With my first computer, I purchased a 2.1 speaker system from intex. It was many years ago. I bought my latest desktop and assembled it from a local shop in January, 2011. At that time I had sufficient budget to buy a system with somewhat high-end configuration. So I opted for a good speaker system and selected Creative. It has many models to choose but at that time the shop from where I purchased it could only provide me this model. On my first glance, I fell in love with this speaker. It looked nice and elegant with black finish and was quite affordable too.
This is a 5.1 surround sound speaker system with 1 Sub-Woofer, 2 Front Channel Speakers, 2 Rear Speakers and 1 Centre Channel Unit. U can see the technical specifications from Creative website like wattage, frequency response, decibel limit etc. It comes with a wired tiny Remote to adjust the volume.
Installation is easy and one thing do keep in mind that the wires for Rear Speakers are not that much long. If u plan to put them in a significant distant place to have a real surround effect, then u have to purchase separate cables with Male/Female jack and club them with the existing cables.
The speakers feel sturdy and stable. They look good and except the Woofer unit, all other speakers are light. The only downside is, 5.1 channel speakers create a cable clutter so much that later it becomes hard to differentiate them from one another with some other cables of several input/output devices. I feel scared whenever I see the backside of my computer table.so many wires are there!
Do keep in mind 5.1 speakers are not best suited for music. If u are a music buff then u can simply buy a good 2.1 speaker system which will be sufficient. In fact, output of a Music file is much better in my Sony Hi-Fi Music System(MHC GNZ333D) which I bought for Rs. 12500/- in 2008 and still produces some excellent music output). Surround sound speakers are mainly for them who are into Gaming mostly and also who frequently watch Movies with full HD quality having 5.1 channel sound support. For your information, Full HD i.e. 1080P ripped movies(mostly downloaded from Torrents) dont always confirm surround sound. So if u want one, then read the audio quality and codec description of the file first.
I played many games till now and this speaker system serves it purpose in this case fully. Sound output from all the speakers as well as sub-woofer is great. Be it a sound of gunshot in Crysis 3, or an explosion in Call of Duty Ghost, or the eerie background noise in Metro 2033, or the roars of Royal Bengal Tigers in far Cry 4.the output is top notch. Movie sounds also come praiseworthy.not only just 5.1 channels, but simple low quality dvd files sound good. In all the cases whether it is a game or a movie, u can have a capable surround experience. Low and middle frequencies are sharp and clear, bass is sufficient and the voice comes from the Central Speaker is also decent. The Remote Control makes life even easier with easy accessibility to adjust the volumes. Overall, the performance is commendable.
Only downside which I could find is that music playback is not good.actually very mediocre. The main problem here is the sub-woofer. It can not produce compact and solid Thudds while playing music, rather creates a sub-standard bass-effect creating serious vibrations. But surprisingly, the videos in youtube produces deep and compact bass. So this is not actually a fault of the unit.frankly as I said previously, 5.1 speakers are not best suited for songs and musics.
This speaker system does not cost a bomb. I had to shell out approx Rs. 4500-4600/- at that time and it is justified. From my personal view all I can say that I am content with it. I like Creative(I have 3 pieces of Creative EP630 earphone).many of their products are of high quality. I should also say that not any of the speaker units has given me any trouble till now. Anyone thinking about purchasing a new 5.1 speaker system can surely go for it.