[Ged]

Can anyone recommend a decent speaker system for an iMac?

Don't really have a budget in mind and not looking for something that will dislodge the roofing tiles from the rafters but a superb (or thereabouts) quality of sound is definitely a must.

Advice/thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Ged

[richy00]

depends on the size???

bose companion 5 is a decent table top system...

if you can go bigger a decent amp and a set of nice floorstanders

[Guest]

Thats what i do, you can then use any amp and speakers of your choice.

[richy00]

Apr 29, 2009 15:16:48 GMT 1 @plurker said:

get a lead, 3.5mm jack one end, and wire the iMac in via its headphone jack, and the other end into the aux port on your amp...

he would first need an amp....

[Ged]

Apr 29, 2009 15:14:07 GMT 1 @richy00 said:

depends on the size???

bose companion 5 is a decent table top system...

if you can go bigger a decent amp and a set of nice floorstanders

Cheers guys.

Yeh, just after a desk top system. Will look into that Bose, cheers. May check B&O as well.

Any other suggestions?

[howlinjack]

get an airtunes box and connect that to any speakers/amp in the house and stream your music from your mac over the wifi. i have mine streaming to a bose system. sounds great but only works with itunes though. other than that harmon kardon sound sticks are rather meaty and look good taboot.

[Ged]

Apr 29, 2009 15:24:06 GMT 1 @plurker said:

Apr 29, 2009 15:18:47 GMT 1 @richy00 said:

he would first need an amp....

Thanks for the clarification ;D

I presume that everyone has some kind of amp/hifi that can take aux in. Unless Ged's some kind of Luddite and/or Amish which i doubt somehoe...

LMAO!!! Don't speak to soon mate ;D

[Daniel Silk]

I was thinkin about getting some speakers a few months back (cant afford it at the moment) and had a look at what they had in the Apple shop in Regents Street.

The base on this system was brilliant - Harman Kardon Soundsticks II £127.95

Not sure if you might be after something bigger

[Daniel Silk]

Sorry Howlin ;D Just saw your post ;D

[doublehelix]

Make sure you get a good quality woofer:

[howlinjack]

no probs mr silky

[FUSShop]

Apr 29, 2009 15:25:21 GMT 1 howlinjack said:

get an airtunes box and connect that to any speakers/amp in the house and stream your music from your mac over the wifi. i have mine streaming to a bose system. sounds great but only works with itunes though. other than that harmon kardon sound sticks are rather meaty and look good taboot.

You can use airtunes to play any sound from your mac now, just download Airfoil.

www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

As for speakers we have harmon kardon soundsticks and they look and sound great.

www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?Region=EUROPE&Country=GB&Language=ENG&cat=MME&prod=SOUNDSTICKSII&sType=C

[wiz]

Ive got JBL Creature on mine. Wouldnt have the Harmon Kardon soundsticks as to me they are ugly, too fussy looking and remind me of a Victorian Mantle Garniture.

[manchestermike]

I've got those soundsticky things

Like 'em

[boatboy]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the sound out of the 3.5mm speaker thing was a bit rubbish on an imac and macbook. That cant be right though, surely.

[weeble]

Soundsticks are awesome. Go for those mate.

[wiz]

Apr 29, 2009 15:44:28 GMT 1 weeble said:

Soundsticks are awesome. Go for those mate.

90 odd squids on the web at PC World , cheap .

[spirit]

If you want to step up a bit from the soundsticks, I can highly recommend the blue sky EXO 2.1 system. It's basically a smaller version of what they use in a lot of post production studios and the sound quality is superb. They go reasonably loud too. Also comes with a handy little desktop control unit that lets you control volume and sub level and gives you another headphone jack which is handy as the one on your iMac would be used up when you plugged this in...You can pick it up for about £250.

www.abluesky.com/asp/catalogue/products.asp?linkid=177&prodcode=00062

[spirit]

airtunes is great for streaming music around the house - but not so good if you want the sound to accompany what you are seeing on your mac screen - playing a game or watching a movie for example - you really want the sound to be coming from either side of the screen in that situation.

[Ruggs]

The soundsticks look cool and sound cool too!

[jellya]

Apr 29, 2009 16:31:05 GMT 1 spirit said:

If you want to step up a bit from the soundsticks, I can highly recommend the blue sky EXO 2.1 system. It's basically a smaller version of what they use in a lot of post production studios and the sound quality is superb. They go reasonably loud too. Also comes with a handy little desktop control unit that lets you control volume and sub level and gives you another headphone jack which is handy as the one on your iMac would be used up when you plugged this in...You can pick it up for about £250.

www.abluesky.com/asp/catalogue/products.asp?linkid=177&prodcode=00062

Second that. Blue Skys all the way.

[mimse]

I own the Harman Kardon 2.1 PC system that FUSSshop has shown. I assure you you aren't just paying that price for the design, the sound is fantastic. Also has top ratings at Cnet Reviews. Only requiered a AUX/mini-jack.

go for Soundsticks.

[jamieb]

can't really go wrong with the creatures, I have 2 sets and are excellent for the money. I can also second the soundsticks

www.amazon.co.uk/JBL-Creature-White-Mac-Win/dp/B0000SY4SG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1241023852&sr=1-4

[Ged]

WOW that's certainly given me something to think about. Seen those soundsticks before but thought they were more gimmicky than quality but given that a few are recommending them I'll look into them. I'm also liking the Blue Sky........yum!!!

Was looking into BeoLab 4 speakers but judging by some of the reviews and the £700 price tag I don't think I'll bother.

Will let you know how I get on, cheers

[outandabout]

2500 watt output.

[a href=""][/a]

[Ged]

Beautiful speakers but aren't they about £10k a pair or something

[outandabout]

Meridian DSP5200 are half the price and sound fantastic.

Avoid the beolab 4 desk speakers... the soundsticks mentioned above are far superior

[Ged]

Apr 29, 2009 18:53:38 GMT 1 @outandabout said:

Meridian DSP5200 are half the price and sound fantastic.

Will take a look, cheers.

Apr 29, 2009 18:53:38 GMT 1 @outandabout said:

Avoid the beolab 4 desk speakers... the soundsticks mentioned above are far superior

Yeh, that's what I read. For £700 a pop you'd want something special. Shame really as I actually rate B&O quite highly. Have had their BeoCom 4 and BeoTalk 1200 for a few years and never had a problem (apart from when I dropped one of them in a glass of wine : - beautifully designed as well.

[Ged]

Apr 29, 2009 18:53:38 GMT 1 @outandabout said:

Meridian DSP5200 are half the price and sound fantastic.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!!

[slowmo]

I use these


Depending on the size of your house, simply cut the string to length, I listen in the shower to my itunes safe in the knowledge I'll not be getting electrocuted. Sometimes I go to the local shops, I can still hear the music, just amazing!