Put Your Trust In These Speakers! (Trust 2.1 Speaker Set SP-3850)

Member Name: Claire_DC

Product:	Trust 2.1 Speaker Set SP-3850
Date:	18/01/09 (292 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Audio Quality, Price, Remote Control, Good Bass

Disadvantages: None Really.

I had borrowed my fiancés expensive / 100 watt speakers for my computer in the living room whilst he used some small PC speakers and his headphones on his computer upstairs as we are partial to having guests over and it's nice to have decent speakers to play music on whilst they're here. I also like to have music on when we are doing housework as I feel that it makes it less of a chore when you have some music to keep you going. However, after a few months he asked for them back, and to be honest once I'd bought my new desk, there just wasn't enough room and they didn't match in terms of their style either.

I was faced with a problem, in that I still wanted decent speakers that had a decent volume to them (without it being a problem for my neighbours of course, especially as one of those neighbours just happens to be my dad); but I didn't want massive speakers, nor did I want expensive speakers as I just couldn't justify spending a fortune on them when we have so much other stuff to buy.

On my hunt for the perfect (cheap) speakers, I saw numerous brands and models of speakers that were either cheap but too quiet, or expensive and just about OK for volume in terms of wattage. I then came across this model by Trust on eBay for £35 plus postage and noticed the wattage on them was 50 watts RMS. I thought they looked decent enough and decided to investigate further and see if I could find any reviews on them to help me make my decision whether to purchase them or not.

I couldn't find any reviews on Dooyoo, or on Ciao either; I then headed over to Amazon to see if they had it on there and if there were any reviews I could read. I didn't find any reviews but I did find the item on sale there for £29.99 with free delivery. I put them into my basket and there they stayed for about 4 weeks, until I decided that I might as well give them a try for that price so told my fiancé that he could order them for me as part of my Christmas present from him as he'd been asking what I wanted anyway. When he came to order the speakers had gone down to £29.35, which was a bonus... not a big one but a bonus all the same. They are still currently selling at that price too (as of January 18th 2009), which is such a bargain, when you consider that other brands of similar wattage etc would probably be at least double that from what I saw when looking to choose some.

The package containing my speakers arrived, but I wasn't allowed them until Christmas day - which was fair enough, but I was dying to be able to listen to music on them and see what the quality was like. Upon opening the box, I was greeted by the following:

* 2 small satellite speakers with cables attached
* 1 larger subwoofer with power cable attached
* 1 wired remote control
* 3.5 mm female to RCA male audio cable
* A user's guide


I must tell you that the box is heavier than it looks so make sure you lift it properly so that you don't injure yourself.
The speakers are incredibly easy to set up; you just need to plug the small satellite speakers into the large subwoofer and the subwoofer into your pc and mains socket. There is no need to install any drivers or any manufacturers' nonsense with them which is another bonus for me as I think my computer has enough stuff on it as it is. I am using mine with XP but these will also work with Vista and other operating systems as far as I am aware.

Your pc will need a 3.5mm jack which will be there so long as you have sound on your pc - be it integrated with your motherboard or a dedicated soundcard, and obviously you'll need a mains socket free to plug the speakers in... no surprises here then. :-)

This is a 2.1 system which basically means that it consists of 2 smaller speakers, and one larger subwoofer. The small speakers are plastic and the subwoofer is wooden.

Aesthetically, these speakers do look good in plain black, they are not offending in any way; this also means they don't look ultra fancy but they do the job, which is the reason I bought them.

Whilst there is nothing super fantastic or out of the ordinary with these speakers they do the job very well, I am more than impressed with the sound quality and volume of anything that I have played on it so far. I have quite an eclectic taste in music so tend to listen to a wide range of styles, some requiring more bass and some less and all have been a joy to listen to; even the poor quality radio rips have been perfectly fine.

My fiancé has also been amazed by the quality of these speakers, and that says a lot because as I've said, he's used to expensive speakers and good quality too as he makes music so knows a good set of speakers when he hears one. He also says that compared to the Medion 2.0 speakers he'd been using temporarily; there was a vast difference in both the quality and sound output.

As mentioned in the box contents above, these come with a wired remote control. You may think it's a bit pointless to have a wired remote control but actually it's a massive plus point to this speaker set. The remote controls the volume on the speakers from the desk instead of having a volume control on the subwoofer, this means I don't have to have the speakers right next to me, or have to keep going to the speakers just to change the volume. The remote also has an extra 3.5mm jack for headphones to be plugged in and used with ease, and also a line in socket so that you can easily plug in a microphone or even an MP3 player; these are another nice couple of additions.

On the back of the subwoofer is a power switch and also a bass control... there is no treble control, but I haven't a problem with this as the volume and quality from these speakers is more than adequate for me; in fact the bass on it is surprisingly good.

The only very minor downside (if you can even call it that) I have encountered is that it is a wired system, which I knew before purchase but it does mean that you have ugly wires to the PC and plug socket visible, but then it would have cost a lot more for wireless ones of the same quality. It's not such a big issue really but I thought it should be mentioned for the purpose of this review.

So far I have not had any dealings with Trust customer service or after sales support as I have had no problems but I will update this review, if there ever comes a time that I do have contact with them.

All in all, I have no hesitation in recommending these speakers to anybody looking for a decent set of speakers who doesn't want to pay through the nose for them.

For more information on these speakers please visit their website:

http://www.trust.com/products/product_detail.aspx ?item=15412

Summary: Fully recommended!

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