Difficult to top in terms of value
Written: Sep 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent high range and excellent bass response on a budget
Cons: Mid range is mediocre, greater applicational versatility would be nice.
The Bottom Line: If you have a bunch of worthless money, go buy something more 'higher end'- if not, get the HK 595's for price & value you won't regret.
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| scorpio88's Full Review: harman/kardon HK595 2 Speakers |
If you are in the market for a decent quality speaker/ sub combo for your PC but you're on a tight budget, look no further- The HK 595 system provides excellent sound quality and suave good looks all in an affordable and convenient package.
When I received this system, I must confess that I was a bit worried by its diminutive appearance- the desktop speakers are 2.5" wide 'sticks' and the sub enclosure measures no more than about 12"x12"x12". "Sure," I said to myself, "it won't hog space at my already cramped desk and it looks slick enough...but will it really have much power or response across a broad range spectrum?" The answer to this question, quite simply, was "yes."
The strongest point of this system is the clear and relatively powerful low frequency reproduction. While not very large, the sub box is pretty heavy for its size, serving as a reminder that there is a big ol' chunk o' magnet driving driving this thing. You can give this system a good crank and still get deep, rich tone quality without that dreaded 'bass fart' sound. You and I may have different ideas of 'decent' bass levels, but let me tell you this- The things on my desk and the crappy walls of the dorms at school will start making nasty vibration noises before the sub itself does.
As expected, the small speakers within the slim sticks produce above average high range tone. Unfortunately, mid range frequencies inevitably lack some degree of punch. Don't get me wrong, the mid range of this system is not 'bad,' in fact, it is right on par with most PC speaker systems out there. However, the mid range is just not nearly as surprisingly outstanding as the highs and lows of this set, thus I would consider them to be the one acoustic weakness of this system.
Volume and equalization controls are intuitive and compact. Although the system is described as somewhat of a 'surround sound' system, it does not really provide much of a 'surround' feeling, although I don't really feel that most systems advertised as such really do, and I certainly don't expect a complete 'acoustic immersion' from a system at this price. That said, this system will not suit the discerning 'audiophile' or whatever you pompous goons call yourselves these days. For the music enthusiast/gamer like myself though, this system will provide a lot of 'bang for your buck.' As a funk fan, I can attest to this system's merit when it comes to producing the splanky highs and the thumpy lows required for a good Chilli Peppers/ Parliament/ Tower of Power session.
As far as applicational versatility is concerned, I wish that the speakers and the sub could function independently of each other and the PC so that I could use the sub in conjunction with my stereo without going through my sound card, and so I could bring the speakers to LAN parties and such without lugging the sub around. Of course I realize that this would require another power cord and input jacks among other hardware, as well as a higher price. Other comparable systems do not offer these features either, so maybe I am asking too much. Oh well, in a perfect world...
Bottom Line- For a great set of listening/ gaming speakers at an attractive price, pick up the HK's. Sure, there are better speakers out there, but they cost more. Thus is life. For 140 bucks or whatever they sell for now, you will not be disappointed.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
scorpio88
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Location: Issaquah, WA, US
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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