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

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

May 12, 2008 - Just a bit more than a year ago, we reviewed a new launch in Creative Labs' wide-ranging product families, the Gigaworks T20 speakers. The $99 2.0-channel desktop speakers are a tight little package, visually rather attractive and sonically possessive of a rather snappy character, pleasantly fullest in mids and highs. We reviewed them highly, and it turns out Creative even used a quote from the review on the box of the follow-on product and subject of this review, the Gigaworks T40 speakers. Do the T40s indeed deserve to share the great reputation of the T20s? We're on a mission to find out.

Judged on appearance, the T40s are quite blatantly a direct follow-on of the T20s, which is happily a good thing. As with the original product, the visual impact of the T40s is impressive. With the grills removed, the speakers' shining grey faceplates contrast brilliantly with woofer cones clothed in a bright yellow weave. Indeed, on the surface the only great difference between the T20s and T40s is the latter's addition of a second mid-range woofer placed below the small black treble cone. As a result, the T40s stand taller than the T20s by about five inches, which makes them more imposing in a desktop environment, as they stand as tall as a 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor.

Technologically, the addition of the second woofer is also the only big change between the T20s and T40s. The T40s use the same internal amplifier as the smaller predecessor, which means the same 14-watts per channel are now pushing an extra woofer in each speaker. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as well discuss in detail shortly, but Creative did manage to muck a few things up for the T40s in altering the T20 design.

In a rather blatant profit motivated decision, Creative decided to do away with the T20s' front mounted auxiliary input in favor of a rear-mounted proprietary connection for Creative manufactured iPod docks. Few will likely decide to invest in such a dock, so for all intents and purposes, the T40s are a single input speaker kit, as opposed to the T20s' dual-input capabilities. Creative also chose to add an on / off switch to the rear of the T40s rather than the T20s' volume-knob based system, which we think was a mistake, as reaching behind things to turn them off is never very tactilely pleasing.

Our gripes on the missing auxiliary input issue notwithstanding, we were pleased to discover that Creative includes a RCA-to-mini-jack connector with the T40s, which is essentially for connecting things like consoles or DVD players that use component or composite RCA cables. We were also glad to note that the T40s use an in-line power adapter as opposed to the T20s' plug-based brick.

After the simple task of setting the speakers up and connecting them to the computer with an included mini-jack cable, we got to sit back and see exactly what the T20 design gained from the extra mid-woofer. Based upon our experience with the smaller T20's smooth mid-high blend, we expected something pretty similar, though with a bit more depth in the low end. We discovered, however, that the T40s, are in fact much more unique than we expected, and depart from the T20s rather significantly.

Whereas the T20s were tight, bright, and generated a rather narrow sound-skape focused upon a listener at a computer desk, the T40s broadcast their tones in a larger manner, filling more room space but at the same time gaining a somewhat hollow overtone, especially for listeners sitting directly in front of them at a PC. Stepping away from the desk, however, did a lot to improve our impression of the T40s, and led us to conclude these speakers were designed more to compliment TVs than PCs.

Seated with some distance from the T40s, and with a pair of T20s on hand for comparison, we started by throwing them a few softballs, tracks we guessed would sound pretty good on speakers lacking a subwoofer. Indeed, Time to Pretend from MGMT came out rather brilliantly on the T40s. Whereas the T20's focused snappiness made some of the tract's static effects a bit too shrill, the extra mid-woofer in the T40s added enough extra force to the mid-range that MGMT's vocals rose to properly balance the effects.

Exploring the depths of the T40s' fuller mids, we fed them some more music that we expected to sound good, like Psychic Swelling from Black Moth Super Rainbow, and indeed, it was good. The T40s are smooth and sound great in a room-filling way, if you're playing music that doesn't rely on a pumping bass beat. Despite the extra mini-woofer, the T40s just can't pump the beat. Paper Planes from M.I.A. was flat on the speakers, as her vocals simply overpowered the modicum of bass coming out of the ported T40 housings.

We also tried watching some movies, and discovered that it was in this area that the T40s really improve upon the T20s. Whereas the smaller speakers lose definition in vocals at low to medium volume, the extra driver in the T40s allow dialog to flow through even at office volumes. Coupled with a small LCD, the T40s could allow for a cool looking and solidly performing setup. Their lack of a remote, however, means volume needs to be regulated either manually or via another means if the TV in question as audio pass-through.

In the end, Creative's T40s are solid speakers and offer some great response from sources that concentrate on the mids and highs, like movies and some music. They're a bit too large for PC desk speakers however, but they also don't include a remote. As such, they're trapped in something of a gap between form factors. We'd still recommend the T20s for use in desktop situations, and probably something with a remote for auxiliary TV speaker systems. For those really trying to fill a room with sound from a PC source, like peeps living in dorm rooms, the T40s may be a perfect solution. We, however, would probably opt to save $50 and go for the $99 T20s. They have an auxiliary input, after all.

Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #1250 in Consumer Electronics
Brand: Creative Labs
Model: 51MF1585AA001
Original language: English, French
Dimensions: 12.90" h x 6.10" w x 10.40" l, 11.24 pounds
CPU: AMD Athlon 1 GHz
Memory: 128000MB DRAM
Hard Disk: 1GB
Processors: 1
Native resolution: 640x480
Display size: 669.2913385827

Features
Product Type - Speaker
Localization - Eng/Fr
System Components - 2.0 Speaker System
- Dual woven glass fiber cone
- Cloth dome tweeter

Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
"If you're obsessive about music and movies, these compact speakers deliver audio that rivals most entry-level 5.1 setups." -- Computer Shopper

"With powerful bass and crisp audio, Creative's Gigaworks T40 redefines what small speaker systems are capable of." -- Computer Shopper

Professionally designed full-range speaker system for acoustic audio performance and bass

Redefine your audio listening experience with the Creative GigaWorks T40. This new class of performance desktop speakers features a three-driver design for audiophile-like audio that injects new life to your desktop music-listening experience. Like the GigaWorks T20 the Creative GigaWorks T40 features the same hallmark of quality the GigaWorks series of speakers is well-known for--guaranteeing you a rich and defined performance. The GigaWorks T40 features Midrange-Tweeter-Midrange (MTM) driver configuration that improves the overall audio balance with deeper and richer bass effects, giving you music that sounds fuller, warmer in tone and closer to the original audio.

With quality components, such as the dual woven glass fiber cone driver, the cloth dome tweeters, BasXPort technology and the convenient control and entertainment extension, the GigaWorks T40 truly delivers its promise of acoustic audio quality with a style that complements any setup.

Desktop power redefined
Trendy and elegant, this 2.0 designer speaker system is slim and compact even to put on your desktop! With its distinctive industrial aura design, this is one classy speaker system you won't want to hide under your table.

Listen to the detail
The new Midrange-Tweeter-Midrange (MTM) audiophile design delivers smoother performance for your enjoyment. Create the audiophile experience at your desktop today.

Dual woven glass fiber cone
Experience natural and accurate lower frequency response with all your music.

Cloth dome tweeter
Enjoy clear, accurate highs. The cloth design provides better resistance to humidity and temperature changes.

BasXPort
The BasXPort is acoustically engineered to enhance the lower range by efficiently channelling sound waves from the inner chamber to the soundstage.

Convenient access
Get the bass, treble and volume you want with the easily manoeuvred controls.

Hear it on the big screen
Connect the speaker system to your TV or gaming console and enjoy solid audio entertainment.

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

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