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.

Ok firstly I'm writing this from an angle of somebody who has used very expensive home cinemna equipment in the past... looks & build quality Going by out of the package looks, totally sexy weighty speakers with the most delicate touches with the best ever volume control buttons very sensitive but compliment the speakers & small enbough no to be noticed but practical in the same breath, lean them back & toe them in slightly & they do look very good indeed, the sub is the most awe inspiring item I've ever seen with a subtle blue glow coming from the back portion of it all the cables & connections tidy around the back. Overall attention to detail is what I would expect from a top AV manufacturersuch as HK...overall build & design quality 5 out of 5 Sound quality In this section, I'll be covering sound imaging & reproduction, with 4 tweeters in each speakers you get great imaging & depth of soundfield something lacking in the vast majority of pc related speakers remember you can altering imagining & depth of field by toe'ing in the speakers so they angle in slightly, by placing the sub by a solid wall you will re'inforce the bass making it slight more solid sound & not so booming... With pop & rock they are nice & bouncy with plenty of speed & great imaging with games the added sense of depth & level of detail picks up the most intricate sounds you can imagine... With movies the soundstage is alive with effect bouncing left to right & the sub growling away when it needs to ... Remember though these speakjers will be only as good as the source that they are getting the sound from, I'm running these with a onboard soundcard on my media centre pc, I'll be getting a THX based sound shortly & will write a addtional review when thats arrived .... Dont worry about spending your money these are worth every penny ...My only gripe is I wish they would make them bigger as it could rival the Blueroom hi fi speakers with a little tweaking here & there ...overall SPANKING !!!

this product turned out to be worse than expected for me. i would say it is more style than substance really . i was very unhappy due to the sound quality. i read the reviews before buying this product but i must say it was a mistake to buy it. what a shame to a good brand name.

Ok. I've just purchased a new PC with a top of the range Creative labs sound card, the next order of business was a good pair of PC speakers. Having read the rave reviews on this site & others, I decided to go for the Soundsticks II. Well, the build quality is excellent, both the satellites & the bass unit have a really solid, quality feel about them & it looks great too. Setup is easy, just take a moment to examine the connections, they look a bit like an S-Video connection and if you're not careful it is possible to break the small pins inside. The only drawback is the sound quality. Perhaps I'm being over critical as I normally listen to music with Shure E5C headphones but still, in my humble opinion, these speakers just don't sound that good with music. You should take some time to play around with the positioning of the sat's, this did help to some extent. Games are a different matter, the sub is great with shoot-em' up's and everything else I've tried so far. Finally I would say, if you frequently listen to music through your PC & you want excellent sound quality, don't go for these. They are excellent on gaming, build quality & looks.

Had to retuen this as the twiter cover fell out in just 3months. The sound quality is good, and funky blue lights, but needs extra care.

Well, how would I describe this Speaker Set? Bass smooth like Butter? Clarity that would even make a Diamond blush? If any Ship would be as well Balanced as these, Seasickness would be History? As Beautiful as...well nothing compareable here! For this Price Range, these Speakers are astonishing. Obviously these Speakers work with any PC, or Laptop, but they do fit well to good looking iMacs, or Macbooks, Mac Users might have a slight grin covering their Face, seeing the touch sensitive Volume Buttons on the right Speaker. The Design is not to only make them look really nice, no, they do have Purpose. The long Speaker "Sticks", have 4 Speaker Units on each Site, making sure, the High tones will definitely reach your Ears, no matter where and how you sit. As addition to that, the bottom Stand, which is a metal Ring covered by blueish see through rubber, make it possible to arrange the angle, to vaporize any doubt, that the Positioning won't ruin the best Sound performance, of this Set (the Speakers could be anywhere, pointed towards a Wall and still Sound good, but good Positioning gives the Edge). All Subwoofers usually have an Air-hole for resonance, making the Bass breath and unfold the Sound. Like the exhaust Pipe of a Car. And definitely increases Lifetime of the actual Unit. Well with this Speaker System, even the Speaker Units have an hole on the Bottom, which not only enhances Sound and increases Lifetime, no, those holes are the Reason, that these Speakers can get pretty Loud, yes, well Loud, WITHOUT any buzzing, or cracking in the Sound. It's actually hardly possible, to make the Speakers, or the Subwoofer buzz, or crack. As I like to take things over the Top and test out Limits, I did manage to make the Sub buzz, BUT let me tell you, it wasn't easy at all, any other Speaker Set would have kneeled down way before these did and showed me, how good this Set really is. You can literally turn up the Volume on your PC and the System itself and blast it on full Volume, while sipping on your Five o'clock Tea. I already mentioned the touch Sensitive Volume buttons on the right Speaker, if you Touch both at same time, you will Mute them and easily activate again, by touching either of them. Very Handy, to quickly adjust the Volume and not having to crawl under the Desk to turn the Volume Knob. I appreciate it more and more, they surprise always again with each new Song I discover.