Home > Consumer Reviews > Creative Labs Inspire T10 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort Technology

As with most things, it really depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for speakers around $30, that dont take up much power and dont need to damage eardrums at your next rave party, then you should really consider these. I recently bought both the T10's and the logitech x-140's and had a chance to literally do a side-by-side comparison on my desk. The T10's just sound better, there's no question about that. But they're also slightly more expensive.

Similarities:
-both look great.
-both are low wattage - easy on your electric bill and wont annoy the neighbors
-on both, treble is not too tinny, bass is not too overpowering; on both midrange is wanting (tho you can live with it in either case, its not terrible either).
-both have tone knobs, which is nice
-both do special things to try to enhance bass (logitech has an excusion driver, t10 has a duct)
-If you plug either into a power strip that turns off when you turn off your computer (such as the "smart strip" - to save energy and so that you dont forget to turn off/on your speakers), both will make a small "Popping sound" when turned on or off in that way. However - the logitech's sound is considerably louder and more annoying than the t10's sound. The logitech in fact makes a fairly loud 'pop' even when you just turn it on normally (the t10 does not).
-logitech has bright orange led which may be too bright; t10's green led is normal.

Differences:
-logitech is about $20 to $25 cheaper, depending on current prices, tho the t10's can come close if you happen to catch one of the rebates.
-logitech is 2.5w per speaker RMS, t10's are 5w per speaker RMS. That said, if you're looking for personal speakers, both will be plenty loud. The logitech in particular suprised me in terms of how loud it could get on just 2.5 watts/speaker. I used to own a 2w/channel pc speaker system before and it never got nearly as loud as the logitech's do. Clearly speaker technology keeps evolving.
-logitech x-140's each have a single speaker plus a 'bass excursion' driver. Each T10 has a bass duct - plus 2 speakers in each case - a tweeter and a woofer.
-Both are about the same weight and roughly the same size - both are a bit bulkier compared to the average desktop speaker. But in a good way.


Sound comparison: T10 wins, but Logitech is respectable
I did a side by side comparision, swapping out the creatives and then the logitechs from my pc while playing the same song list for comparison. First I listened to the logitech x140's -- and was impressed. For the size and very low wattage, they're remarkable: Loud, fairly decent bass, easily fill a room, definitely many steps better than the 'stock' speakers that come with pc's. Mid-range of course was lacking a bit, but voices clear when listening to the news or watching youtube interviews. I thought I could live with them quite happily as an inexpensive set of personal speakers.
Then I tried the T10's. Within 10 seconds I knew I would be keeping the T10's rather than the logitechs. Why? Look: At this price and wattage range, you are not going to get audiophile quality speakers anyway. So one has to just get something as good as possible within this range. And the T10's seem to me as good as it gets within this range. In particular, compared directly with the Logitech's, they were simply and clearly better in sound quality. The sound was much less 'boxy,' a touch less muddy, a touch more clear, more 'alive'; the highs were a touch crisper, the lows were a touch deeper, the soundstage was a touch wider, songs sounded a touch better. The T10's are, after all, using twice the wattage and have 2 drivers in each case rather than 1 -- and you CAN tell that it makes a difference.

I mean I could live with the logitech's quite happily - unless I heard the T10s.

So how do voices sound on the T10? Whats the midrange like? Midrange could be better (as with all speakers in this price range). But its good enough to live with. Voices in newscasts etc sounded good, were not drowned out by bass or treble.

Other notes on the T10:
-tone knob is useless if moved much from the middle position.
-they look and feel just fantastic, like they're much more expensive than they are. THey're *heavy* for such small speakers, and the nice black piano finish is classy. They reek quality in touch and feel.

Bottom line: If you want to save $20 (depending on current prices), get the logitech's. You *will* be happy with them. If you can throw in an extra $20, yes get the T10s. You'll be genuinely satisfied with them.

Whats more, if you get one of those turtle beach usb sound cards, they have a built-in 10-stage equalizer. I'm using my t-10's with a USB steelseries sibera sound card (which is similar to turtle beach) and I was able to tweak the equalization to my hearts content. The t-10's responded very well to such tweaking.

I bought these somewhere else, as I had a gift card to use. But I wanted to add my review, since I saw an unfavorable review here. I LOVE these speakers! I am enjoying my computer so much more since adding the Creative Inspire T-10s. Maybe the other reviewer was listening to electronic-based music? I like acoustic music, and these are WONDERFUL. Strings and pianos are a good test of whether your speakers can deliver good audio, and the stings and pianos sound fabulous on these. Maybe he was listening too close? Stand back a few feet - they sound wonderful, and fill the room with a clean, open, rich, full sound - a pleasant, natural, firm bass.. without that overly-colored sub-woofer bass sound.
P.S. - my career is in producing and adjusting audio. I've worked in L.A. radio for over 20 years. These are the best $50 I've spent on my computer. Looking for a great-looking, nice-sounding, affordable set of computer speakers? Like clean, clear, natural-sounding music - especially acoustic? I recommend these speakers wholeheartedly.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q18C0IM595Q

I couldn't stand the bad quality of my new laptop speakers, so I forked over about $40.00 and hoped for the best. I did do some research before buying and these were the ones that stood out from the crowd at this price range. You can also pick out colors to match your laptop over at Dell. These speakers look and sound great. They are heavy and feel expensive. I didn't want a big subwoofer anyway, so the built in bass is really sweet. There are two knobs which control the sound and tone.

These are not top of the line speakers, but they are stylish and give off plenty of clear sound. I'm really happy with them.

Yes, if I could afford it, I would have gone for Bose, or the like, but on my meager budget, and considering the purpose, mostly light pc use, or as a low cost MP3 system, it's a fair value, especially after rebates in my case.

These speakers are real space savers, heavy and squat enough not to easily tip over with their combined weight of about 4 lbs., plus four small stabilizing rubber feet on each unit. My old $15 set-up included a subwoofer, which was nice, but I'm not missing it. Frankly it was kind of a hassle to have to adjust the tone, because the woofer needed to be situated on a window sill in front of my computer table. The power button, tone control and head phone jacks on my old set-up were mounted on the front of the subwoofer, which was good, but with the T10`s, they are all conveniently located on the front, and right-front side, of the right speaker. And since the speakers are small enough, I can situate them to either side of my 19 inch monitor, solving the access issue. Yes, some other units have remotes, but there's still ultimately a space issue for me with 2.1's.

BTW some may have a problem with the combined power/volume button, but not myself. To the contrary the volume and tone controls are large enough to easily finesse, including a well balanced, and rarely changed, half-way click-stop on the tone control. It's possible to get a pretty wide range of output from subtle background levels at nominal volume to a level robust enough to fill the room. On the downside, hard core gamers/rockers will find the bass lacking. I generally listen to acoustic music for which this product is better suited IMO, but the base is very satisfactory without being boomy. Also the mid-range drivers on my old system are the same size as these, 3-inches, but my old feather-lights were hollow-sounding ..no comparison.

One proviso, the ports mounted in the top of each speaker, will likely catch dust, or possibly a small object like a paper clip, if you're not careful. I doubt that this will become a serious issue, but it's a consideration that I was aware of when bought them. Would have been nice to have a built-in screen to protect the internals though.

I was frankly a little surprised that there weren't more reviews on the T10`s, as they offer some attractive features, and good value for a 2-by system. I especially welcome that these speakers compliment the already clean lines of the rest of my desktop system, relieving the former cluttered appearance. In terms of style I appreciate electronics in small elegant packages, that deliver performance better than their size would indicate.