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Intel iMac Speakers - Any good?

AndyR

AndyR

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 9, 2005
907
30
Auckland, New Zealand
I'm going to be starting a new job next month and with it get a HUGE hike in salary so am going to treat myself when I start to a spanking new 20" iMac! (nice jump from PPC Mini).

I already have some cruddy speakers but wondered what are the inbuilt iMac speakers are like. Don't need to massive loud just decentish.

If there crud what would you suggest as a set of good "cheapish" speakers.
 
I think the sound the speakers produce is excellent. They certainly get loud enough for everyday listening and the sound doesn't muffle at all.
 
For another £70 or so you can get some great external speakers to go with it, but the built in ones are workable in my opinion. Just don't expect too much power or bass.
 
AndyR said:
I'm going to be starting a new job next month and with it get a HUGE hike in salary so am going to treat myself when I start to a spanking new 20" iMac! (nice jump from PPC Mini).

I already have some cruddy speakers but wondered what are the inbuilt iMac speakers are like. Don't need to massive loud just decentish.

If there crud what would you suggest as a set of good "cheapish" speakers.
Click to expand...

Harman Kardon Soundsticks II. Beautiful, powerful and a bargain!

Amazing speakers for the price. I only import my CD's into iTunes at 320kbps, and the speakers are powerful, they don't distort and the clarity is incredible. The Sub used to be sold alone, as the iSub, but now it is a 2.1 speaker set.

They are very cheap on Amazon, i paid £100

B0001W8EFK.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Here is a link to Amazon where they are £97 with free postage.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-6929700-3147621

Rich.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
They aren't that loud, but the sound is great. I once had a friend say my internal speakers sounded better than his $100 surround sound set.
 
Cool thanks for your help guys.

As a total sidey and I know its the wrong forum but should I stick with the wired keyb/mouse or go for the bluetooth one? I am planning on using bootcamp at some point for CS:S so wondered if the bluetooth keyb/mouse work with this?

Also, could I use say just the bluetooth keyb but your a regular 2 button USB mouse?
 
When installing Boot Camp on my comp it stated that Bluetooth wouldn't work on an iMac. When I loaded Windows it did install drivers for the bluetooth. I don't have bluetooth so I don't know if it works. The internal speakers of the new iMac sound excellent. I was very surprised at how good they sound.
 
I dont like the iMac speakers, i rather spend a bit more and get external speakers. I Watch movies on my iMac and play games so i need better speakers, if your not intrestedin games or movies then they will do fine for everyday job.
 
if you decide to plum for speakers i can highly recommend Acoustic Energy Aego. £100. matching imac white in colour. The sound rocks, far superior to the harmon kardon sound sticks (which sound incoherent & lacklustre in comparison)
 
Would Apple Pro speakers like the one from the iMac G4 plug into the intel iMac at all?
 
Might as well tag along to this thread. The iMac Core Duo has digital out for speakers right? Is there any benefit to getting a digital set? If so can some people recommend some?

Also any recommended headphones? I had the Zalman ZM-RS6F headphones and would LOVE to get some of those to plug into the iMac but I'm not sure I can since it has 3 plugs.
 
I was very surprised at how well the iMac speakers sound. I was planning on buying seperate speakers, but I dont listen to my music that loud yet to need them.
 
SilentPanda said:
Might as well tag along to this thread. The iMac Core Duo has digital out for speakers right? Is there any benefit to getting a digital set? If so can some people recommend some?

Also any recommended headphones? I had the Zalman ZM-RS6F headphones and would LOVE to get some of those to plug into the iMac but I'm not sure I can since it has 3 plugs.
Click to expand...
The iMac G5 Series and Core Duo have digital optical audio output only.

Those headphones won't work on the iMac. It only has a single stereo channel out for 1/8" plug headphones.
 
SilentPanda said:
I knew that. I just didn't know if there was a USB "inbetween" device.
Click to expand...
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave/

FireWave
Technical Specifications

• Audio Ports: 3 - 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo minijacks (Left/Right, Center/Subwoofer, Left Surround/
Right Surround)
• FireWire Ports: 2
• Supported Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II • Additional audio configurations are supported through
Mac OS X's Audio MIDI Setup utility.
• Frequency Response: 20-20,000Hz
• Line-out voltage: 2Vpp
• Size: 132mm (5.20”) wide x 77mm (2.83”) deep x 25mm (0.98”) tall
 
AKG K240 Studio are excellent phones. You see them a lot in sound studios because they sound awesome and you can wear them for hours. Much better than Sennheiser for the price.
 
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