Customer Reviews

JBL Creature II Self-Powered Satellite Speakers (Gray)

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

 

 

After buying an iPod earlier this year and trying these speakers out at the Apple Store, I felt compelled to buy them on eBay. Style-wise they are a perfect match for the iPod. Sound-wise, the set of Altec Lansing speakers I planned to replace with the Creatures are a bit better. I did not realize this until putting both sets back to back, but the bass is significantly more powerful on Altec Lansing 2100s. As you may have read in reviews of the Altec Lansing speakers, they lack a bit when it comes to mid-range sounds. Because of this, if you're going for the over-all sound, you may be better off with the Creatures. If you're out for power, the Altec Lansing set is where you'll get closest to a regular stereo. Unless you're totally set on the Creatures, try out Altec Lansing 2100s and see what you think. They are considerably cheaper as well. Don't believe what you hear about Creature II speakers being the best of the price range. There are some great computer speakers on the market these days. You really need to compare them back to back and with different music to really appreciate the differences.

Two words sum up these speakers for me: instant disappointment. I suppose I shouldn't have expected so much. I guess I'm just too cheap to pony up two bills for computer speakers. So, let me evaluate them based on price and value, rather than sound quality alone (for that is awfully subjective).

They still suck. At any price point, these speakers are a disappointment. The treble is too shril and tinny sounding (like an early 80's telecaster); the midrange is non-existent; the bass is underwhelming and flabby. Not only that, the gray plastic really looks cheap. (A little more silvery or metallic like the new Apple LCD monitors would be better.)

This is too bad because designwise - they're pretty cool. They don't take up too much deskspace, they're kinda futuristic, and the touch volume works well. It appears these speakers are being sold on JBL's reputation alone. Too bad.

As a guitar player I admit I may have particular tastes in sound (eg: I like speakers with alnico magnets better than ceramic) - but there are certain aspects to sound that do speak to quality rather than just taste. There is no way that these speakers can be called worthwhile - at any price. Feel free to disagree, but be forewarned. I'm not trying to slam the product. I wish I didn't have to return them (but I am). I'm just trying to help. I'd like to think after twenty years of guitar playing that I know a thing or two about sound.

To sum up, the sound just isn't THERE. Ah well, the tone quest goes on.

The two main speakers are basically the same ones that came with my iMac (G4 model), and they sound very good. I picked up this set for my living room, and simply attached my iPod's dock to the bass unit, where all the cables converge. That's my stereo now. The gray models' color is slightly cool and is glossy but not metallic in finish. It doesn't quite match any of my other electronics, but it's not an awful mismatch either. The dials, controls and the covers for the speaker memberanes are almost all chrome-silver covered plastic. The bell shapes grow on you. Small integral pedestals in the molds hold them about 1/4" off whatever surface they're on, so vibrations are minimised fairly well for most settings. The two main speakers are quite small, and can tuck away fairly easily, though their bell shapes don't make them the best bookends. The subwoofer is smaller than some, but not too small that it affects their output.

The speakers pick up plenty of detail from the music for most listeners, though if you're really trained, I'm sure they're not nearly as good as more professional gear. In my experience, the bass unit is maybe a tiny bit too aggressive at its normal level, but that depends on your music too. More recent music is being mastered to emphasize bass, and it can drown out midtones and treble. The level you can pump up the treble, bass and volume is almost ridiculous, so be careful if you have pranksters in the house who like to fiddle with the controls. :-)

The volume is controlled by touch-sensitive buttons on the right speaker. There are no moving parts; it's like the iPod's scroll wheel in that sense. They're sensitive to touch and you can just hold your finger on the "+" or "-" buttons to keep changing the volume, no annoying tapping needed. The volume shifts are noticeable with each click, but are not too different that you'll have that problem where the voume seems either too quiet or too loud with nothing in between. The controls for the treble and bass are located on the subwoofer. This seemed inconvenient at first since you usually put that piece out of the way, but I never touch the two settings once I put them where I liked them. Others who want to fiddle more might find this to be a problem, though they might also find that two simple equalizers isn't good enough either. I find the default mid-range setting to be right for both. Basically, I trust whoever is mastering the tracks in the studio to get the equalizers right for me (even if it means a lot of bass). The dials "fall" into place at the mid-range easily although there aren't any visual indicators of their current setting. You have to "feel" your way around the dial. Again, if someone wants to interrupt your pacemaker with high bass, this thing makes it easy. ;-)

The AC adaptor brick is kind of big. All the cables and their plugs on the bass unit are distinguished by color and shape -- square peg, square hole fit kinda thing. The cables are 4'-6' long, I can't remember exactly. Long enough so that my subwoofer is on the floor and the two speakers are about 30" higher and about 6' apart with the cables still slack.

