Customer Reviews

Creative GigaWorks T3 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

These speakers exceeded my expectations! My previous speaker system was a $100 5.1 Cyber Acoustics set, but the subwoofer in this T3 system is much better! I did a side-by-side comparison and the Creative speakers were definitely better.

I was about to purchase the Bose companion 2.1 system, but these were cheaper and newer.

The release date on the Bose was September 24, 2006
The release date on the Creative was February 9, 2009

So I went ahead and bought the Creative speakers because I figured the technology was newer.

I have a pair of Bose on-ear headphones and they are amazing, so I respect the Bose brand. However, I know Bose products are rarely on sale and there is a considerable mark up on their products. So I thought I'd get a better value with the Creative speakers.

The cool thing about the subwoofer is that it has a three driver configuration so the subwoofer looks like it's three sided. They call it SLAM technology, but that's just silly marketing stuff...

The satellite speakers look great and have a very small footprint.

Creative markets this as having audiophile grade drivers. I'm not an expert, but they sound noticeably better than $100 sets.

I recently purchased a new computer, and decided it was time to look for some new speakers. My old Harmon Kardon speakers were OK, but there was a couple of things I didn't like about them. First, the power switch was on the subwoofer (under the desk), and I wanted an easier way to power them on/off. I also didn't particularly care for the sound sound produced based on the speaker footprint; they were big, but they didn't sound big.

I went to one of the local computer stores, and spent some time listening to quite a variety of 2.1 speaker sets (don't have the space or interest for the 5+ speaker sets). The creative labs gigaworks speakers really impressed me. The footprint for both the subwoofer and stereo pair was fairly small, but the sound produced was extremely full. I'm amazed at how far the speaker technology has come since I last looked at computer speakers. Here's my subjective list of pros/cons:

Pros:

* Sound/clarity. I'm not sure how to quantify this, but they do sound wonderful. I would urge anyone considering spending this much money on speakers to actually hear them before buying, as what I think sounds great may not be to your taste. But for me these really satisfy my sound palette.

* Footprint: I don't have a ton of space to work with, and these were fairly compact.

* The volume control. There is a rotary dial volume control that is very easy to use/intuitive. I love digital, but I confess I like the old "analog style" rotary volume control. Place this near your "mouse hand", and it's easy to adjust volume very quickly for any inbound phone calls, etc. And if you turn the volume all the way down, the amp will cut off altogether.

* Headphone/auxiliary jack. This is placed on the rotary dial I mentioned above. Very easy to plug in a set of headphones or other input source as needed.

Cons:

* Price. It's a lot to spend on a computer speakers, at least for me. But I don't regret it.

* For some reason, I didn't receive a power cord in the box. No big deal, the unit accepts a standard "figure 8" power cord, but the cord really should be there.

* The midrange may be a little soft. Again, this is subjective.

In summary, I urge you to give these a listen if you are in the market for a 2.1 speaker set in this price range. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.

I had a Creative Inspire 6600 6.1 speaker system which I've used for about 5 years, (only using two speakers on it) and decided I would treat myself with an upgrade to the Creative T3 speakers.
I've plugged them in side by side to have a listen and really am not that impressed with them.
The subwoofer is more 'boomy' and doesn't give a good representation of bass guitar. The speakers look nicer sure, but my old ones gave a warmer and smoother sound.
When listening at the quietish volumes I usually have, you basically only hear the kick drum and some bass guitar briefly, you have to turn the level of the bass up then the kick drum is too loud and all this time you have to get down on your knees to adjust the bass level as there is no adjustment for that on the remote.
The volume control squeaks sometimes when turning the volume up.
All in all, wish I had saved the money and bought a new monitor or something instead. Maybe if it was 1/2 price or even 3/4 the price I wouldn't be as disappointed, but these are not good value for money on the sound quality side.

Edit: Give them a little while and the sound will open up. Add an EQ that ups the midrange and some of the treble and they sound pretty good. One problem though is that you cannot turn the bass completely off... which is more of a disappointment for my housemates across the wall. I'd give them 4.5 stars if I could, because of the bass not turning off and it's annoying to adjust on the back of the subwoofer, and the midranges do leave a little bit to be desired. For desktop speakers though, great.

I had a Creative I-Trigue set up that had lasted me about 5 years, until the subwoofer blew out (don't know whether this was on Creative's end or on my own). I decided I wanted a new system with deeper bass, full range of tonality, and that got a little louder. The bass on this system is certain better, but the sound range may honestly have been better on the $120 I-Trigue system. To compare, the I-Trigue system had two satellite speakers, each of which had 2 1-inch drivers for highs, and two 1.5 drivers on the side for mid-range, and a subwoofer.

