Guess who designed those beautiful multimedia speakers. Yes, Sir Jony Ive VP of design at Apple did it and that’s no wonder the MoMA has decided to add this beautiful object to their permanent collection. Keep reading to learn about the amazing story of a product joint-produced by two of the most prestigious company in the World: Apple and Harman Kardon
First release
The 2000 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference was the perfect place to release the Harman Kardon iSub 2000 Subwoofer and SoundSticks which were the predecessors of what became the Soundsticks II.
Why did Apple decide to venture into the audio world?
It was mainly to design the perfect audio system to complement its translucent iMac G4 Cube
Apple did the industrial design and the mechanical engineering so as to make sure it would be as perfect as possible for the iMac G4 cube.
Unfortunately the Cube wasn’t a success but the Soundsticks II found a very enthusiastic public and lived on its own.
The Harman Kardon iSub 2000 Subwoofer and SoundSticks won an Industrial Design Excellence Awards gold award
The HK Soundsticks II
The only difference between the Harman Kardon iSub 2000 Subwoofer and SoundSticks and the Soundsticks II is only the addition of capacitive volume control buttons and a 3.5mm mini-jack input replacing the previous USB input.
What’s inside?
The subwoofer is 10.2 inches tall and 9.2 inches in diameter, is still, 17 years after its introduction, a stunning object. It looks more like a jellyfish than a speaker housing.
Inside, there’s a 6-inch driver backed by 20 Watts of power.
In the back, there ‘s a blue LED that enhance this jellyfish appearance.
The subwoofer is so beautiful that, contrary to other dull subwoofers, many people don’t want to hide it but leave it on their desk so that anyone can admire it.
Here is the patent of the subwoofer is you want to have a look just click on the image:
The two satellites are 10 inches tall and 2 inches in diameter.
Unlike others speakers hosting one or two drivers, each of the SoundSticks II’s satellites hosts four, each one inch across.
The system provides 10 Watts of power to each satellite, and the satellite enclosures are, like the sub, ported to enhance lower-frequency response.
And here is the patent of the two satellites:
Each satellite is supported by a 3.3-inch metal ring covered in non-slip rubber.
Each speaker weighs 1.5 pounds, which is quite surprising when you look at them. This is due to the weight of the rings, whose role is to provide stability for the satellite.
Each satellite is connected to its base using a clever metal hinge that lets you swivel the speaker’s body back and down, to any angle from vertical to horizontal. This allows you to position the speaker so the drivers are aimed directly at your ears — providing the best treble performance — regardless of how low your desk is. The hinge is easy to reposition, but tight enough to hold at any angle.
The back of the subwoofer hosts only a power jack; a permanently attached 6-foot cable for connecting your computer (the cable terminates in a stereo miniplug); a 3-inch dongle for connecting the two satellites; and a dial for adjusting bass output.
Similarly, the only connection on each satellite is a permanently attached, 6.3-foot cable to connect the satellite to the subwoofer unit. Each satellite’s cable has a different plug, so there’s no risk of connecting the right-hand satellite to the left-hand output, or vice versa.
Other than that, the only other feature you’ll find are a pair of touch-sensitive, metal volume buttons — though no volume-level indicator — near the base of the right-hand speaker. Touch and hold a button with your bare finger to lower or raise the volume; touch both buttons simultaneously to toggle mute on and off.
There’s not even a power button on the system; the blue light on the subwoofer shines 24/7 unless you physically unplug the power cable. Is it because Steve Jobs didn’t like power buttons? We’ll probably never know.
Thankfully, Harman Kardon hasn’t skimped on the audio performance. The SoundSticks II system provides very good sound quality, especially when it comes to treble detail and upper-midrange frequencies (surely due to the four-tweeter array in each satellite). Midrange performance is good, although slightly recessed compared to treble, especially at higher volumes.
