CreativeLabs 51MF1610AA002 GigaWorks T20 Series II 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort Technology

I'm a big fan of Creative products. My favorite set of headphones is the Creative H3 for for music listening. I use a creative external sound card for my home theater to convert optical out from a game console to stereo. I like their products because in general that are highly optimized for listening enjoyment, reliable, and the sound is VERY clear. Creative hates distortion and you can tell by the quality of the sound in their products.The built-in ONKYO speakers in my $1500 laptop are garbage. They are muddy, distorted, and just plain awful to listen through. I've tried other small speakers to try to get an upgrade, but I've been using headsets almost exclusively for years because I could never find a set of speakers that I liked.Finally I decided to buy the last pair of speakers I liked for a computer, the Bose Media Mate that I grew up with. While waiting to save up for these, I stumbled across these speakers and the high ratings people were giving them. I was convinced to get a new set of these instead. My thoughts?These speakers are beautiful. They look like something made by Klipsch or Polk. They are a beautiful glossy black with brushed metal knobs and polished ports. They look NICE. There's three knobs for bass, treble, and volume, and a headphone jack and aux in as well the regularly computer port on the back. I didn't care for the cheap mini cable so I swapped it with a braided one I own. it also comes with an apparently gold-plated stereo splitter so you can plug these speakers into your TV etc.For speakers that use analog audio input the clarity is astounding. You would expect non-digital input to give a lot of static hiss and maybe some distortion from EMI but I can't hear any. At max volume there is a faint hum. VERY low distortion.Sound quality is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is incredibly clear, and bass and mid-range is outstanding. Listen to the Hyperlight Drifter soundtrack and prepare to be amazed. Likewise, give "No Time for Caution" from Interstellar a listen with the bass turned all the way up.I use Interstellar as a benchmark because if the balance, clarity, and power is there, two tracks on the soundtrack can bring me to tears every time (I have witnessed three other people cry when I played them those tracks on the Creative H3 headset from the raw emotional power).The problem with that track on other mediocre sound products is that it has some very quiet, very resonant parts, and then gets very loud, and very fast with layers of sound (the metronome, the strings, organ). If played correctly you should be able to hear quiet intro, the ground-shaking vibration, and the resonating ending. Most sound equipment the sound is nearly unhearable at the start and drops off completely at the end.On these speakers with the bass turned all the way up the resonating bass continues until the track ends as the organ slowly fades out (an effect reminiscent of 2001:A Space Odyssey). Magical. And yes, I was tearing up.These speakers probably aren't the best for pop music. The mid-high range sounds flat. I don't know how to really put this except to say that speakers normally boost vocal range so that pop music sounds good (you can hear this even over lousy car speakers, you can still hear vocals clearly because the range is boosted). But here the treble controls aren't going to boost vocal range. They are going to boost a narrow range that's a bit higher (heavy orchestral recordings will sound a bit "brighter" with treble cranked up). So in other words, the vocals on pop are a bit underwhelming and messing with the treble won't help you with vocals unless you're listening to opera.If I could give these speakers 4 and 1/2 stars I would. Clarity is fantastic. Styling is wonderful. Orchestra recordings sound great. SythWave, VaporWave, Electronica, Opera should all sound great. Pop/Rock...not so much. But! These are still an enormous cut above regular "computer speakers" in this price range. Where they really shine is resonance. Put them on a hard wood surface with adequate distance between them up against a wall, crank the bass all the way up, and be amazed. The gap between the lower mid-range and upper mid-range is real but I think the other qualities of these speakers make up for it.

It seems to me that a set of desktop speakers is naturally going to be a compromise at one level or another (performance vs. price). Given that, desktop speakers come in wide variations including the inexpensive small typical two speaker or a 2.0 set like these. To expensive speakers systems of various costs and sizes. Some of which are Hi FI full range speakers costing as much as some home stereo speakers. I wanted a reasonably priced set of speakers that would do a good job (fully expecting limitations) reproducing music, and have been happy with this set. My demands were that I wanted something that I could listen to casually without being too critical, but that would be at least fairly accurate reproducing music and audio. My goal was to find at least some transparency, along with dynamics and clarity that was not going to be in the hundreds of dollars and so far these speakers are a doing a decent job. I might upgrade these in the future, but I feel for the price, size and form factor these are an excellent buy.Transparency, meaning an open Natural sound (not canned or tinny) or affected by coloration of a speaker. This attribute is up the list of the qualities I appreciate in a speaker, and these inexpensive speakers do a very good job.Clarity, is also something I appreciate and look for in any speaker. I want to be ale to hear the sound of guitar pick on a string, or nuance in a subtle lyric, and again these do a reasonable job for the price and size.Highs or treble in my opinion allows me to hear things like a brush on a cymbal, or crisp articulation, and again here these speakers do a good job considering what they are.Bass is something that people sometimes find lacking with these speakers. Personally I think that the bass these speakers deliver (given their size and price) is pretty impressive. You can feel the vibration in the air during a bass solo, and the resonance of a cello is easily discernable. But saying that, if you're looking for a speaker to really thump this might not be not the right speaker for you, and something with a dedicated sub might be a better fit.I'll simply say that compared to the other desktop speakers I have at my immediate possession the T20's have a broader dynamic range, better transparency and are easier to listen to than others I currently own. Some of the other speakers in my home include a set of JBL Creature III's. A set of Creative T3300's (both 2.1 systems). A set of Creative T12's, and a few other sets that are taking up space in boxes, including set's by Logitech, Monsoon, iHome and a few others.I was going to list the characteristics of all of the speakers by how good I thought they sounded, but that seems too subjective. And considering that comments by some reviewers who remarked on the "lack of Bass" they found in these speakers is what inspired me to voice my opinion in the first place. Ultimately it seems to me that comments like that are subjective, argumentative and out of place. So I'll just say that for general purposes these speakers are a great buy, and able to produce a wide range of music at a volumes high enough to irritate others in the same house.Over all, they will not vibrate the widows or rattle the drawers. But if you're looking for an inexpensive speaker to listen to casually and want at least some of the characteristics I mentioned above, this is a pretty solid bet. In addition for those who are debating to upgrade from the T12's. It's my opinion the sound difference is easily worth the additional $30.00 or so.One last things I want to mention here is the use of an EQ, or audio enhancing software. The impression I get reading some of the reviews, is that some people might not be aware of the differences an EQ can make or the difference in sound cards. Even on my Droid I use an app that allows me to customize music to my liking. And there are free downloadable EQ's from various sources on the internet for just about any OS out there. If you're not using at least the EQ supplied by the makers of the OS your using, and feel these speakers are lacking. Please try either that version, a version supplied by the maker of your sound card, or one of the many free downloads available. BTW Dolby has a great downloadable EQ.