18 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
A Vocal Jellyfish
Date of Review: May 21, 2008
The Bottom Line: Where sound and sight meets.
After owning (and still using) 2 pairs of
Klipsch Promedia 2.1s for almost 3 years, I wanted to see if there are any speakers out there that might rival the old Klipschs. Surprisingly, the Promedia 2.1s are still being sold at Best Buy, still at $160!
Next to the Klipschs are two budget oriented speakers which I've also decided to check out. They are not in the same league as the Klipschs, but
one of them did sound pretty good for the price. Of course, the
other one needs be priced more than half what they are asking for before I can even recommend them. Hell, they should just give them away just for you walking in the door.
Then there is the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks II 2.1 desktop speakers. For 170 bucks, I am expecting something that sounds and performs in the same area as the Klipschs, if not rival it.
The Harmon Kardon SoundSticks II On the placard, Best Buy claims that the H/K SoundSticks can do 40W RMS total. This means that 20W is dedicated to the subwoofer, while each of the stereo speakers get 10W each.
These speakers simply put...looks great! The jellyfish shape for the subwoofer is unique, and the clear plastic allow techies to enjoy the look of a bare driver and careful wiring. The ported hole is vented at the top, while the large heavy duty driver is pointed downwards. There is a bass volume knob on subwoofer itself. The driver is about 5" in diameter, which is a pretty good size for a desktop-oriented subwoofer.
The stereo speakers consist of four small 1" drivers on each tower (or as Harmon would want you to call them - sticks). The volume controls are not buttons, but touch sensitive metal pads. There is a ported hole in between these two buttons. To turn off the unit, you have to touch the two volume buttons simultaneously. There is no separate power button. There is also no indicator lights - a first for electronics these days. Each 'stick" is also clear, and H/K did an excellent job wiring each of the four drivers within each stick. They are wired in series and have a small purple pearl where the wires make contact with the driver's terminals. Each of the sticks have a small ported hole. As stated, the right side have volume buttons around the port.
The sticks sit on their own rubberized and weighted base. This make the hollow-looking sticks feel much more substantial. It gives the speakers a quality feel. Standard RCA jacks go into subwoofer from each of the stereo speakers. This means that if you have other unpowered speakers that uses these connectors, you can replace those sticks! Or vice versa!
Being completely clear also means that Harmon Kardon also had to be extra careful in how they make form and function co-exist. They did a pretty good job, in my opinion.
Sound Quality The stereo sticks, each with only four 1" drivers, sound clear and seem to
represent most of the highs and mids accurately all by themselves without the help of the subwoofer. I love it! Who needs bass? Pianos and guitars get their subtle twang, and vocals seem to have a strong presence. This is surprising for drivers that are about the size of tweeters. The only explanation I could think of is that perhaps the clear plastic casing with a ported hole seem to reverberate to reproduce the middle frequencies.
Of course, in reality, we still need our heavy thumping bass! The jellyfish subwoofer sounds tight and accurate. It doesn't sound flabby in punchy drum hits. However, there really isn't a need to pump up bass excessively, as stereo speakers do a good job of representing almost all but the lowest of frequencies. Turning it up does allow for the feel of bass when gaming, but lowering it should produce that right amount for a near flat frequency response.
The entire set doesn't seem to flinch at higher volumes, which is an excellent attribute to have. There is no distortion that I can detect at the upper range of the volume spectrum. That said, it doesn't get as loud as the Klipsch Promedia 2.1s, however.
The Upshot While priced $10 higher than the Klipsch Promedia 2.1s, the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks II do indeed sound very impressive. While it surprised me with the sound quality, comparing it to the Klipsch set seem to highlight a bit less clarity in the mids and highs. Apparently, it's not bad enough to stand out, so I must say that H/K did a good job with this set of speakers. It sounds good enough for most disconcerning ears and the looks should satisfy if your eyes are just as picky.
The only negatives I can find with the SoundSticks is that there is a lack of an auxiliary line-in jack as well as a jack for headphones. The Harmon Kardon SoundSticks II just seem to like to play alone with just one audio source.
