View the image gallery

Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

By Tim Gideon, CNET.com on 18 February 2005

The Harman Kardon SoundSticks II match performance with attractive visual design, a combination that always makes our hearts beat a little faster. They're nearly perfect, save for a few design flaws.

4.8
  • Good: Ultraclear sound quality • Unique design • Platform-neutral minijack connector
  • Bad: No headphone jack • No visual indicator of volume level
  • Specs: Speaker system • See more specifications
  • RRP: AU$300.00
Updating the unique, 2000-issue Apple-only SoundSticks, Harman Kardon has given the 2.1-channel SoundSticks II an equally aesthetically pleasing design. But in a diplomatic move, Harman Kardon bridges the platform gap, allowing anyone with a 1/8-inch minijack input to take advantage of the SoundSticks II and their fantastic output. The transparent, 10-watt speakers, each equipped with four 1-inch drivers, rest on sturdy, adjustable bases. Accompanying the speakers, the 20-watt subwoofer features a blue internal power indicator and a bubblelike contour, creating an appearance that's more like that of an exotic jellyfish than an audio component.

If you believe their technical specifications, the Harman Kardon SoundSticks II speakers don't look as good on paper as similar systems such as the Creative I-Trigue L3450s. With a rated frequency-response range of 44Hz to 20KHz, the SoundSticks II should strike out compared to the I-Trigue 3450s and their allegedly wider-range 30Hz low end. But that's not what we heard. On Spoon's "Everything Hits at Once" (an MP3), the drums and the bass sounded glorious. A round low end accompanied the crisp definition in the low mids and high mids to deliver some of the best sound we've heard through a 2.1 computer setup. Occasionally, the overall mix sounded a bit too bright and the vocals a bit too sibilant, but it is always better to err on the side of clarity, and you certainly can't describe the SoundSticks II's output as muddy.

The SoundSticks II speakers were similarly successful when we tested them on the Spider-Man DVD's scene 18. Although the low-end rumble during the scene's main explosion could have been more powerful, the subwoofer sounded fantastic on the Green Goblin's punches, plus the dialogue was clear, and we heard absolutely no distortion at the maximum volume level. As for gaming, when we tested the speakers on Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, the story was the same: overall, excellent definition but occasionally lacking in the heavy low-end rumble that many would expect from a subwoofer.

Although we were impressed as much by their audio quality as we were by their design, we do have some usability gripes with the SoundSticks II -- minor complaints normally, but they are amplified by the AU$300 price tag. The SoundSticks II feature two "capacitance touch" volume control buttons on the right satellite -- interesting, but hardly any easier than turning a knob, and the absence of a visual display for the volume level -- easily provided by a knob -- is slightly annoying. And those who like to rock out in the office will also be disappointed by the lack of a headphone jack.

If you can overlook a few missing details, you should find the Harman Kardon SoundSticks II speakers attractive, versatile and accurate. Prepare to pay a bit more than you normally would for a 2.1 set, but the audio quality is definitely worth the price.

Topics: harman, soundsticks, kardon, speaker, low end, subwoofer, heard, rumble, jedi, knob

Related Articles

Other Conexus products

Comments (13)

  • c-dog gave a review on 21/06/2009 02:44 Report abuse

    when i first got them, i thought the design was very interesting and futuristic like. i agree that if you want to use them with earphones might as well plug them directly into your player instead of the speakers. before i stop listening to something i turn it down to a level that won't scare the crap out of me when i plug them in again. the sound quality is amazing! i enjoyed them with music, movies and learning programs. i got mine as a gift, but if you want to spend some $$$ on them i highly recommend them.

    • Good: sleek, spacey looking, great sound, best little speakers i've owned!
    • Bad: no volume level marker, but no problemo thought, i'm not deaf and know how to adjust them.

