Harman Kardon SoundSticks III 2.1 Speaker System

My old Monsoon (a now-defunct company?) speakers finally gave out, so I had to replace them. This HK set was purchased to replace them on my Mac system. I had to crawl under a long table to disconnect all the Monsoon wires, amidst a jungle of other wires. Once I did that, I set up the HK speakers, but they didn't work. After three days of searching for a solution, I concluded that my problem was the Mac, not the speakers. I tried one more solution (I turned the computer around & looked at the port labels on the back). In my rush to get these up & running, I had placed the SoundSticks wire into the Monitor jack & not the Headphones jack (they're right next to each other & I didn't bother to look). If anyone out there is as dumb as me, be aware that speakers tend not to work when plugged into a Monitor jack. Once plugged into the correct jack, they now work fine! PROS: 1) Beautiful to look at (I've already had a comment to the effect of "What is it?"). 2) I like the idea of two different plug types for the left & right speakers (there can't be any mistake that way). 3) liking or disliking a speaker's sound is a personal, subjective matter, & depends on your favored type of music & your taste. So some people love a speaker's sound, & others hate the same sound. I preferred the sound of the Monsoon speakers I had (maybe I'm just used to them after all these years?). The bass from the sub-woofer is better with the HK than the Monsoon. But the treble is not as "rich" sounding (not a technical term!), according to my ears. The sound on any speakers can be adjusted & customized with an equalizer, so not a problem. I rate these HK speakers higher overall than the Monsoons, because the bass is better & the volume is much louder on these, & I don't have to approach the maximum volume setting on my Mac, like I used to on the Monsoons. CONS: 1) the set-up is fairly straight forward (as long as you know where to find your Headphone jack!), but the manual is not clearly written, & is sparse. They refer to items without a clear label or diagram, not good if you're a beginner in this area. A list of component parts with labels would be useful. Step 9 says to "adjust the volume level by touching..." What volume level? Where is this volume level? The diagram does show a finger touching a speaker, but is not large enough to see the plus & minus symbols on the right speaker ONLY. The instructions are redundant (Step 8: "Unit is on when LED is lit" is stated twice). 2) A white line on the subwoofer volume knob would be useful, to indicate where the volume is set to (there's a small gap in the knob, hard to see in dim light under a table). 3) Visual feedback in regards to setting the speaker volume would be useful (there is no feedback now, except audio, so I'm not sure if I touched the volume control on the right spot, or touched it hard enough). If a light blinked in the speaker, after a volume adjustment was made, that would be helpful. All in all, the Pros far outweigh the Cons, & compared with other higher priced speakers, these are a very good deal for the price, so I recommend them.

Let me say first that there are some very annoying problems. Regardless, I'm giving five stars because of sound quality. I really like this system, better than anything I've tried since I bought a Klipsch system years and years ago. Disclaimer. I'm a musician. I use high-end cables rather than what comes with the equipment (despite those who say it doesn't matter), I don't like Bluetooth/wireless for audio, and I'm fussy about things like sensitivity ratings. I want a speaker that has clarity and transparency and will give me accurate sound regardless of the genre, because I'll be listening to Pogorelich playing Schumann, Sturgill Simpson, Louis Armstrong, Monster Magnet, Liz Swados, audio books... in other words, a big cross section. So I really really need versatile speakers. What I do NOT need are very loud speakers. Anyone thinking of using these to cover several rooms should think again - they do distort at high levels. Here are the speakers I went through before deciding on them: -- Klipsch Pro-Media 2.1 (terrific but in my personal experience, the woofer doesn't last as long as it should, and although customer support were helpful, it was really annoying when it happened twice in the space of five years) -- Bose Companions (muddy, just like many of the reviews said) -- My old and somewhat trusty Jambox (no longer so trusty, and the new ones were awful. Should have been an indicator when they stopped production. Plus, Bluetooth horribly unstable.) -- Small JBL's (I love JBL, the first speakers I ever bought were JBL, but they don't hold a candle to these.) -- Headphones, specifically a new set of Sony MDR V6 brought to me from Japan, and a pair of Sennheiser HD 650. It gets really old listening on headphones all the time.... THE CONS: -- On/off switch doubles as woofer volume knob, and is set in an extremely annoying spot on the woofer, right next to all the other cables required. This means if you like a clean look, and have the woofer (as suggested in their literature) on the floor or a low shelf, you either turn the woofer around any time you want to use the on/off or adjust the bass, or buy a separate footswitch and plug the entire system into that. I find the placement really annoying and difficult to deal with. How hard would it have been to at least have the on/off/woofer-volume knob on the opposite side of all the other wiring? Given the futuristic look of the unit, there wouldn't seem to be a problem wiring around half the woofer and doing that. -- Woofer volume knob has no "steps" so there's no way to tell from feel or "click" sound where you've got it set. That means if you are happy with the woofer volume, then have to change it for one audio piece, the only way to get back to where you were for global settings is to mark both the knob (with silver or white) and the woofer (black or whatever) Sharpie. -- Agreed with other complaints that the volume plus-minus on the right speaker can become very annoying. It's touch sensitive, and beautiful, but again the absence of "steps" means every time you start it, you have to guestimate where your volume was. And in my set (not sure if this is true of others), every time I turn the system off, the volume reverts to almost nothing. I spent 10 minutes today unplugging and re-plugging everything because I heard no sound when I turned it on and began playing something - only to discover