15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Best at this price range
I love these speakers. I tended to like Creative's line better than others, so I got their flagship $100 speakers. I'm not even sure those sounded better than these $20-30 ones. If they did, it wasn't by much. Returned them and got these.
This won't give you loud powerful sound or anything. No computer speakers will. But you can crank it plenty loud - and...
Updated--Ok, but wayyyyy too much bass
Update--April 6, 2009: The bass was so overpowering and muddy that I finally could not abide it anymore, and I returned the speaker set to Amazon. It is possible that my unit was defective. It is also possible that the bass rendition of the signal by the TV was wanting in the lower frequency range, and that use of this set with a computer or other system with...
This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
I love these speakers. I tended to like Creative's line better than others, so I got their flagship $100 speakers. I'm not even sure those sounded better than these $20-30 ones. If they did, it wasn't by much. Returned them and got these.
This won't give you loud powerful sound or anything. No computer speakers will. But you can crank it plenty loud - and gunshots will sound like gunshots, not random noise. They're very clear.
As far as I'm concerned, the only worthwhile jump up from these speakers is to go to a legit surround\stereo system or to try some $200-400 Bose ones (I've had mixed results with those over the years, some great, some not).
My only complaint about these is that the cords are all too short, shorter than most computer speaker set ups, and that made it tricky to set up the way I wanted.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
I purchased these as an extra pair of speakers to have around the house for a laptop, portable dvd player, or anyone with a distaste for headphones that brings over their computer. Well, they ended up replacing my main set for my gaming desktop above a pair of more expensive Altec Lansing speakers. This simple Creative speaker system is of high quality, well-built, and has a very clean sound. I was surprised by the quality of the sound, as well as the power considering the price. They have a ton of bass; so much so that I had to adjust my bass settings in Windows to tone it down a little.
I have one complaint. I'm not sure how others have their computers set up, but mine is to the left of my chair. The problem is the right speaker is the one with the 3.5mm plug that goes into the sound card, and the wire is only about 4 ft. long. It was way too short to reach down the back of my desk and all the way over to the back of my PC, so I had to buy an extension wire. For some that might defeat the purpose of buying on a budget if you need an extra piece of hardware.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
Update--April 6, 2009: The bass was so overpowering and muddy that I finally could not abide it anymore, and I returned the speaker set to Amazon. It is possible that my unit was defective. It is also possible that the bass rendition of the signal by the TV was wanting in the lower frequency range, and that use of this set with a computer or other system with higher-fidelity output would yield more acceptable sound renditions. Amazon's willingness to permit returns is one reason that I continue to give the majority of my on-line business to them--thank you, Amazon, for accepting my return. I replaced the Creative speaker set with a really cheap "no-name" set purchased on sale at a local branch of an office supply chain, and it is somewhat more acceptable for listening to TV programming. Your mileage may vary.
===================== ORIGINAL REVIEW: =====================
I bought these based on extensive reading of reviews at Amazon, comparing them to several other alternatives, all under $50. My main reason for buying the Creative set was that nobody seemed to complain that they were shoddy or that they stopped working after several months, or that there was a 60 Hz hum, all complaints about any other set that I contemplated purchasing. They arrived in a few days from a nearby Amazon stocking point, even with free shipping...I ALWAYS appreciate Amazon's speedy service.
Like so many other reviewers, I found the bass overpowering, making the sound from my 23" Samsung HDTV (which, by itself sounded tinny and harsh) overly muddy, save for the equalizer built into the TV. I had to turn the equalizer's bass frequency response down to the lowest setting to render the speakers acceptable. They are much better than the TV alone, of course, but I view this purchase as the least of all evils, because the other alternatives had such dire caveats. I think that I would have had a better listening experience from some of the other alternatives, though at the risk of product failure. However, like the other alternatives that burned out, this unit, too, was made in China. I can only hope that Creative has exercised its quality control and that this set will live up to the good name of Creative.
Also, I wish that there were a separate ON/OFF switch instead of a combined ON/OFF-Volume switch. That would make it easier to turn it off without losing the accustomed volume setting.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
These speakers were supposed to replace the existing set of speakers that came with the desktop computer. Unfortunately, they are inferior to the original speakers that came with the PC. In all fairness, these speakers sound better than the speakers on my laptop, but that is not saying much.
The satellite speakers are far too tinny and the bass is exaggerated, making for a very poor quality.
Was forced to send it back, so that I can buy a different brand of speakers, hopefully with a better performance.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
Like other have said, this is a great, quality product for a really low price with a little too much bass. Since the bass isn't adjustable on the hardware (why wouldn't they give you a knob or something?), you're stuck with it unless you can either muffle the subwoofer or install an audio driver with an equalizer. For the price, though, I'm pretty happy. Especially when you want a little extra thump from some techno or old-school Hip-Hop.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
...like i always says that if you want good sound system stuff,then there is no better stuff like Creative company...those are my anather speakers of this company and i am again not dissapointed...surround 2.1 system is perfect...the only a little bitty tiny cons is that you don't have a button to regulate bass,and for some people can be to loud...but you can always set the bass like you want using even simply windows program...
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
Like my title...way too much bass. I preferred my 10 year old Yamaha 2.1 system to this. This system would be much better if you could adjust the bass. It might be great for gaming, however, for music...go with something else.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
I didn't put 1 star so you wouldn't assume this is one of those ridiculous rants. But my recommendation: DO NOT BUY.
Several other reviewers noted this and I have to agree: it sends too much power to the subwoofer. If you're thinking "oh cool, I really like to feel the bass" hold on a second. The problem is it overloads the subwoofer circuit. Put on music with strong bass and the thing crackles and pops and sounds really awful. The only way to fix it is to use some sort of EQ software, like the equalizer in iTunes, and cut out so much bass that it defeats the purpose of having a good strong subwoofer. The other problem with this solution is that it only applies to music being played through iTunes.
There are fixes like software that runs in the background on your soundcard or if you have an expensive soundcard it may come with controls that let you tailor the EQ for all output from the sound card. But, again, that defeats the whole reason for having the unit.
I really WANTED to like these speakers. They have a very nice sound -- the highs are crisp and not shrill or tinny, midrange frequencies are full and punchy, and the bass would thump nicely if it wasn't constantly distorting.
This is somewhat revealing ... you can go to the Creative Labs website, look up the unit, and find a troubleshooter FAQ that includes "the bass distorts." I got in touch with their customer service via email. They have been very responsive and are ready to issue an RMA to return the unit to them for repair/replace. But how much work am I going to put into a set of speakers that cost $30? Get a copy of my receipt (which they require), pack them up, pay $15-20 dollars to ship them, etc., you get the idea.
I'm actually thinking of selling them at a garage sale and buying the Eagle Tech ET-AR504LR-BK 2.1 speakers, which are well reviewed and about $20 more.
So, in summary: not recommended.
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This review is from: Creative Labs Inspire A200 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System (Electronics)
These are the best I've ever had on my PC. They're easy to use and the sound quality is great... so great in fact, that I don't even have to turn the volume up that loud unless I'm jammin' out to some music! lol. I'm very happy with this purchase and it was even recommended to me by my best friend because his mom has the same thing!
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