  • Jellyfish gave 10/10 on 06/01/2009 11:45 Report abuse

    Haha i i know aye "Me" i mean why would you need a headphone jackwhen you could just plug your earphones into the bloody ipod mp3 player or computer. Anyway these speakers will blow your mind for these only 1 inch drivers which dont at all sound like a pair of earphones, they perform extremley well and produce clean, crisp exquisite sound even at maximum volume without distortion, crackling pops or anything. The speakers output great high, low and mid frequency and the sub pounds out great booming clean bass. Oh and the design is so sexy and curvatious. Its kind of space agey it looks so cool esp with the blue light in the sub ahh its so cool. I definetly reccomend them.

    • Good: Everything!!!
    • Bad: Nothing, maybe its just that the sat's are a little hard to clean but you could just use a clean dry painting brush to clean them.

  • coldconditions gave 10/10 on 25/12/2008 22:56 Report abuse

    Absolutely Perfect, got these for Christmas. Bro got some hi tech logitech thing and mine sounds so much better than his, even though his was more expensive.
    I really reccommend these to anyone wanting a sound system for their room or office.

    • Good: - Easy to set up
      - Cheap considering the brand name and sound quality is amazing.
      - Ultra clear sound from ipod classic 120G
      - Looks really good, blue light at the back looks good, especially in the dark room.
      - Bass is really good, excellent highs lows and mids from this.
    • Bad: I'm not sure about contact details of harmon kardon, because their site has no telephone number for Australia, so that could be a worry in the long run.

  • bungbso gave 9/10 on 18/06/2008 13:57 Report abuse

    I bought it for my daughter b'day, it sounded great until the power adaptor die on her. I give 9 for the sound 0 for supports and parts.

    • Good: Great and solid sound.
    • Bad: Just pray the power doesn't die on you coz you can't get a replacement anywhere. I contacted Harman Kardon and got the run around.

  • Arthur gave 9/10 on 16/12/2007 13:50 Report abuse

    Once I was in a friend's house, listening his Creative 3400. The speaker impressed me very much. However I finally choose Harman Kardon. Before I received the speaker, I still got a little qualm. Now I can say it is amazing and beyond my expectation.

    • Bad: No cons so far

  • haha gave 10/10 on 22/11/2007 17:20 Report abuse

    very good for the price

    • Bad: dust easily goes in those holes

  • mummjugs gave 9/10 on 20/11/2006 09:08 Report abuse

    I just bought the soundsticks II for my hubby for christmas and he is over the moon about it! the sound is fantastic for the price, if you want this gear try to haggle at one of the App** Centres I got it at a bargin price $260!

    • Good: It's small and looks funky as! And it doesn't have any obvious buttons for my baby to play with which was a big plus. The blue light looks so cool esp. with the lights out.
    • Bad: No remote for sound control, but that's not a big deal. It looks like the speakers have a light when you first look at it, but they don't and it's a little disceiving because there are bead like things in the speakers and you think they are going to light up but they don't. no biggy though, would be a cute feature though...they may want to consider it for the next version of the speakers.

  • Al gave 8/10 on 08/08/2006 00:12 Report abuse

    gr8 sound for the dough

  • anonymous gave 4/10 on 07/08/2006 22:37 Report abuse

    Great looks, pity about the sound

    • Good: Arresting looks and a tiny footprint make these speakers a good-looking and convenient addition to a desktop set-up. Some thought has been put into their sonic, as well as industrial design, and it shows in the SoundSticks's convincing stereo resolution and just-plausible soundstage.
    • Bad: Those tiny 1" drivers in the sticks have all the resilience of cheap earphones, and it won't be long before they start ringing, popping or otherwise badly malfunctioning. And you won't have to wait long, either, for moths to start crawling into the subwoofer to die a lonely death. Oh well, at least they played music at the funeral.

  • Dave gave 1/10 on 28/03/2006 21:40 Report abuse

    Whoosh

    Loud, crisp, detailed, look great. What more could you want?

Post your own

Submit

Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.

Connect
Nokia E75 Email made easy. Find out why.
Your iPhone will be happier with Optus.

Where to buy Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

See all options »

Must read

Advanced search

Product finder