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

I recently purchased a Samsung 19" LCD TV for the kitchen and was very disappointed with the audio, so I decided to find small external speakers with very good if not excellent sound quality to connect to the TV. Although I read several positive reviews of the Creative Inspire T10 speakers before I purchased, I was still a bit wary of what I would get, as I am picky about sound quality (e.g., I have purchased quite a bit of audiophile-grade speakers and components over the years for stereo and home theater systems). But when I hooked them up and began listening, I was amazed at the wonderful tonality and frequency response that these speakers delivered. I was also very pleased with the build quality. I noticed from the carton that Creative Labs includes the well-respected Cambridge SoundWorks, a company well known for its quality speakers and high performance:price ratio, so I suspect that this arm of the company may have had input into the design of these speakers. In any case, I am buying another pair for my PC, which I think is about the highest recommendation I can make!

As far as sound quality goes, these speakers sound fine. However, I keep them turned off almost all the time now because every time I receive a text message or phone call, the speakers go crazy and make an incredibly loud buzzing noise, at least twice as loud as anything that normally comes out of the speakers. The volume of the buzzing is terrible even when I've turned the speaker volume down. Even if I turn the speakers off when this happens, the buzzing continues for about 5 seconds after the power is off. I've tried adding ferrite beads to the speaker wires as suggested by some web pages, but that didn't help either.

Summary: If you have a GSM cellular provider (T-Mobile, AT&T, Cingular, etc.) then do not buy these speakers. CDMA users (e.g. Verizon, Sprint) shouldn't have this problem.

I was looking for a cheap set of stereo powered computer speakers that were somewhat portable, this meant no 2.1/subwoofer sets. I had lowered my expectations accordingly and was expecting the typical 25-40 dollar speaker sound. I stumbled across these at retail price (~$55) with a $10 dollar rebate which put them right at the higher end of my price range. First the build quality feels solid and the sound is equal to or better than comparably priced 2.1 sets. I would say they are even better than some high end 2.0 sets like Bose's $100 offerings. The cable management, inputs, outputs, knobs, are all very well thought out. I also personally really like the fact that there is a single AC cord coming straight out of the speaker making it easier to move or travel with these.

For the money if I ever need a quick set of stereo speakers I would certainly consider buying another pair.

These sound a lot better than I had expected from a 2.0 set--I guess I fell for the idea that you need a separate subwoofer to get rich sound. The speakers are actually deeper than I had expected as well, probably as deep as they are tall. If that's what drives the good sound without making room for a subwoofer, I'm happy to make the trade.

I wish the power cord were a little longer--I would guess it's only five feet long and I had to change the speaker placement to reach the power supply under my desk.

Initially I wished for separate treble/bass controls (it's a single knob) but for my tastes I found it only takes a little tweaking to find a mix that sounds great. If you love bass-heavy music you'll have to sacrifice crisp treble to get your bass--but if you're a bass fiend you aren't even looking at sets without powered subwoofers, right?

Overall I think these are terrific desktop speakers, and would still be happy even if I had paid more.

As an IT professional I've bought dozens of different PC speakers over the years. I have a pretty good idea of what's available at different price points.

The Inspire T10 really impressed me. They're well constructed and look great on a desktop. They have more bass than should be possible from two small speakers. Bass is not just strong, but it's clean. Most of the affordable subwoofer/speaker systems tend to sound boomy or muddy. Since this set does not have a subwoofer, setup is much simpler: one power connection, one signal connection to the computer and one more cable connecting the two speakers.

After owning the speakers for a week, I ordered two more sets for other people on my team to use, and also ordered a set of Gigaworks T40 speakers, the top of the line speakers in the same series. The T40's are similar in width but twice as tall. They are more powerful and have more bass. The drivers are higher quality than the T10's. But at low to average volumes, they sound very similar to the T10 speakers.

The T10 speakers are easily the best on the market at the $50 and below price point. They are far better than the $95 2.1 system I have at home. Pretty soon I'm going to dump them and buy a set of T10's or GigaWorks speakers for my home desktop system.

I highly recommend you give these speakers a try.