the volume needed to be turned "on" or adjusted upwards. -- Woofer really needs some sort of better base, or optional weight at bottom. The little legs are cute, but the whole thing is incredibly lightweight (a plus and a minus) and tips over easily. I'd love to see a "doughnut" like the ones the speakers come mounted on. -- It would be nice to have the speakers labelled L and R, or at least something in the handout that tells you so. The only reason I figured it out was because I read a review saying the volume controls were on the right. THE PROS: -- Very easy set up. Basically plug and play. I can see where it would be confusing if you'd never dealt with computer speakers before, but the "manual" had a nice diagram that should make it easy for anyone setting them up. (Except for the L/R issue.) -- Beautiful. The main speakers sit on my very small computer desktop (wood) and each takes up less room than a small external drive. -- I find the sound even, once I got the woofer where I wanted it, with no distortion or appreciable loss/gain in the midrange. I was concerned about this since several reviews mentioned it, but again, I have not found that so. -- I'm glad they're plastic and not glass. They feel reasonably durable to me, given their looks. Of course my Klipsch felt sturdier - they also weighed a ton more and were twice the price. I HAVE noticed one slightly unexpected thing, which is that most of the treble seems concentrated at the base of the desktop speakers, not in the center. When I have time I'm going to find something to raise them each about 6" and see if that makes a big difference. It could also just be the placement on my end. THE WISHLIST: -- Fix all the cons, mainly the placement of the woofer volume/on/off switch. I'd even settle for a separate on/off switch if it could be in the front, or (better still) on one of the desktop speakers. -- Lights, or at least a light, in the desktop speakers. The woofer lights up when it's on, but if it's on a shelf under your desk, as mine is, the only way to tell if the system's on or off is to pull out my chair and look. Not a big thing, but it would be nice. -- Several reviews mentioned poor responses and customer support from Harmon Kardon. I would have been much reassured if later reviews made mention of a turn around there. I'll check back in a few months from now and update if anything changes! ** A few months later: I just received a second set of these (left the first set with a friend for their use until I return). Have to return them because they keep cutting in and out, and the light that should be coming from the woofer is non-existent. Disappointing, but thanks to Amazon returns it will be pretty painless. I'm going to try another set...

The Harman Kardon Sounsticks are a top contender for best 2.1 system. I enjoyed the older model (Soundsticks II) for about 8 years and was very happy to see the product receive some minor detailing updates. Where the older Soundsticks II had clear-blue accents with simple grayish-beige wires and a blue subwoofer LED, the improved Soundsticks III use a nice clear/silver/black color scheme that is very easy on the eyes. The subwoofer now has a white (and fairly bright) LED that is always on when the speakers are on. Additionally the wiring has been improved with a clear rubbery insulation over a silvery braid. The wires look and feel high quality. A new feature is that the knob that controls the subwoofer volume is also a switch to turn the system on/off. If these speakers are in your bedroom, you will often need to turn them off because the LED is bright. Just a fair warning that this knob is physically located on the lower back side of the subwoofer and depending on your setup can be tough to access. The sound quality is excellent, and I mean excellent. These speakers are very rich and exciting in the mid-high and high spectrum. I personally really love the sound of the little line arrays. The satellites are ported to help cover the mid-range levels, however just the nature of small desktop speakers make it difficult to achieve audiophile-grade mid-range. I think the mid-range is par for the course. The sub-woofer is surprisingly tight considering the ported enclosure and definitely has good presence for being such a small driver. At regular listening levels, the sub does a fine job filling in the lows without getting sloppy. The speakers image very well and when positioned correctly are extremely transparent. If you're in the market for a 2.1 system in a box, you probably aren't looking for expensive studio monitors or going custom built with external amps. You are probably looking for a desktop speaker system to play games, watch movies/tv/youtube, or listen to music. And that's where these speakers really shine and why I would call the Soundsticks the best 2.1 system - average listening at regular volume. The fidelity is amazing across the board. You will hear effects in your songs/games that you've never realized before. For example in games, when reloading a weapon the 'click' sound that makes when the magazine slides into the gun sounds so clear, realistic, and immersive. This is not to say that these don't excel at higher volumes, the Soundsticks get loud. I've heard many Logitech systems as well as the competitive Klipsch pro media 2.1s and I keep coming back to the Soundsticks. The Klipsch Pro Medias are a tough contender as far as sound quality, however to me they just seem to lack personality. The last thing I wanted to mention is build quality, since I've had both models over the course of 10 years now. Most other plastic desktop speakers feel thin and cheap, the Soundsticks do not. The clear plastic portions are very thick and sturdy. Lastly but not least, durability. There are several images out there that show the satellites undone at the seams, with the drivers fallen off their holders and the aluminum backshells detached from the drivers. This is a very real possibility and happened to my older Soundsticks II. After a few years, the glue that holds the plastic shells together on the satellites will weaken but not fail at which point I would highly recommend getting some Loctite or other clear super glue and just run a fresh seal around the seams of the satellites. As with many aging products, the glue will fail much faster with heat. I would definitely avoid leaving these in hot temperatures (car/garage/attic storage). I could almost guarantee that those images with the speakers broken apart left them in the heat for too long.