Considering that some computers get the equivalent speakers already, and that even without the subwoofer, they get good bass, this won't always be a good choice, especially at this price. But for my purposes, or for those who got cheapo speakers with their computer, these fit the bill nicely.

These guys sound great for the price and their size, but one month after I bought them the touch button volume stopped working. When you change volume (when my still worked) it makes an annoying clicking sound through the speakers.
I took off a star for the volume problem, but the sound alone is worth the purchase. They far outperform any other 3-piece in this price range.

Bought a set of these tonight and plugged them in when I got home. About 10 minutes later, I unplugged them and reboxed them up. Gonna return them tomorrow.

so....

Well, to be fair, let me give the whole story.

First, I got these at CompUSA, which I have never had much luck with, but that is a personal thing I suppose. I only mention it however, because once I opened up the box, there was a duplicate set of manuals (one of which was not wrapped like the other one). It seemed like they might have been opened before. But that's not necessarily bad. Maybe they just did not work for someone else.

I was shopping for them because I am redoing my computer/media room and the speakers I have now are real estate hogs. I have one of the Logitech 5.1 THX sets and I love them, but I have no way to utilize the rear speakers on this particular computer and the bass unit is a bit bigger than I can use. So...I went down and grabbed this little 2.1 set up after reading a few decent reviews. I liked the looks and they sounded pretty good in the store compared the the others.

Anyways, they are not bad, but they are pretty "thin" and "tinny." There is very little if any mid range and the bass, once I tested it out on a variety on styles of music and spoken word tracks, sounded more "blurred" than like proper bass.
So the sound was disappointing, but they are only $100 speakers, so...

But then I noticed that the little green light on the left speaker went out. I played with it for a bit then noticed that that jack in the back of the bass unit was depressed and angled lower than the others. Bottom line, I could not get the cord to stay plugged into it for more than a minute or so.

So, I have a faulty unit that may not really speak to the speakers that much. True. But I do think I got a good sample of the speaker sound, and it was lacking. The unit also seems a bit fragile as the plastic, while looking nice, is very lightweight and just looked fragile. My Logitech speakers, because of their stupid short cords (short for me, that is) fall off my desk all the time when I am moving things around and I fear that if one of these JBLs fell onto my carpet it would break.

Anyways, I have spent too much time saying too little probably, but there you have it. I would agree with others who say that the sound is lacking...sub-par. I also agree with others who say the unit itself is fairly flimsy. The style is great and I love the small footprint. That is what I really wanted them for. But the sound and the build quality were not worth it for me. Maybe they will be good for you. Just keep your receipt and all your packing material. : )

Expensive conversation piece.
Bass? What Bass? That's more like muffled sound.
Higher frequencies? Terrible "beeper" speaker that hurts your ears.
Mid-range? These speakers kill any voice, even bad voices - it hurts your ears. No Mid-ranges, but only high-pitched quasi-voice sound... I am putting them back in the box to give them to my nephew who might have a use for them with his x-box, etc.

*UPDATE* I gave these to my nephew. He says "dude, that's cool!..."

I got mine about a month ago the first set I got were defective but i'm guessing someone purchase them ruin them and returned. Anyway went back to the store exchanged for a new set, couple them with my cheap dell and even with this lousy sound card in my lousy dell the creatures work great in fact I'm enjoying some classic rock as I type this comment, great set love them and highly recommend.
By the way we all shall post our comments on any and all products we buy, I always research things I'm planning to buy and yes I make my decision based on other consumers experiences, so keep posting good or bad it's all important.

The previous reviewer must have received a defective set of these Creature Speakers. My entire family was overwhelmed by the full, rich sound and quality for such a little price. Plug these into your IPod and you will pass up those "made for IPod" systems. No distortion, great bass, adjustable sub-woofer and overall amazing sound. A very good buy.

I REALLY wanted to like these speakers. They looked futuristic like many of the other items in my office. I am going from a 6-year old pair of Altec Lansing speakers with sub to something a little newer. These were attrocious. The bass made the plastic sub rattle and was weak compared to what I am used to. I am sending these back and buying something from Altec Lansing. These might be ok for someone that has nothing.

The JBL Creature II Speakers are jsut about the best spekers you can get for $100.
I just got them and set them up and wow i am lisin to audioslave like never before!!!