Harman Kardon SoundSticks II: Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System Review

Whether you are looking for a gift for your spouse, your high school student, or your college student, these quality PC speakers are a great idea. Just think how this will look in the study, bedroom, or dorm! Friends and relatives will be impressed with the simple, elegant, aesthetically pleasing design, but when they hear the sound, they'll be blown away. From the deepest base to the clearest midtones to the purest treble notes, these speakers deliver! Perfect for everyday listening, these fantastic speakers are also great for parties and for watching movies on TV or on the PC or laptop. Since they are not platform specific, you can use them on MAC as easily as you can on a PC or laptop. The glowing blue LED lights give the subwoofer a surreal dimension when the overhead lights go out. Some reviewers even mentioned the calming effect the lights had after a hard day's work.

Visualize the look on the face of your favorite person when they open this gift. Whether it is given as a Christmas, birthday, anniversary or graduation gift, it will be an appreciated and extremely welcome gift. The sound quality rivals the Bose "Sound System" for quality, and you can't get a better sounding speaker system for the money.

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These speakers produce high-quality stereo sound for Music, MP3s, movies and gaming. The sleek, clear design are right at home in the office, the living room, or the dorm. A new computer-optimized multi-band parametric equalization and Harman's unique "capacitance touch" control buttons on the right satellite allow for direct access to volume control, giving you fingertip control.

Using the mini stereo jack connection, you can enjoy fantastic audio from a number of devices such as digital music players, computers, laptops (PC and MAC), stereos and portable listening devices such as iPods. The touch volumn control not only increases or decreases the volume, it will also mute or un-mute the system.

Some customers who commented offered these PROS:

• easy to install in 5 to 10 minutes


• design works well with luminescent game cases


• reasonably priced


• excellent quality sound system


• narrow speakers with small desk footprint


• good bass for the wattage


• touch sensitive volume control


• several reviewers stated this is better than a Bose "Sound Machine"


• blue LED light in the subwoofer--also works for nightlight


• sounds like top of the line surround sound systems


• speakers have weighted rubberized bases that prevent sliding on your desk or tipping over


• bass is nice and heavy


• vocals are crystal clear


• clean, ultra-modern look


• base strong enough to annoy neighbors

Some customers who commented reported these CONS:

• a lot of cords


• subwoofer control is located on the back of the subwoofer


• fixed 3.5 line--not replaceable


• easy to inadvertently change volume when positioning right speaker


• one person reported the subwoofer dome is fragile


• no blue LED light in the speaker sticks


• LED does not react to sound


• bass not a powerful as wanted


• the top of the subwoofer is open and can get dust in it

See more customer comments at Amazon.

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Amazon Average Customer Ratings

• 70% gave 5 stars


• 19% gave 4 stars


• 6% gave 3 stars


• 2% gave 2 stars


• 3% gave 1 star

Additional Customer Ratings

• sound quality 4.5 stars


• ease of installation 5 stars


• ease of use 4.5 stars


• loudness 4.5 stars


• design quality 4.5 stars


• compactiness 4.5 stars

To see actual Amazon customer ratings, visit Amazon.

Iage courtesy of Amazon.com.