Home > Consumer Reviews > Creative Labs FPS2000 5-Piece Computer Speakers

I owned these speakers for about 8 months, and by the end of those 8 months, I needed new speakers.

I use my computer primarily for playing games, listening to music, and watching DVD movies, in that order. When I first got the FPS2000s, I was thrilled with their sound and ease of use. First, the pros.

These speakers are tiny, and you can put them virtually anywhere in the room. They take up little space, and pack a whollop for their size. The subwoofer is about the size of a shoebox, and fits well under a desk. The contents are packed very intuitively, with the speakers and their wires wrapped individually in the top portion of the box and the subwoofer hidden in the bottom.

Setup is more or less a snap, but it takes at least 30 minutes. You are required to label each speaker and its wires with the provided stickers. This makes it easy to identify the front and rear speakers in case you decide to move them, and makes wiring easier. The front speakers are supplied with 9 foot cords, and the rears with 16 foot cords. All attach to the back of each speaker and to the subwoofer with wire clamps.

The most convenient piece of equipment in this package is the volume control knob. It plugs separately into your subwoofer and can be attached to the side of your monitor or your desk with a sticky pad. It has a dial that turns the speaker system on and off and controls the volume, and a separate one that controls balance.

The performance of these speakers is quite impressive, given their wattage rating (a piddly 7 watts/channel for each satellite, plus a 30 watt subwoofer). Coupled with any of the Sound Blaster Live! sound cards, you have the option of digital audio, which makes connection to your soundcard much easier and provides for better sound.

For games, these speakers are pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. The sub doesn't pack enough power, so you don't "feel" the game. For music, mid-level sounds are lacking, so MP3s and even CD audio won't sound rich and deep, but rather high and almost tinny, depending on the volume. Movies sound best on this system. The surround sound really kicks in here, and when positioned properly (and provided that the room is small enough), these speakers create a wall of virtual sound. The sub fares better here, and literally shook my dorm room when I played "Saving Private Ryan."

However, after several months of use, the speakers wore down and emitted static at higher volumes when the bass became too much. The power wasn't enough for my liking, and after reading reviews of the Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 (I highly recommend those), I decided it was time to move on.

In short, these speakers are an excellent value, and sound tremendous for the price you pay. The packaging and setup is well done, and the speakers are amazingly loud for their size. However, movie buffs, gamers, and people that like their music will quickly tire of the lack of raw power. The entire system has a total of 58 watts, less than just one of my Klipsch satellites, and after a while this lack of power shows. Overall though, a solid package from Cambridge. (85/100)

4 speakers may seem like an odd array, but when you think about how computers are set up, a center speaker may just get annoying. These little cube speakers pack a lot of punch and deliver very crisp sound, especially if you can plug them into a digital jack on a Soundblast Live! card. Another cool feature is the little volume knob that you can place just about anywhere on your desk that lets you control volume and also fade from front to back. These are great speakers, I've had them for a year and a half now and they still work wonderfully. I highly recommend them!

Aside from the fact that you have dolby surround in your home, this amazing product enables you a whole new world of gaming, DVD watching, and music listening. I had some doubts regarding the power of this speaker system, but It is more then great. It gives you the feeling of home cinema! The only bad thing is that you will need a newer sound card to use it, but those are given with every newer configuration lately. 5 stars well earned!

amazing sound in a small package;
I've owned these for over 3 years;
i have noticed no problems ever whatsoever;
i use them for my music (I have over 3300 songs, many of which are played @ 320 and up), games (I'm also an avid gamer, and these deal it for sure. I just love the thump thump thump of bullets leaving my SAW's chamber, then the metallic tink tink tink as they clatter on the floor), and I watch movies, all using these speakers. The cool thing is that you can even replace them with speakers from any old stereo set (not that they direly need replacing, mine is a special case).

I have had these speakers for over four years, and they have been fine and sounded great. They can be very loud, and the wired remote for the volume is a plus. However, i must have rocked my speakers just a bit to hard, because one of the outputs on my amp/sub unit no longer functions. Kinda bizare, bacause now, i have a 3.1 system. So now, im saving my pennies for a brand new promedia 5.1 system.