Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL Duet Speaker System for Portable Music and PC - Aluminum (Pair)

I've owned the JBL Creature system which was very good with the exception of a "touch" volume control which was ridiculous, and a BIG HONKING SUBWOOFER that I tried to find space for.

If you live in an apartment, this is the best sound you can get.

Even if you don't live in an apartment, I think 3 piece computer speakers are lousy anyway. The MUDWOOFER typically muddies the sound with a big thomping bass which makes the music undistinguishable - who wants to listen this way while seated at their computer?

Buy the JBL Duet Speakers, you won't be sorry. Great price.

I bought these for my office at work. I've been very surprised with the overall quality of the sound these speakers produce for the price, with plenty of volume for my intended use. I listen to everything from jazz to blues and heavy metal. My boss has the Bose system for his i-pod, the Bose is much louder but IMHO these put the $$$ Bose to shame when you consider price. Not a home system as your never going to rattle the windows, but great bang for the buck.

Let me start by saying I am a music major and am quite finicky about sound quality. Furthermore, I listen to anything from Def Leppard to Beethoven. I also am a bargain shopper. These speakers -for their price- absolutely ROCK! They handle ALL kinds of music and give you the wonderful high and low overtones that can sometimes be lost in classical genres. I tried to push the limits of these speakers (within reason) by cranking up the volume or turning them way down to see if I still could pick up bass lines; in all regards these passed with flying colors. I am not saying that these out perform a 300 dollar bose stereo or that there aren't higher quality options out there... but man, for the buck, these bad boys are the best. I use mine with my ipod nano as a small unit stereo and I am just thrilled with them.

As a professional composer, I have to admit I was surprised at the clarity of these speakers. For the price, this is a great buy.

I bought these speakers because they looked cool. I figured all small PC speakers would sound pretty much the same anyway, so they won me over in the cool department. And they did sound pretty nice until I turned up the volume to 3/4.

These speakers fail in the most basic areas.

1. When the volume is turned up they squeal, regardless of the orientation of the speakers. This must be an internal flaw with the circuitry.

2. You cannot adjust the volume with one hand. The knob is too smooth and too tight to grip so you have to hold the speaker with one hand to get a good grip on the knob to turn it.

OK, so I told myself I must have gotten a dud, it happens. These speakers could never have passed JBL quality control and actually been mass produced this way, could they? Then one day I came across a co-worker who had a set of these at her workstation. I asked how she liked them and she told me the same things I just told you.

As I am reading all these glowing reviews I am thinking "OMG people are going to buy these speakers" so I felt compelled to share my experiences to warn potential buyers as I wish I had been warned. My speakers did not make it back from vacation, they are somewhere in a Mexico landfill.