harman/kardon Soundsticks II

Harman/Kardon might be a brand that requires no introduction, but that still didn't mean that people expected them to start producing PC speakers.  Ten years ago, though, the company did just that, and released its famous Soundsticks II.

Handling: JBL, harman/kardon: are you two related?

It's worth pointing out that JBL, harman/kardon and AKG for that matter are all members of the Harman International group.  And from the look of their most recent products, it seems that all three brands share a common team of designers and engineers.

Even if it was Apple's design studio that was behind the look of the original Soundsticks, there are a lot of things in common between the Soundsticks II and JBL's PC speakers.  That isn't necessarily good news for the listener, either.  Once again, we found the power switch which also adjusts the bass, hidden amongst the wires at the back of the subwoofer; that's not the best place to put it.  There's no control over the treble, and although the fun touch-sensitive buttons are there, they don't allow you to actually switch the speakers off.  You don't get an auxiliary input or a headphone jack either.

So, while these original-looking speakers will took great in any modern interior, there are still some pretty big usability issues.

Audio Quality: an unusual shape can produce great sound

The satellites on the Soundsticks use an engineering principle that's well known, but relatively little used: combining several smaller speakers in one unit.  As a result, you can produce audio equivalent to what you'd find from a single speaker with a much larger membrane.  In other words, it's a great way to manage the mid-range without requiring enormous hardware, and that's exactly what you get here.  The two satellites might push the treble a bit--to the point of being aggressive, sometimes--but the mid-range is definitely there, and that's not something you can say about a lot of PC speakers.

Despite its unusual shape, the subwoofer is just a standard bass reflex speaker and it works very well.  It's a little big, but doesn't produce a violent sound, and it even sometimes seems a little soft.  If you turn the bass up a little, the sound gains depth without ever becoming pounding, or--and this is the opposite problem--sagging and dripping.  That's another area where PC speakers often fall down.

The Soundsticks II should have everything they need to earn five stars.  Unfortunately, though, they have some real usability issues: some buttons we'd expect are hard to reach and others just aren't there at all, while you also have cables trailing all over the place.