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speakers

J

Jarlenschneider

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 1, 2012
7
0
I currently use a Macbook Air with a Thunderbolt monitor. Soon I will be buying a Mac Mini (with the next refresh). The sound on the monitor is good, but I will probably want to buy external speakers. Assuming the new minis still have the 3.5mm audio connection, does anybody have recommendations for what speakers to buy?
 
Yes - the mini has a standard audio jack (it's both digital and analog).

The type of speakers would depend greatly on preference and budget.
 
If budget is no issue Bowers & Wilkins MM1's :D

I have a pair and its one of the best purchases I've ever made.
 
wobegong said:
If budget is no issue Bowers & Wilkins MM1's :D

I have a pair and its one of the best purchases I've ever made.
Click to expand...

I have them too, and they're the greatest (computer) speakers I ever had! I even had the Harmon Cardon GLA-55 for some time, and they're not even close.

If you're on a budget though, don't go for speakers for less than 100 bucks. Truth is you won't get a real upgrade for less money. And better look for some serious reviews - especially in this price class, many upgrade from 10€ cheap speakers and can't tell if they're good compared to something in the right price class.
 
I have a Klipsch 2.1 system I bought on sale. Definitely not top end but way better than having the Logitech blues.
:D
 
wobegong said:
If budget is no issue Bowers & Wilkins MM1's :D

I have a pair and its one of the best purchases I've ever made.
Click to expand...

Do you connect it through the USB or the audio jack? I'm particularly interested in whether or not anyone has a good experience connecting speakers to the Thunderbolt monitor through USB
 
Last edited:
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Jarlenschneider said:
Do you connect it through the USB or the audio jack? I'm particularly interested in whether or not anyone has a good experience connecting speakers to the Thunderbolt monitor through USB
Click to expand...

Can be connected through both - USB is recommended though as they act as an external sound card so the data being sent over USB is raw and is processed by the (FAR superior) MM1 sound processor rather than the computers one. However you can link via Phono socket as well for other devices (iPhone etc) but then the sound is not as good (though still mighty impressive).
 
I've got a pair of black JBL Creature 2 speakers hooked up to mine - via the headphone socket of the TV which is connected via HDMI.

They're awesome little speakers and produce great sound despite them being so small

pac
 
I have JBL Creature III's I got on sale for 60 bucks off Newegg. They're usually 100 or so. They sound pretty amazing for such a small setup. Very happy with them.
 
I also love my MM-1 speakers. Massively expensive, but you are paying for near-hifi quality from tiny units, using a good USB DAC built in which avoids any electrical interference from the motherboard (though this is more of a problem on a PC or hackintosh). Don't expect any of that initial, false 'sparkle' and bass-boost that you get from other brands (COUGHboseCOUGH), but listen carefully, and you get an astonishingly full-range, deep and accurate sound that will make anything sound like it was intended.

David
 
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