Good: These are much nicer than a lot of speakers you can get for a computer. The sound quality is very nice. There are some catches to that though. I'll explain those in the next sections. Visibly these are something that makes you go WOW. Just completely sweet to look at. I love the detail put into how they're made. It makes it a pleasure to look at and my wife was very impressed when she saw them. Definitely hold their place among the high tech of my computer when it comes to looks. Sound quality is great. There are some things to go along with this though. They probably won't sound as great as they can until you play with your computer sound and the speakers own sound properties for a while (more details to follow). They aren't going to blow your hair back but with the right adjustments they can sound really really good. They aren't tinny sounding or small sounding like cheap speakers but they aren't a 4 foot floor speaker either. They definitely come in on the high side and the sub-woofer is capable but it is only 5". Remember that they are only computer speakers. If you want the whole package you need to look at monitor speakers or some other option that can cost a lot more than these. Bad: Not too much here other than that for the price, even at the rate I got them for, you might be able to find something else that sounds better. It also depends entirely on what you're looking for. These are small and pretty good sounding. If you want big sound get studio monitor speakers or a big system. Other: It's easy to over power the input for the speakers if you have a good sound card in your computer. The best thing to do is to put the speakers at max level with your sound card turned almost all the way down and then slowly turn your sound card up until you reach the max level you would want to hear them at that the speakers can also handle. Also make sure that you turn your EQ to a flat level when you do this. Once you reach a max level that the speakers can comfortably handle then turn your speaker volume down to reasonable level and start playing with the EQ settings. A good sound card will completely overpower these speakers ability to handle it so you need to be very careful with that. Use your EQ to balance out the mid range and use the sub-woofers level knob to balance out the bass and you should be OK from there. If you're using your on board sound card then do yourself a favor and buy a high end Soundblaster, Asus or other card. If you bought these speakers then you at least owe it to yourself to do that. By the way. If you like sound and you're using your computers built in sound card then you don't know what you're missing. It may say HD or some other term but it isn't giving you the sound you can get. If you listen to music on your computer then buy a sound card. Disable your computer's sound card in its BIOS and put a new one in and don't think twice about it. A good Soundblaster or Asus will blow your mind and you won't ever go back to the stuff you knew before. Overall: These are a good choice and at the current prices they are a pretty good alternative to a lot of the speakers out there. They are computer speakers though. They sound really good for what they are. They are not a primary source of home sound unless your home is a 300 square foot or less apartment. One other thing. The rubber bottoms of the L/R speakers are complete dust magnets. I mean COMPLETE dust magnets.

