Creative Labs GigaWorks T40 Premium 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort Technology

Amazon Customer Reviews

(4 out of 5)

Nice Looking, Wonderful speakers

I'll admit that I was drawn to these speakers by their striking appearance. They are very attractive speakers and also seem very well built, as if Creative had spared no expense on the casing and yellow woven drivers. So that said, how good are these speakers? First off, when watching movies or television on my laptop, these are fantastic. They sound like surround sound and are very clear and very loud. I don't know how Creative got such great results from such a meager power rating (28 watts) but they did. These would be great for a living room if you wanted to attach them to a television. For music, you get similar clarity and volume. The bass is also very impressive and my friends did not believe me that there was not a subwoofer in there somewhere. That said, I noticed something that annoyed me when listening to music: the music sounded hollow somehow. It's a small complaint to an otherwise great set of speakers, but it is still annoying. For audiophiles, this will probably be an important issue so I would recommend my previous speakers (Philips MMS321 2.0, $65 on Amazon) as a better alternative. They are not quite as loud but the sound quality is comparable. The Philips also have more watts (40) and are considerably less expensive.

Update after several weeks of use: I've noticed that after a month or so of breaking these speakers in that they have improved dramatically. I no longer have any legitimate complaints about them whatsoever. When I listen to music on them now, the music sounds natural, very clear and vibrant. My friend has a set of Logitech 2.1 speakers that I was listening to the other day, and while his system has far more wattage and a separate subwoofer, the creatives are infinitely better. The sound on the logitechs sounded very artificial compared to the sound of these speakers.

(5 out of 5)

perhaps the best 2.0 now available...

...that is, if you don't want an actual studio monitor by a company like M-Audio, which will take up a good bit more desktop real estate and can cost a good chunk more for their mid and high level models. For the size and the price however, these T40s are a very competent pair of speakers.

My good friend of mine got a pair of these for his new Dell laptop, and I've spent the past several days listening to them while housesitting for him. The 3 most common problems that most computer speakers have is overpowering, bloated bass; recessed or non-existent midrange; and screechy, exaggerated treble. These T40s have not totally remedied all 3, but have come closer than most 2.0 speaker systems I have heard. If you are not expecting to shake the walls with them and listen to relatively simple music (MP3s which are already a compromised music medium) on a casual basis, they are excellent. I listened to a range of stuff on them: Beethoven piano concertos, Norah Jones, Iggy Pop, The White Stripes, Bach symphonies, Miles Davis, Madeleine Peyroux ... all sounded quite acceptable! Still no comparison to a regular music system of course, but nothing to groan or grimace over.

And again, it goes without saying but needs to be said anyways in case there are some complete noobs surfing these reviews: these speakers completely wipe the floor with their Bose counterparts!

(5 out of 5)

Creative Gets It Right

Excellent sound reproduction, mid-range and highs are superb, great on music and games. No bulky subwoofer, and the bass is more than adequate for the vast majority of users. I like these a lot, very happy with purchase.

(2 out of 5)

These are terrible speakers.

First off, the speakers are ENORMOUS, which would be fine if they sounded good, but the sound is so mediocre. They have absolutely no bass at all, granted they don't have a subwoofer, but I've heard plenty of 2.0 speakers that had pretty decent bass. The clarity isn't that great, and if you try and crank them, they distort pretty fast. I tried breaking them in for 2 weeks as people suggested, but heard no improvement. The power switch is also very annoying, it's tiny and on the back on the speaker, very hard to reach unless you actually turn the speaker around to find it. For this price there are tons of better speakers out there.

(4 out of 5)

If you want clarity buy these speakers

Ordered these on Friday and rec'd them on Tue. I live in the midwest so I was pleased that they came that quickly with the free shipping.

If you want clarity and tone control then these are for you. I threw in my staple clarity test CD: Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe and played Quartet. These speakers sounded amazing and the horns on the song are always a good test and these exceeded my expectations. They sound 100% better than the logitech Z2300s which in my opinion are a bass box with some cardboard for speakers. The logieez are crap and I wouldn't take them for free. So if you're an audiophile and aren't too concerned about massive bass then buy these. Forget the 5.1/7.1 systems. You're gonna get 5 really crappy speakers that are gonna sound like crap in matrix mode anyway. Buy these and you won't be dissappointed. Forget the bright light- take a paint pen and dot the light a few times and you're good to go. The on/off switch isn't perfect either but worth the effort for clarity. Bass isn't perfect but you can always add a sub later. 4 stars b/c of the lack of super bass. With an SVS trash can in my family room it's hard for me to like any bass on earth besides the sound authority = SVS!