The Harman Multimedia JBL Creature is a conspicuously cool three-piece system designed for mainstream users who listen to a variety of kinds of audio. Each of its speaker cabinets looks like a cartoon jellyfish, and its sensuous, high-gloss finish, available in white, silver, or metallic blue, feels like the fender of a freshly waxed new car. Harman has even outfitted the bottom of each cabinet with LEDs that emit an eerie glow.

Each of the Creature's 8-watt satellites contains a 1.4-inch driver, and its subwoofer consists of a modest 4-inch cone and 24-watt amp. Specs like these won't impress hard-core gamers, but they don't stop the system from producing spacious, pleasant sound when playing CDs, digital music files, or Internet audio.

Our evaluation unit produced moderately high output levels, topping out at 94 dB (the volume of a loud truck engine). The midrange is free from major coloration, and the system never sounds tinny or boomy. The only notable anomaly in its extraordinarily extended high end is a bit of brightness, which we cured easily with a minor tone-control adjustment. Despite its limited low end, our test unit did an acceptable job reproducing kick drums and sound effects.

The $130 price might seem high for a small three-piece system, but the Creature's attention-grabbing looks and amiable sound might easily justify the cost of purchase.