$169.00 at  
JR.com  
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Harman Kardon Soundsticks III Satellite Speakers & Subwoofer System

$169.00 at  
Buy.com  
Buy it Now

Harman Kardon SoundSticks III Self-Powered Satellite Speakers and Subwoofer System

$169.00 at  
BHPhotoVideo.com  
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Soundsticks III 2.1 Channel Multimedia Sound System, Stunning, Modern Industrial Design, Superb Full-Range, Room-Filling Sound, Connects to Many Media Devices, Controls for Bass, System Volume, Muting

I had never spent more than a hundred dollars on computer speakers before, but I'm glad I finally did. These are the best speakers I've ever had connected to a computer...clear vivid sound, great bass, plenty of volume, and they sound darn good at lower volumes, too. The power switch is a little awkward because it's situated on the subwoofer, but the volume switch is pretty conveniently located at the base of one of the satellite speakers. Two reasons I didn't give it five stars: first, the cables are hard-wired to the speakers, so if you run into trouble with them or the connectors, it'll be big trouble. Second, the instructions fail to note which of the satellite speakers is which, in terms of left and right channels (a small thing, yes, but annoying).<br ><br >Overall, though, I recommend these very highly.

These speakers have great sound and eye-catching appearance. Yes, the volume and on/off control is place in an awkward location on the back on the subwoofer, as other reviews note. That would be the only slight drawback to this set. The sound, crisp highs and hearty bass response, outweighs that design slip. <br ><br >This set replaced a aged, almost 10yr old surround system from altec lansing that had 5 speakers w/ subwoofer. The Soundsticks set compares very well and sound just as good if not better. One should definitely place the sub under desk and on the floor. When you move a few feet from your computer the sound just gets better. My music library sounds brand new again !!

I rarely review things that I buy, but these Sound Sticks are definitely worth buying. Sound quality is exceptional, with great separation and a very &quot;crisp&quot; performance. Highs are bright and crystal clear, lows are punchy and never &quot;muddy&quot;. Pictures do not do justice to the quality of craftsmanship. The desktop speakers are mounted on a very heavy base stand that doesn't occupy much of the desktop. <br >I was shopping specifically for a 2.1 system- mostly because I don't want wires everywhere, and also because I think the 2.1 systems just sound good for general listening. I considered the Bose Companion 3 and 5 series, which were also very good (but fall short of &quot;great&quot;). Although the virtual surround on the 5's is a cool &quot;gee-whiz&quot; trick, they were not as precise or &quot;musical&quot; (not accurately reproducing musical sounds). For example, if you were to listen to music on the Bose system it will be &quot;Immersive&quot; but lacks the clarity and definition of the SoundSticks. I thought the compaion 3s were a decent set of no-frills speakers with above-average sound quality, but I opted for the HK SoundSticks. <br >I have been very happy with my decision, and highly recommend them if you're in the market for a 2.1 system.

I am very happy with my recent purchase of this new Harman Kardon SoundSticks III speaker set. They originally stood out to me from other small-to-medium sized room desktop speaker sets for computer and audio-video entertainment use because of their unmistakably unique, glass, creative, desirable design that I believe are interesting, yet neutral enough in appearance, to compliment any room's surrounding decor.I was very impressed when, as soon as I set up this speaker set, and turned on a movie with full-range theme music, it was clear that this speaker set provides more than great looks! The combination of the 2 sound sticks with the subwoofer creates a rich, emotionally satisfying sound that extends substantially beyond the scope of most desktop-sized speakers.I also have a $500 pair of currently-sold Bowers &amp; Wilkins MM-1 Speakers which I consider to fall within the same general category of &quot;desktop sized speakers&quot;, usable with a computer, and for audio-video entertainment (e.g.s. movies, TV shows) and for Music CD listening in a small-to-medium sized room.At [$], these Harman Kardon Sounsticks III Speakers not only are far more unique and aesthetically desirable/memorable than the comparatively very conventional appearance of the Bowers &amp; Wilkins MM-1 Speaker Set, but I would say that their sound quality is 80%-to-85% as good as the also-currently-sold $500 Bowers &amp; Wilkins MM-1 Speakers, while costing about 36% the price of this Bowers &amp; Wilkins MM-1 Speaker Set.The 2 Downsides that I've found with the Harman Kardon SoundSticks III Speaker Set are: (1) It is a 3 component, rather than say the Bowers &amp; Wilkins MM-1 Speakers 2 Component, Speaker Set, yet capable of providing full sound for a small-to-medium sized room (which presumably has limited extra space for components).Therefore, the requirement that an (albeit unusually aesthetically pleasing) rather large, and I believe somewhat fragile, glass subwoofer globe be included and placed somewhere near possibly many other components, makes this overall speaker system somewhat more space-requiring and cumbersome to work with and easily move around than a 2 Component Speaker Set (with the subwoofer built in). And without this Subwoofer Component attached and on, the 2 sound sticks played without it (which comprise the remainder of this 3 component speaker set) do not produce a full, rich, deep sound with sufficient bass and, when appropriate, real emotion-evoking, satisfying, low, thundering bass-range sounds. (Nor do I believe that Harman Kardon intends these 2 sound sticks to be used without their accompanying included subwoofer component.)(2) The Harman Kardon SoundSticks III Speaker Set does not come with, nor is there available even as a separately purchased accessory, a Remote Control. This absence of a Remote Control can be inconvenient in foreseeable circumstances in which a buyer of them is able to turn off remotely all attached components to these speakers (say, from bed before a buyer want to go to sleep after watching a movie or a TV show facilitated by this speaker set). Because I believe that many brands and models of speaker sets in this general desktop category do include (or at least offer as a separately purchasable accessory at modest additional cost) a Remote Control (which I can't imagine would be a major technological challenge or manufacturing cost in this technologically sophisticated day and age to add to this speaker set), I would number the lack of a Remote Control as one of the few distinct negatives that I think this speaker set possesses.But overall, I believe that the Harman Kardon SoundSticks III Speaker Set is an excellent value for their price and, frankly, is an unusually fun electronic product to own, due to their strikingly creative and appealing aesthetics along with their excellent sound quality.Given all that this speaker set offers, I would not have been surprised (or thought that it was disproportionately expensive relative to competing desktop speaker set brands and models) if the Harman Kardon SoundStick III Speaker Set cost $100 to $150 more than they do. In all, I think that most people who purchase this Speaker Set will be very happy with their sound, aesthetics, and the quite reasonable price that they paid for all that this unusual Speaker Set will offer them!

I've tried some of the Logitec systems, M-Audio 40's, and the JBL Creature systems, and this is by far the best in my opinion. I've also demo'ed the $200-300 Bose offerings and was not impressed.

Okay, some background first. Back in Oct 2010 - I bought the Creative Labs Gigaworks T20 speakers from Best Buy as well. The CL GW's are good, and I still have them and I will continue to use them, but I wanted a speaker system that had better highs, stronger bass as well as that could handle higher levels of volume without the sound quality getting distorted, and also had good sound quality and clarity.

good value for money. excellent, beautiful and clear sound. good bass midrange and highs -these are loud and clear unless you are trying to fill a really large room.