If you're looking for a small set of speakers for your desk, look no further. This set is an incredible value at under $200! I was really worried that these would be just cool looking and not necessarily up to par with sound. I was wrong. While I don't subscribe to audiophile mags and talk components, I would qualify myself as highly sensitive, prone to perfectionism, and picky. I was raised with quality equipment--my father owned MacIntosh speakers, and I have Polk speakers in my living room. The sub woofer is about as deep and thumpy as you like. An equalizer knob on the sub woofer, allows you to balance it with the speakers. The high end can be adjusted by tilting the speakers at almost any angle--the sticks are weighed by two small black doughnut shaped rings with a clamp that pivots around the doughnut. The subwoofer looks like some kind of kind of alien pod hatchery, but so far nothing has emerged but deep throbbing base. I'll go ahead and make the joke that the sticks look like two see through dildos, but are perhaps a bit on the large size, and probably not well suited for that purpose--best shop in Amazon's health department if you're looking for a sex toy. Even if your decor isn't particularly modern, which mine isn't, they look pretty inobtrusive on your desk. An amazing set of speakers for an ipod or mp3 player. I bought these to listen to music and watch movies on my desktop, although I may also use them for gaming--typically I use a headset when gaming, but the 2.1 surround may feel more immersive. Many speakers are more geared towards a certain style of music, so I tested these out with a few different songs from my collection. I first tried Erin McKeown's "Little Cowboy," featuring acoustic guitar and rich vocals. It sounded as though she was sitting next to me in the room, plucking her guitar and crooning. Next I tried out Radiohead "Lotus Flower," which boasts lots synthesized electronic percussion and keyboards, along with Thom Yorke's floaty falsetto--no distortion, with a surprising richness and depth of sound. Last, I rocked out to "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos" to hear how beautifully they would handle the piano and vocals. They did not disappoint. While I am not a classical music aficionado, I cannot imagine that these speakers would fall short. Four transducers per stick plus the small toric subwoofer, offer quite a range. They were well packaged both by Amazon and the manufacturer, and arrived quickly (just 2 days with "super saver" shipping) and in perfect shape. The pieces are heavy and solid--the acrylic or lucite is thick and durable, and well polished, I expect it to last, although +dust to be its largest enemy--the toric subwoofer has a hole in the top, funneling down to the woofer, which just begs for dust to settle in, especially under a desk. Four screws in the footed base appear to allow fairly easy access to the inside for cleaning, however. The speakers are wired to the subwoofer with thick cables, and they are not particularly long--they're meant to fit on a desk. All the cables are easy to attach. I had the unit set up within 5 minutes. To connect to the audio device, a 4-5 inch cable emerges from the subwoofer which is attached to a 2.5 mm female plug. They include a 3.5 mm male to 3.5mm male stereo cable which is about 5 ft long. They also include a 3.5 mm stereo female plug split to 2 RCA female plugs, so if you need something different, you may wish to order it. My ONLY complaint about this item is the volume adjust--two little touch pads at the base of one of the sticks, which respond a little too slowly to touch. It may be a matter of getting used to. As other reviewers have said, a small remote or a knob would be easier to use. I'd suggest setting the volume to a nice level and then use your audio device to adjust. An obvious improvement would be to make it wireless, although I intend to purchase a conversion kit. Wall mounts might also be a nice plus, although two small shelves would remedy that issue. Find a place for the subwoofer under your desk but keep it in sight--you don't want any of those space aliens escaping without your notice ;)

I've got to admit, this Harman Kardon Soundsticks Speaker System for computers and 2.1 Channel Multimedia Systems, has left me dumbstruck!! Fortunately, it is for all the RIGHT REASONS, as with this Speaker System, Harman Kardon has literally broken the mold, and then some, and produced this astonishing Speaker System that WOWS! the eyes, ( and they seriously DO! ) and then comes right back at you with a System that perceptually, Rocks your socks off!! It is an unbeatable combination, and my advisement to you is, if they have these in stock ANYWHERE, or you can backorder them, then DO IT AS FAST AS YOU CAN!! The System is unbelievably powerful, and does for my computer, what my Bose Audio system has done for years for my main A/V media needs. And I do mean thy ARE just that good!! No doubt about it!! In fact, my Bose system may go on a bit of a "sound hiatus" for at least THIS Christmas Season ( 2012 ) and I'm just going to listen to this system instead. Also NOT joking!!! They are exquisite to look at, and if that was all that mattered, then they would fairly easily trump ANYTHING in the 2.1 Channel Speaker arena, and very handily. But the point is this: Are they any good in performance? After all, they ARE a Speaker System, not just "eye candy", a designer mentality speaker system with no performance behind them. And that answer is a VERY TRIUMPHANT: YES!!!!!! In fact, they so out-perform ANYTHING in the 2.1 Channel surround area, that not even Bose's own best can beat them!! It's a perfect union of elegant beauty, and a grab you by your......... and Rock You Until You're Senseless, performance-level, that it will leave you with your jaw-dropping, and dropping hard at that! It's not at all difficult to set it up, and Harman Kardon makes it so easy to just follow those simple instructions. The only thing that may take you some time is just how much "tweaking" you are going to maybe want