Nice Set!
Written: Apr 23 '03 (Updated Apr 23 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Volume/Turn on wired remote, 5.1, small cubes, big bass, packs lots of power
Cons: Not "Digital", center speaker is weak or lifeless, mess of wires
The Bottom Line: With ease of controls and sound quality at this price, this is an excellent deal.
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| jnoschese's Full Review: Creative Technology Inspire™ 5200 5 Speakers |
Creative Labs, known mostly for their sound cards, I decided to pick these up after having four speakers attached to my PC for full on gaming and musical editing, and some minor dvd watching, I wanted 5.1 surround sound and I wanted the full effect.
I was weary at this price range for a few reasons. Most of these speaker systems have crossovers in bad areas and there is generally too little bass coming out of the sub or too much going into the cubes, well, this set does the job nicely. I have to say, the sound quality is quite impressive. My highs are high and bright and clear, and the bass can shake the room a bit.
The center speaker is lacking. I run a Sound Blaster Audigy card that can take advantage of this set and run in EAX all the time, so when I play mp3's, it should be coming out in full surround sound, however, the center speaker is very very low where you can't even notice its on, but I'm not sure if thats the fault of EAX or not. I even cranked the center speaker control in the sound setup, but, still the same. When I tried to play around with a DVD where I know the audio should be coming out from there, there is just too many software controls to place speakers and knobs and switches, so its not "accurate" as if it were a real stereo setup.
This setup comes with a remote switch that is wired to the back and I place it on my desk right above my mouse. You can turn the bass levels up and down from it, as well as volume, and turn it on and off. It even lights up when its on so you remember to shut them off when you shut down. I like it a lot, although I don't like to mess with the bass settings like that so I leave that knob alone.
These suckers crank. It boasts little power (I think 30 watts RMS) but these get LOUD and do not distort at all. Very impressive and very surprised in this price range.
There is definitely too many wires. Three go into the sound card and then five to the speakers. I highly suggest you tie them up so it doesn't look like a complete disaster under your desk. the beauty part is that since everything plugs into the subwoofer, you can place it anywhere you want, out of the way even, and hide the wires there.
Speaking of the subwoofer, the 6" (it seems to look that way anyway) is ported so air moves out and makes a big sound in a little package. The system definitely sounds nice once hooked up and helps me out when mixing music or anything in that nature. I can hear certain things I couldn't hear from my previous old speakers, and I'm very pleased with the outcome. I even got them on sale.
I'm a little disappointed about the surround sound. I could've spent another $20 on it, but, I didn't feel like spending tons of money on "computer speakers." I feel the digital hookups (I believe the model above) would've made a big difference since I think the decoder is actually in the speakers, and these speakers have the computer/sound card decode and send to the speakers. I think the other way, you'd be getting much more accurate sound placement within the speakers, and less wires to boot, but I have to say I'm very pleased with these, especially with a mailin rebate...
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jnoschese
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Location: Long Beach, NY
Reviews written: 68
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Insane New Yorker with a knack for electronics
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