Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL Duet II 2-Piece Multimedia System for Portable Music System and PC (Black)

I have used these for computer speakers, at mid to low volume and in a somewhat enclosed area. While they definitely required a ten to twenty hour burn in period, I was extremely happy with them after that. I lent them to my daughter thinking I wouldn't miss them but now I want them back, as they pretty much hit the sweet spot for computer speakers and I don't have to deal with a third component for bass. My wife has the prior version of the Duet IIs, it's a tear drop shaped speaker, and I actually like the sound on these a bit better. However, she's got hers in a much less enclosed area, and so I've not given them a fair comparison.

Be sure to consider what you are using them for and what's available in their price range (currently about $55 at Amazon.com). For me, they're great, but I don't expect from them what I would from a set of stereo speakers--which I would be prepared to pay way more for and would expect to take up a lot more room.

For someone who listens almost exclusively to classical music, I would recommend these reasonably priced speakers to listeners who do not need the exaggerated base response one hears in rock and rap music. {That may not be entirely fair to these musical genres but it sounds that way to me as cars broadcasting this music pass my way}.

The speakers have very good stereo separation, especially when one is sitting at a desk. But even when one is elsewhere in the room, the sound is quite convincing. For someone like myself who is mechanically and technically challenged, setting the speakers up was without frustration and despair. The speakers have the added advantage of taking up relatively little space and are, at least for my aesthetic sensibilities, rather attractive.

Gary Schwartz

I haven't been happy with a pair of desktop speakers since I had to give up the Harmon Kardon eyeballs that went with my old G4. But these sound terrific.

I opened the box, cabled them together according to the nice clear pictures, turned them on, configured the computer, and was hearing rich, clear music in about two minutes. (Bonus points: all the cables are long enough for the somewhat awkward requirements of my nonstandard desk.)

I can't believe two small speakers on a desktop can sound so good, especially at this price.

There are more iPod speaker solutions out on the market than the entire Mymac.com staff could ever cover in a reasonable time period. Obviously, there is a market out there, otherwise there wouldn't be so many solutions. So what does JBL have to offer with the Duet II Desktop Speaker System? Well, I've spent about 6 weeks trying to find that out.

So let's get the errata out of the way. Testing for the Duet II was conducted using a 1st generation iPod Touch, a 1st generation iPod Shuffle, a 1st generation Sony PSP, and a 13" Macbook. I tested the Duet II in an open room (both the bedroom and office) and in an enclosed space (bookshelf).

So first impressions: the Duet II is easy to set up and easy to use. Basically, there are only three pieces to the unit; the adaptor, the left speaker, and the right speaker.



Everything pretty much plugs into the left speaker and the system connects to the sound source with a 3.5 mm mini stereo jack compatible with just about every electronic audio device out on the market. There is only one control, also located on the left speaker. This is the power/volume dial located on the top of the left speaker. This control is well-integrated into the overall design of the unit, which is very sleek and modern. There is one LED power indicator light at the base of the speaker, in case you're like me and forget to turn off the speaker power after you've unplugged your device. The speakers are about 4" in diameter and 10" high, and while not heavy, they could double as bookends if space is at a premium.



So how's does it sound? For it's size, I was very happy with the overall performance of the Duet II. I felt that the system delivered good performance over the entire sound spectrum, and I ran it through it's paces using podcasts for normal speech, a couple of fiddle and violin concertos for the high end, and some trip hop for testing the low end base performance. In all cases the system delivered sound comparable to a good pair of headphones. More importantly, there was no distortion when the speakers were set to higher volumes, which is sometimes an issue with smaller speaker systems.



My wife, on the other hand, felt that the sound was kind of "tinny", and at lower volumes (and depending on the equalizer setting on the sound source), I can't deny that there was some of that "tinny" sound that you would normally associate with small/portable speaker systems. It was also more noticeable when the speakers were in an open environment. I found that I got the best sound performance when I had the speaker volume above mid-level, the equalizer on the sound source set to "bass boost", and the speakers placed in a bookcase where I could get a little sound reflected from the bass output located on the back of each speaker.



So what are the drawbacks? Well, the main one is the cabling - there's just enough for about an 8 foot separation between the left and right speakers. This is not a problem if you're planning on putting them in a bookcase or on a desk, but you won't be able to put one in each corner of a room (unless it's a small room). The other issue may be price. While I feel the JBL Duet II delivers good performance for the price, there are other speaker options out there for iPod users that are cheaper and will also double as a charger while you listen to your music. Of course, the systems I'm referring to are limited to iPods only, and the Duet II offers more flexibility for those looking for a small speaker system they can use with almost any audio device.

Mymac rating: 3.5 out of 5

I bought these based on reviews by others. Overall they're fine. They look good and they hooked up fine. But I guess, based on what others said, I expected better, richer sound quality. Frankly, my old Dell speakers (with subwoofer) sounded considerably better. I got a new iMac, so I wanted new speakers to go with it. I'm just not all that impressed. Others talk about the rich sound and great bass... Really? Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Like I said, they're alright. Just not as great as I thought they would be.