Customer Reviews

Creative TravelSound 200 Portable Speaker System

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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!

As someone who travels constantly, these speakers make a perfect hotel room stereo system when paired with my laptop. They'd also make great speakers for an MP3 player. Bass is very respectable considering the size. Overall sound won't make you want to throw out the home stereo, but gets the job done very nicely. I have also found that these speakers work great for meeting room presentations, up to about 20 people.

Three considerations: The AC cord is an unwieldy mess and there is no room for it in the carrying case. The switch on top between the volume controls has little to no effect on sound. Be sure that the device you plan to use with these has bass/treble or equalizer controls. Using these speakers with "flat" sound from a Line Out jack is not recommended.

Excellent for its size. Highs and midrange are great! Bass is a bit lacking, but what do you expect from 1" speakers? The 150 Hz - 20 kHz spec. is accurate. The wide stereo effect works very well. Speakers really sound like they are over 2 ft apart! Nice that it comes with a carrying case and even batteries.

I just moved into a tiny apartment and didn't have room for a traditional stereo system. I found TravelSound 200 while searching for portable stereos and I liked what I heard about it (quality sound, one unit, lightweight, etc..). Even though I was prepared to get something small, I wasn't prepared for how TINY the TravelSound 200 is. I got it in the mail and I thought they sent me a toy prototype! But sure enough, I plugged it into my laptop and started blasting away my MP3s. I can listen to music anywhere in my apartment and even down the hall a little! The sound is rich and full, nothing squeaky like you might expect from the size.

I was concerned about just using batteries and was looking into buying the AC adapter separately, but I listened to music every night for several hours for over TWO weeks until the complimentary batteries they gave me ran out. With 4 AA rechargeable batteries, it's not worth it to invest in the adapter.

Over all, very pleased with the stereo. A good buy if you want good sound in a small space or something to take with you on the road.

PRO:
-Price/Name: quality manufactured product, creative is a solid company
-Great sound quality for such a compact device, some songs quality is amazing and others isn't so impressive but that is probably how they were recorded. (MP3 format, 128K compression)
-Adjustable base: Able to tilt the base up, and point speakers in your direction
-Carrying case: Has a small pocket inside the black nylon case to store the audio cord, I don't use it because it's a tight fit.
-Easy to use and set up
-Audio Normalizer switch: it helpful because some songs boost to much high tones or bass for this size of speaker, I use this setting all the time to protect the speakers cones from being over used.

CON:
-wide stereo effect: Suppose to create a more 3D sound effect, I always keep this setting on, but don't really notice the different
-Battery life: Manufacturer states you'll get 25 hours of playback. With the batteries that came with this unit, I got 16 hours of play back time with the volume set on a 26/40 setting. This is still a great amount of play time for this type of device, so it's only a slight disadvantage.

Over all the sound quality from this portal speaker is great, nice styling and I use these speakers in a warehouse which is very noisy environment. I manage to still hear my music, and so far have used this speaker for about 3 weeks with no problems at all.

the reasons i got these speakers were that a wanted to have something very portable with deacent sound for the beach or traveling, so i purchased and returned several types of portable speakers including the altec lansing inmotion im3 which had very good sound but are close to 150 bucks. However these sound about 85%-90% as good for almost a quarter of the price, both these systems have titanium drivers that deliver great high to mid range tones and the only drawbak of all these very small systems is that the bass is at best adecuate. but thing is that to have good bass you need a air volume.

If you want your music to blast with the bass cranked all the way up until your walls shake, then you should know better than to buy these little speakers! But if you want some nice background music while you're working without the bother of headphones, you'll love these. The sound clarity is remarkably good for such little speakers, and I think they are loud enough to use for mood music the next time we entertain, too. Highly recommended.

This speaker system is excellent.
- It will run off of your powered USB port if you obtain the proper cable.
- The speakers provide clear crisp highs, very good mid-range and a decent bass response.
- The sound will fill a small (9 x 12) room and provides great sound for listening or gaming at your computer, mp3 player, PDA, walkman, portable DVD player, etc.

Highly recommended! The quality will surprise you. These are artfully designed and perform excellently (within their portable speaker class).

Hint: The fabric carrying case does not have a 'hard side' to protect the exposed (no grill) speakers when you are transporting them. I snipped the rectangular form-fitted plastic container that the speakers ship in and placed the snipped portion (to cover the front only of the speakers) into the carry case. It fits perfectly and affords great added protection for the speakers when they are stored in the carrying case.