Following its announcement beside the new iMacs in October, the iSub has quickly become the most eagerly anticipated peripheral among owners of second generation iMacs. Plagued by harman/kardon's dedication to perfection, the iSub missed its original November launch date and the ensuing holiday season. But with the finishing touches completed just a couple weeks ago and production ramping up overseas, the iSub is now on target for a mid-February release date.
The iSub's stunning design rivals that of the iMac itself; it's a shame you'll be placing it on the floor for optimal performance.Attached to the iSub is the equally attractive harman/kardon label, renowned purveyors of some of the highest quality audio components in the world.
The iSub's USB interface is driven by Apple's Mac OS 9 Audio Update. Once you have downloaded and installed the software, either from Apple's website or via the Software Update control panel, a quick restart and a few extra seconds is all it takes for the iMac to recognize the iSub. The iSub is fully hot pluggable, meaning you can plug it in and out without having to restart, although once you've listened to your iMac with the iSub you'll have little desire not use it.
Once the iMac recognizes the iSub all low-range frequencies from 44-180Hz will be routed to the iSub, allowing the built-in speakers to focus on the mid- and high-range frequencies. Routing the low-range frequencies to the iSub also allows the built-in speakers to play 6dB louder, roughly doubling the maximum volume.
The iSub produces 20 watts of impressively rich bass through its 6-inch woofer. The level of bass can be adjusted through the Speaker Setup component of the Sound control panel, although the first 75% of the slider is useless since it effectively reduces the bass to zero. As such, you have about ten different levels to choose from before the bass becomes excessive.
With the iSub plugged in, the iMac produces wonderful bass coupled with the excellent high-range capabilities of the built-in speakers. While harman/kardon claims that the built-in speakers cover the mid-range frequencies equally well, they're not quite as good at reproducing those notes as some larger, stand alone speakers with separate tweeters and dedicated mid-range cones. Even so, the combination of harman/kardon's built in Odyssey speakers coupled with the iSub produces high-quality audio that betters most three-piece speaker systems on the market. Of course, the iMac's built-in speakers suffer from the fact that they're just that--built-in--and therefore can't be set at an optimal angle or distance apart from each other as independent speakers.
While the iSub itself is a flawless work of art and engineering, there are a few kinks with the software that need to be worked out. First there's the aforementioned bass level control, of which the first three-quarters is useless. There were also a few occasions when the iSub mysteriously cut out. According to the Sound control panel it was still being recognized by the iMac, and as such low-frequencies weren't restored to the built-in speakers, but nothing was coming from the iSub. Unplugging and re-plugging the iSub cured this problem. We also noticed that some mp3s, when played using SoundJam MP, caused the iSub to emit some pops. This problem wasn't always consistent but occurred frequently enough with a handful of mp3s as to be annoying. Curiously, other mp3 players were able to play those mp3s without a hitch.
The deman for the iSub has been one of the most highly anticipated peripherals and with good reason. For $99 the new iMacs gain a level of sound quality previously unattainable without compromising desk space with an expensive three speaker system; and that's not taking into account the iSub's simply stunning enclosure.