to do with it, and for your personal tastes, you should take your time, and do it. Because this system gives you ample space to do it in. Everything is clear, and clean as a bell, I heard things on my Premium Pandora, and Spotify, in songs that I thought I knew, but just never really heard them before. It's ALL there, clean, crisp, and powerful. I'll admit it, I am Seriously Addicted already to them, and I have a new-found desire to get on the computer just so I can hear these babies work! The Sub -woofer is now taking up the tower area of my computer desk, ( it is fairly large, for this size system ) but since I have a 17.3 Laptop/Desktop Replacement Computer anyway, the situation with my work station that I was using it for more was for more books, and storage area anyway, so no biggie. It certainly was worth giving the subby the space it needed to perform even better. I may be getting some other Christmas presents this Season, but THIS one will be pretty hard to top, I must say. I did want to tack on that I do have a Beats Audio System built-into my computer, so I can also "tweak it with the graphic equalizer" from within as well, and I'm sure that doesn't hurt it any sound-wise either. But even if you don't have Beats onboard your computer, I don't think that it will make that much difference. It IS the auditory Bomb, and gorgeous to boot! Once again, Harman Hardon comes out of the blocks, and winds up a winner. Like I said, RUN, DON'T WALK, to get this System!! You won't be sorry that you did! LynnLuv59

The common in reviews are the design and quality (in sound and manufacture). They're not wrong. First, the quality of the speakers and the accessories are excellent, you can see it in the pictures I uploaded. But the most important thing when you buy speakers is the sound quality. As in the title of the review, I tell you that you don't need to be an audiophile to realize that this are excellent speakers. I don't know if mines are a newer model, because the base of the satellite speakers is not like in the product's pictures, and because of that I think they're great. Some people said that the satellite speakers are only tweeters and subwoofer, so the sound is high and low with no middle frequencies. So, how is possible that in the specification sheet Harman Kardon shows 44Hz-20kHz frequency response? Are they lying? I don't know if I am not an audiophile, expert or musician, but I own Yamaha, Pinnacle, Harman Kardon, JBL and Polk Audio products, and for sure this set of 2.1 computer speakers are much better than the "average", as a musician reviewer said. What are average speakers? Don't know, if you are talking in price range, sound quality or another specifications. However, is known that the powerful bass effect of the Bose speakers only makes that: an effect; and the music is not as clear as supposed to be. This speakers makes the music clear and vivid. Some other customers refers that the sound is not as good as they wish, and that is what happens to my brother that own the same product. I tell him that try with different positions of the satellite speakers/subwoofer, and now he is happy with the sound. Every space has a different acoustic because of the materials, height, area, etc, so maybe for some people the subwoofer sounds better under the desk or maybe on it, or even on the top of something else. The pros: Excellent sound. Nice design (that's why they're in a museum). Versatility (they come with the cables needed to be plugged to any RCA-stereo or 3.5 mm device, like dvd players, game consoles, iPods or cell phones). You can adjust the subwoofer level, satellite speakers inclination and volume level easily. The cons: The rubber bases of the satellite speakers are like a trap of dust, so you need to clean them frequently. You can adjust the volume easily with the sensitive touch buttons on one of the satellite speakers, and mute it by touching both buttons at same time, but you don't know how high or low are they (for me is not a real problem but for people that need visual indicators should be). The price? No, this is not a problem, they sound better than Bose which are more expensive, and you can find the Harman Kardon speakers usually with promos in a good price, around $115-135. Because the sound in some way is not objective, the common customers (even when they could be audiophiles) have the better opinion, because sometimes a graphic of frequencies that you cannot even hear or compare this kind of products with professional equipment doesn't tell much to the people that is searching for information that can help them to make decisions. My recommendation: try them, you will not be disappointed.

I have given this a review when I first purchased it 2 years ago. I am now updating the review on this sound system. I don't want to give this a 1 star, but after contacting Amazon and review on how HK will not help you with this issue, I will do my update review. When I first purchased this sound system, it worked flawlessly. It sounded great and I had no complaints. 2 years later, it stops working. I would've imagined that this would last longer than 2 years. Now, after much research, if the system goes bad, they won't offer a repair or replacement on the system. Best they can do is give you 20% off a new purchase. Now, why the hell would I buy another system just to last me another 2 years then break again? and 20% at that? Apparently HK does not stand behind their product. They probably make 80% on this sale and they won't even back their customers with any future issues. I am staying away from this company and will not purchase from them again. Unless they correct this wrong, I will not be a return customer. I own their bluetooth portable speaker as well. I really hope that doesn't crap out on me as well or I guess I'll be straight out of luck. I'll update this review if anyone from HK reaches out to me about helping me with this issue. I initially compared this with a BOSE system, now I regret not keeping the old BOSE speaker which I am sure it would still be working to this day.