Pros:
- Small footprint satellite speakers
- Volume dial has a good feel to it, headphone jack and aux input very convenient
- Solid bass... it goes fairly deep, definitely enough to shake the room
- The sound has I think gotten better over time, but that could just be entirely subjective

Cons:
- Bass control is only on the back of the subwoofer... my old system had a separate control for bass on the volume dial, which was real convenient
- Midrange may be lacking a bit as others have mentioned, but highs are solid. You can more or less correct this with an equalizer pretty easily (e.g. iTunes), but I still feel like there is something lacking after transitioning to one-driver satellites.
- Price is a little step. I didn't go to a speaker store to test out speakers, but you may wish to do so if you can
- When very loud, bass is not as warm as you could get from a bigger system, so don't consider them a substitute for a full featured home theater system

As a whole, these speakers sound distinctly better than most 2.1 systems, and I'd recommend them, but I do still believe there is some lack of depth in the midrange. But I don't think you'll be disappointed with this system. The sound quality is still pretty killer.

I own a set of Bose Companion 5s that I use in my home office. I received the Creative Gigaworks T3 system as a Christmas gift (from my Amazon wish list where I put it after reading reviews). I think the sound is quite good, though the subwoofer is rather boomy, even with adjustment. No real complaints about the sound though. I don't agree with those who think the sound of the Creative speakers is better than the Bose system. Also, the Bose system seems substantially better made....less "cheap" feeling. I refer in particular to the connections for the speakers which were hard to plug in to the back of the subwoofer...they seemed too small and I was afraid I'd break them if I pushed too hard. Also, the volume device seems less substantial and doesn't adhere to the desk top like the Bose knob does, either. I like the Bose better in this regard since the Bose knob doesn't wander around my desk. I slso like the quick mute on the Bose (tap the top of the volume knob). There is nothing on the Creative unit like this (that I've figured out, anyway). All in all, since the sound is quite comparable, I think the Creative system is a good option at about $100 less than Bose Companion 5 system, though.

I can't really play the system at full volume (I'm in a patient care area in the hospital where I work). But at volumes that avoid having people knocking on my door, it sounds quite good.

Before hearing these speakers I wouldn't have known that you could get such amazing quality from a small set of 2.1 speakers, but these are worth shelving your headphones for. They work equally well for music and movies, with amazingly crisp highs and explosive bass. If you are thinking of using them for your computer, they are definitely worth shelling out the extra dollars for.

I had to turn my bass all the way down and have never increased it for any type of listening and it still makes the room rumble. The speakers also won't bottom out like cheaper ones when they're modestly turned up to watch a movie.

When the speakers are cranked up to near their limits (which is very loud for their size), you can notice a decrease in bass so they would't be the best choice as a replacement for your home stereo in a large room, but for a bedroom or office, they are the perfect choice.

I'm a huge fan of Creative speakers and this is the third set I've purchased (the first two were the i-trigue which, unfortunately, are no longer available) and after reading many MANY reviews on a plethora of speaker sets, I thought this set would be a good choice. I enjoyed the bass boom it produced and the sound is very crisp. But after only 3 blissful days of listening to music, the speakers have stopped working. I've tried all the troubleshooting tips available on the Creative website and am now left waiting for a reply to my email sent into the customer service center oblivion. I'm very disappointed as I was hoping to use these speakers for a party in 3 days which clearly won't happen now.

In conclusion, the sound is great - if the speakers produce any sound. However, it doesn't matter how good they *can* sound if they don't work at all :(

If the customer service center is able to fix the problem, I will update this review.

UPDATE: The customer service center was unable to fix my speakers but I was able to send mine back for a free exchange, and the new set has been working just fine. I guess the first set was just bad luck!

I have rarely written reviews for anything. These speakers are beyond quality of any computer speakers I have ever experienced. I consider myself an Audiophile and am so very impressed with the sound quality. I received the speakers today and have literally been sitting here for hours listening to all types of different music. If you are considering this set, don't even hesitate. You will be so impressed!!

Had these speakers for about a week and I absolutely love the sound quality. They have incredible clarity, especially in the higher frequency ranges. They are also very small and light which is a plus for anyone who is tight on space. The only two draw backs I see are the lack of decibels and remote control. This system is hooked up to my HDTV which is luckily very close to my bed. If it were across the room, I would want slightly larger speakers to produce more volume. The second downfall, which is most of the reason I gave them 4 stars instead of 5, is that I have to get out of bed to adjust the volume. If using with a computer this is probably no big deal, but with an HDTV this can be very annoying. For $150, which is what I paid, I believe this to be a decent deal.

Sound quality is superb. Lows seem to be a little masked by the immense bass, but turning down the bass for certain situations works well. Highly recommended. Especially when they were on sale for 199.