Creative TravelSound 200 Portable Speaker System

by Creative

Product Details

• Item Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002K6XOK
• Item model number: 51MF5000AA003
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 5, 2004

Product Description

Compact, lightweight, yet affordable, Creative TravelSound 200 is the perfect portable palm-sized speaker with built-in high precision Titanium micro drivers to deliver crystal clear audio playback. Suitable for listening to music CDs, MP3 songs or even watching movies on your notebook. Portable option with 4x "AA" batteries or optional universal power supply adapter (sold separately). Comes with an Audio Normalizer switch, which reduces excessive loud songs to average volume level - this problem is common when ripping MP3 music. The Wide Stereo Effect feature enhances your audio listening experience by expanding the sound stage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well designed portable speakers, December 19, 2005

By 

Mr_Dave - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative TravelSound 200 Portable Speaker System (Personal Computers)

A detailed review from an audio guys point of view.

This is an impressive set of amplified speakers considering their small size. They provide a nice, full sound covering all the notes from the highest high down to about 150Hz in the bass region just like the specs say. 150Hz is not low bass by any means but the overall sound is surprisingly accurate and clear.

Songs (or voice recordings) sound just like they should with no problems. The amp itself is completely quiet with no coloration or hiss at any volume.

2 watts/channel (4 watts total) is more than enough to fill the average room with sound. Of course there is not a lot of bass but their is enough for songs to sound natural.

Some tests with a Fluke 83 multimeter showed that it only takes about .2-.4 watts to equal the output of my TV at an average listening level. Since it has 4 watts to work with it can crank pretty well putting out clean sounds up to a maximum of 97dB in my listening room. It can go slightly louder on songs with reduced bass content but that is the average limit on a variety of music which is just fine for a unit of this size.

I did some frequncy response tests with an audio meter set to C weighting which samples the full audio range.
A sine wave function generator was used as the input to the TravelSound 200. Readings were taken at 12" rather than the usual 3' used for large speakers.

Relative output vs frequency chart, 0dB reference at 400Hz:
10Khz 0 dB
5Khz +3 dB
1.5Khz +2 dB
1.0Khz +1 dB
500hz +1 dB
400Hz 0 dB
300Hz 0 dB
200Hz -1 dB
150Hz -3 dB
100Hz -8 dB
90Hz -12 dB
80Hz -15 dB
70Hz -25 dB

That shows a nice flat response down to 150Hz where it drops off quickly. There is a little output even at 100Hz but it's basically all done at that point which is expected. The little speakers try really hard and get moving a fair amount when driven hard.

Maximum Output vs Frequency chart:
This is not the same as frequency reponse shown above. This shows the maximum volume at various notes limited by the speaker moving past it's linear range (distorting) or the amplifier clipping the peaks of the notes.

Frequency - Loudness:
10Khz Ouch! Hurts ears.
1.0Khz 101 dB
500hz 100 dB
400Hz 100 dB
300Hz 99 dB
200Hz 96 dB
170Hz 90 dB
150Hz 88 dB
130Hz 85 dB
100Hz 77 dB
90Hz 76 dB
80Hz 75 dB
70Hz 73 dB
60Hz 70 dB

This shows the speaker system as a whole has signiicant output from 200Hz and above.

Current Draw measurements (to determine battery life)
0mA when off.
17mA at Idle
50mA at low music level., volume at 2
100mA average listening level, volume at 4
300mA This is quite loud ~ 95dB volume at 7
500mA At full volume.

Using 2500mA-Hr rechargeable NiMH AA's I would expect:
50 hours of battery life at low volume
25 hours at medium
4 hours at full volume.

(It should run about 6 days if you forget to turn it off) :-)
Formula example: 2500mA-hr/100mA = 25 hours.

The Creative Labs Travelsound 200 sounds very good for most applications requiring medium sound from a small package. I can honestly recommend it and I many years experience in audio and electronics to base that on.

It can be connected to any audio device that has a typical stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) line out or headphone level output such as casstte walkmans, tape decks, CD players, MP3 players, computer sound cards, etc.

This particular package does not include the AC adaptor. The unit itself has a 5V DC jack so one can be added.

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was way above expectations!, December 17, 2004

By 

pele5474 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative TravelSound 200 Portable Speaker System (Personal Computers)

All I can say is...WOW!! We bought this for our Pogo Rip Drive so we could travel with it and the sound quality is EXCELLENT!! The unit is compact, highly portable and even came with the batteries which is rare these days. This is a great buy if you're in the market for some portable speakers with crystal clear clarity!

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD PRODUCT!, December 29, 2004

By 

buystuff "buy-it" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative TravelSound 200 Portable Speaker System (Personal Computers)

Some people want a large drink in a small cup! There is no pleasing some people. This is a great product for the price. If it was easy to make compact speakers why would they bother with big ones. There are limitations to anything this small. I find these great for my MP3 player for workoust or around the house. This is basically perfect when you don't want to put on headphones. Just plan on buying rechargable batteries (energizer 30min. w/4AA batt. about tweentyfive dollars). that goes for most anything that takes batteries these days. Rebate makes is an extra good deal. If your looking for something to replace your BOSE sound system this is not it but for portable speakers their perfect!