Can someone recommend some good speakers for iMac?

Good studio monitors will cost a bit more than that, especially if you want powered ones. But if you are just getting started with making music, you may want to look at these http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/LX421System-main.html Someone in the Logic Express forum suggested them to me, though he did not have them himself. Alos, check out Sweetwater.com They have a ton of monitors in all price ranges.

I have a pair of Edirol Monitors similar to these:
http://www.rolandus.com/products/details.asp?CatID=9&SubCatID=0&ProdID=MA-15D
i got them in a package deal w/ headphones & microphone for only was $269 at musiciansfriend.com pretty sweet deal... and very nice sounding.

Don't see why not.

Sure! Mine are the only set of speakers on my desk. The Edirol MA-10D have two line inputs, so you can hook-up you second computer or soundcard to it too -- I use the second input to monitor my mixer before it hits the computer.
THe way I see it, if you drop a load of cash on some speakers/monitors, you should be able to listen to whatever you darn well like through it.

happy shopping.

Monitor speakers are designed for recording, specifically they are designed to give the truest sound by not boosting frequencies such as high and lows as normal speakers do. They are thus ideal for mixing down songs...and they can be expensive.

Kurt

The best sounding speakers IMHO are the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Personal Computer Audio System. Other good computer speakers are the JBL Encounter, the Altec Lansing FX-6021, the Altec Lansing MX-5021, and the Harmon/Kardon SoundSticks II systems.

Good sounding speakers, and good monitors are indeed 2 different things, made for 2 different purposes.

It seems brewcrew79 is looking for speakers versatile enough for music AND movies. The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and the Altec Lansing MX-5021 systems are both 2.1 THX certified (good for movies). All movies have music in them.

Small studio monitors are intended for nearfield monitoring (no more than 3-4 feet from the ears in a triangular configuration measuring one meter on each side of an equilateral triangle consisting of a left speaker, a right speaker, and a human head). Small nearfield studio monitors will not provide the earth-shaking bass that a subwoofer produces.

For movies and music, a system with a subwoofer is a must (a 2.1 system = 2 satellite speakers + 1 subwoofer). The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system outspecs ALL other computer speaker systems by comparison.

Which is why I gave a link to the M-Audio speakers. They have 2 satellites and a sub, plus they are expandable for 5:1. Plus they are affordable.

I just bought my 20' 2.1 Ghz G5 iMac... and I have my complete CD collection in it (almost 4000 songs)... inside iTunes. I wanted to get a great pair of powered speakers to enjoy my music with... using Airport Express w/ AirTunes. I bought some Logitech THX Z-5300e speakers (at BestBuy)... 5 smaller speakers with 1 bass speaker. They sound great! With a 10% discount.. they cost me $202.. that's including taxes!
If you get these speakers.. they're for 5.1 surround sound, too... which isn't compatible with my iMac.. since the iMac is only 2 channel.. There'll be 3 wires plugged into the back of the bass speaker... so just plug the center wire into the Airport Express that is plugged into the wall. That will make it compatible with 2 channel.
I'm totally happy with these speakers! Great bass! Great quality sound! I really hate BestBuy, cuz they're so anti-Apple... but I had to use a $20 gift certificate.. so I used it on the speakers.

In the original post, brewcrew79 specified a $200 price range. The M-Audio Studiophile LX4 2.1 system retails for $280 (12/05). At $150 (12/05) the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system were more affordable than the M-Audio.

The frequency response of the Klipsch system is 31Hz-20kHz; the M-Audio system is 40Hz-20kHz.

You need a bass frequency response of at least 30Hz to hear the low B string on a 5-string bass, or feel the Moog Taurus bass pedals on Genesis' Selling England by the Pound, on Renaissance's Live at Carnegie Hall version of "Ashes Are Burning," and on the Yes' CD, Magnification.

The Klipsch sub has better bass response than the M-Audio sub.

The Klipsch system amplifier outputs 55 watts power at ≤ 1% THD for each satellite speaker; the M-Audio only 27 watts.

The Klipsch system amplifier outputs 50 watts @ ≤ 7% THD + 200 watts of burst power at ≤ 1% THD for the subwoofer; the M-Audio outputs 60 watts for the sub. M-Audio does not list their THD (total harmonic distortion) specs.

The average THD for computer speaker systems is 10% THD.

The Klipsch are a better system spec-wise and have a lower retail price than the M-Audio system.

How speakers "sound" is subjective, in the ear of the beholder.

POSTSCRIPT: I am not putting down M-Audio gear. I own several quality M-Audio products and use them in my studios.

I love my Bose Companion 3 Speakers great quality and sound...great for music and movies

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5950214&type=product&id=1061127110 349

I guess the real question would be, "How serious are you and how serious do you think you will be about producing music in GB?"

If you say that you are as serious or more serious, or even think you will be, about producing music in GB as you are listening to music and watching movies, my recommendation would be for the M-Audio LX4 system previously recommended or a comparable monitoring system. If you are just playing around with GB and you don't think you will ever be relatively serious about the music you produce, I would recommend a consumer system, like the Klipsch system or something comparable.

While the Klipsch system and other comparable systems look better in terms of specs and may even "sound better," those specs may not be judged on the same plane. Klipsch may go down to 31hz but it may also be at -18dB (can't say for sure because I don't know if Klipsch publishes their frequency response). The M-Audio system or something comparable that is intended for studio monitoring should be within + or - 3 to 5dB of all other frequencies in their published frequency range. In fact, they will probably produce 31hz as the Klipsch system does but it will be much lower than the 40hz published.

If you are SERIOUS about producing music, you would be using Logic Pro 7 and not GarageBand.

There is a difference between PRODUCING music and REproducing music as reflected by two different categories of speaker system.

First, nearfield studio monitors like the M-Audio LX4 system are for PRODUCING music in an acoustically neutral room like the control room of a recording studio, because they have a relatively flat frequency response, including the subwoofer.

Nearfield monitors are designed to be configured in an equilateral triangle measuring one meter on each side (monitor/monitor/human head) and the orientation and placement of studio monitors are critical to hear them properly.

Second, speaker systems for REproducing music on the other hand tend to color the sound by enhancing the bass frequencies and exciting the treble frequencies for the less than acoustically perfect home listening environment. The placement of this type of speaker is not as critical.

The two types of speaker systems are as different as apples and oranges.

Given that Paul Klipsch designed innovative speaker systems for 54 years (1946-2000), M-Audio is a relative newcomer.

Klipsch is very GarageBand friendly. They even feature GarageBand songs on their website homepage.