Customer Reviews

Creative Labs TravelSound i300 MP3 Players

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am currently deployed, and these speakers have turned out to be heaven sent. They are small, so carrying them around is no problem. The volume is so nice, that while at work, I can turn up the sound and our whole tent can listen to music. Being so mobile, they come in handy because they will plug into anything. I think once my friends saw my speakers, they all want to buy one now so they can use them while they work. I recommend these speakers to anyone on the go. They are very light weight, small enough to fit in the front pocket of your backpack, and the sound quality is great for both the size and price. It also comes with a cute little bag that protects it, which works great with all this sand.

First, the negatives:
1) There are no grills on the speaker cones (other reviews have mentioned this). It would be easy to damage the speakers, but if you're generally careful, this isn't a big issue.
2) The carrying case does not fit the AC adapter. This means that the speakers can go in the carrying case, but the AC adapter is loose. Of course, if you only use battery power, this is not an issue.
3) The maximum volume before (bass) distortion isn't that great. This is a debateable point, but it really depends on what kind of music you listen to and how you intend to use the speakers.

For my purposes (I'm a musician), I could not increase the volume very loud before the bass distortion kicked in. I could get a bit more volume by turning the bass way down, but not much. Even as a general-purpose boom-box, I'd say that the max volume attainable is only average, about like your typical small clock radio -- not even close to my Sony CD-playing boom-box. I only make this comparison so that potential buyers realize that these speakers do not compare to jambox-type devices.
If you just need some music in a hotel room or in a relatively quiet place, it should be ok. The sound quality at low volume is decent, but I can't really recommend it for a wide variety of usage.
I give it three stars for the overall design and usage potential. It seems to me that they could have put more thought into the overall design and even made them a bit bigger to accomodate some more volume.

I purchased this item from my local store and I'm very satisfied with its quality.
Of course, the sound quality cannot compete with HiFi systems, but for such a small speaker, the sound quality is really good. The frequency response is 150-20k, according to creative. So it is a little dry in the low freq range, as expected. Aside from that, the sound quality is very good. And it's not completely bassless as you might think.
You can get the volume high enough for room of about 20 square meters with decent sound quality. But if you adjust the volume too high it'll become noisy.
In a word, its sound quality is not top-notch. But for such a small speaker, it's much better than you'd expect. For a rough reference, its sound quality is about the same as what you can get for a pair of conventional speakers at the price range of around US$25.
The best feature of this gadget may be its digitalized amplifier. Unlike conventional linear amplifer which will waste a lot of power, travelsound uses a digital amplifier. So the battery life is longer. Creative claims a set of four AAA alkline battery can last more than 30 hours, I didn't count the hours but I think the claim is quite reasonable.

In a word, if you want music on the go, this is the one for you.

I purchased this from Amazon after several hours of "whim" buying study. It seemed these had the best chance of being better than some of the cheapie portables i was familiar with. Much to my delight i was NOT disappointed. Granted with speakers this size you cant expect sub-like bass but actually theres more than i expected. Sound quality was very clear and the "wide" stereo feature is nice. High volume levels will cause distortion but you'll get a good amount of volume before you get distortion. If you buy these thinkin you'll get home stereo sound, forget it. If you buy these wanting a great set of "listen in the hotel room" travel speakers these work great!

I bought this speaker one month ago and am still amazed by how good the sound quality is. There are two settings: one for normal stereo, and the other for amplified stereo, which produces quality surround sound as if the speakers were much larger and more powerful. This setting is ideal for a larger room, where normally the speakers would be placed at the opposite ends of the room. The size of the speaker is about 2-3 times the size of a standard 20G MP3 player, and can be folded back for ease of storage. The best thing about this speaker set is that it is very flexible, unlike other similar speakers on the market, which are designed only for the IPod. I can plug it into my MP3 player (a Creative Zen Touch), CD player, computer, or anything else that takes the standard headphone plug. The battery power for this speaker is supposedly very long, but I have not run it on battery power yet. The only drawback for this speaker is the lack of bass power. However, the same can be said for all of the travel speakers on the market. I highly recommend this product.

Bought this for my mother (a Buddhist nun) after doing a bit of research. She took it to remote China for a 3 month trip and used it extensively for playing her chanting music and listening to mp3-encoded teachings. She, and her numerous peers during the trip, were thoroughly amazed at the sturdy build and the great sound quality from these tiny speakers. She thinks it actually sounds a bit better now that it has been 'worked in' a bit. Definitely worth the money. She loves it!

Yeah - and I mean it. I also own the Sony SRS-T88 and did not realize how crappy they were till I was presented with the i300.

The i300 is reasonably loud, room filling sound. But the best part is that the sound quality is pretty good - you get some bass, the mid-range is clean and the treble is clear. For its size, the sound quality is pretty good. If you can equalize a bit, its sound quality might even blow you away.

Others who have heared the speakers I own have been impressed - commenting on the clarity of sound.

While most speakers out there use el-cheapo aluminium drivers, Creative uses titanium ones (so they claim). I don't know if this has anything to do with the sound quality. They also claim to use a digital amp - and if true - that is the way to go for long long battery life.

Would I have wanted some additional features? yeah - Bass and Treble Controls.. Why not go all the way? It costs little to implement and can really perk up the sound on small speaks.

Bye Bye Sony... Hello Creative... Thanks for designing a nice product.

Now to look for a deal on a Zen Sleek!

These speakers are not what i had expected from their size, price, and looks. Their quality, even at high volumes, exceeds many other speakers i've seen at double the price tag. The reason I bought these was because of the other reviews and the size. Another reason was the proposed battery life, 35 hours on 4 aaa batteries, not bad at all. So far its been very close. I have heard the other speaker (systems) and yes the JBL OnStage and the Bose Sounddock are both very good and do live up to their reputations, but your stuck with using them only when there is an outlet nearby.

I agree with the previous review. I had these speakers for a year in Kuwait. They worked great. Sand gets everywhere out there and it still did not bother these speakers. I had many people asking where I got them while I was out there. Small enough to take with me almost everywhere. Loud enough for everyone in the tent to listen.

This stereo speaker set ist wonderful! If travelling lightly and still offers an amazing sound quality. When you're looking for a solution to take on a trip, this it the one to go for. It is a set with active speakers, thus the volume is not a problem, and for listening to music in any size of room is easily possible. You will not use this for a disco or a party, of course, but for travelling and listening to music, this is the best solution.