GigaWorks T20, music to my ears (Creative Gigaworks T20)

Member Name: littlexen

Product:	Creative Gigaworks T20
Date:	15/11/07 (248 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great sound quality, easy to install, very functional, easy to use

Disadvantages: could be designed better

The speakers that came as standard with our PC package can only be described as poor, the quality of the sound produced, the bass and volume controls were of such a low quality that after a couple of weeks of listening to my MP3 files through them and becoming frustrated I had something which my husband described as a “Tasmanian Devil” incident and subsequently punched a hole in the closest speaker. I would add that this is out of character but that was of little consolation to the speaker which refused to do anything but sit in pieces on the desk. A replacement was called for and I was determined to find the best speakers around to avoid any further tantrums and to make sure I could enjoy my music while working from home without moving our stereo system around. The resulting research led me to the Creative Giga Works T20 speaker system, which with a price tag of £60 seemed reasonable after I had sampled the distinctive and clear sounds from the display model.

As the 2 speakers are wired together and operated on a plug and play basis the hardest thing about setting the speakers up is removing them from the box and deciding where to position them for best effect. Instead of being attached via a USB port, the one wire, which is considerable long at 50cm slots into the speaker port as you would expect. The entire installation process took approximately 3-5 minutes, which considering my lack of technical knowledge is good in my view.

The design of the speakers is again as you would probably expect, instead of concentrating on making them look space age or slightly eccentric the T20 system are designed with functionality in mind, standing 15cm high, 6cm wide and 5cm deep and due to the large amount of weight positioned in the bottom of the speaker, there are no stands. It is just a case of placing them down, but a minor irritation is that because of the smooth finish to the plastic, if they are knocked they do move around. Some sort of grip or suction pad on the base would top this product off for me.

Underneath the right hand speaker are 3 separate dials that control both speakers. These buttons control the power, volume and bass. As I have fairly long nails and small fingers I don’t have a problem with making fine adjustments to any of the dials but my husband does due to having larger hands. He regularly comments on how fiddly the dials are, and I have to agree, they are positioned a bit too close together. Further down towards the base of the speaker is a port for headphones, something I have never used and so can’t comment on.

The speakers have an integrated audio amplifier and nominal output in terms of power is 28w, which allows for 14w per speaker. I honestly can’t say if this is a good level of output or not due to my lack of knowledge in this area, but having listened to music through the speakers I can safely say that for ambient listening while working or surfing the Internet the speakers produce enough volume for my liking. If you are looking for something that will have your neighbours applying for an ASBO, these speakers are not for you.

Despite not have a subwoofer, the sound quality is the best I have heard from a set of PC speakers and I am delighted with my purchase. There are a few slight problems with design but thanks to the sound quality that is so clear, the acceptable bass and the fact that I can now enjoy music from my PC, I am more than happy to overlook them. A price of £60 is fair in my opinion and would recommend them.

Summary: Excellent stand alone speakers for the PC

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