also nicht verzweifeln wenn beim einstöpseln es zwar gut klingt aber die power fehlt ;-D, der bass lässt sich seperat am woofer regeln, die beleuchtung hätte etwas umfangreicher ausfallen können die boxen sollten nicht direkt auf einen schallen, da hier sonst die höhen zu aggressiv kommen wollte mir vorher das logitech z2300 kaufen konnte mich aber nicht überzeugen wer nicht filme sieht und nur musik und gamen möchte ist hier bestens beraten

Un produit très facile à manipuler que vous pouvez brancher sur divers support (pc, tv, ipod, iphone...) un son qui vaut le détour (Harman et Kardon oblige). En bref, je ne dirai qu'une chose : "si c'est dans votre budget n'hésitez pas"