Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System

Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System

Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Speakers

From music to videos to gaming, we use our PC speakers now more than ever -- especially with the increasing use of audio on web sites. A good set of speakers adds to your experience. If you're getting tired of PC speakers that deliver merely "okay" sound, check out this review of the Creative Inspire T6100. It just might be the system you crave.
Sound quality and depth are often somewhere at the bottom of most people's lists when it comes to their computers. I know that for me, my cheapo stereo speakers were intended as a stand-in for a few weeks until funds arose, and three or four years later they're only just going. They weren't the best, they weren't the biggest, and certainly weren't the loudest (they didn't even have a built-in amplifier), but they did well enough.

But eventually I grew tired of the upper volume limits and weak bass, and I craved more. There is a wide range of speaker systems around, from 2.1 setups with stereo speakers and a sub-woofer, to full 7.1 surround sound designed to engulf you from all angles. I had decided that a 5.1 system would be enough and eventually I picked the mid-range Creative Inspire T6100.

As with many things, I bought the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version. It cost 35.55 pounds (UK), and saved about 10 pounds (UK) off the retail version which comes in a pretty store-friendly box. In the US the system retails for about $80.

Creative has a mixed reputation among enthusiasts. There is no doubt that
their reputation for sound quality is tremendous, but with a history of buggy sound card drivers and a near stranglehold on the sound card market for many years, they aren't always everyone's favorite.

But let's put that aside and look at the speakers themselves.

Well, to start with there isn't actually a box to speak of, just the plain packaging in which it was shipped. OEMs don't want or need a fancy box, and neither do I.

The setup includes:

Subwoofer/Base (also houses the amplifier)
1x Central Speaker
2x Front Speakers
2x Rear Speakers

The speakers were all individually wrapped up, and each of the satellites has a protective piece of plastic stuck around its edge to keep it nice and shiny.

The Front-Right satellite has a volume dial and headphone jack, and both of the front speakers are two-way, with both a mid-range driver and a tweeter for extra detail on the high pitch frequencies. The central speaker has an adjustable stand, and the four side speakers have detachable desk-stands that clip on (sadly these are fixed and not adjustable).

The satellite speakers all attach individually to the sub woofer through AV-type phono connectors, and the sub in turn connects to the soundcard through three regular 3.5mm stereo jacks. The front and center speakers have 1.8m of cable each, and the two rear speakers have 3.5m of cable so there's plenty of room for wall mounting if you want to.

Specifications

Speaker Power:
8 Watts RMS per channel (4 channels)
18 Watts center speaker
26 Watts RMS subwoofer

Frequency Response: 40Hz ~ 20kHz

Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 80dB

Dimensions:

Front/Rear Satellites: 80mm x 70mm x 183mm
Center Speaker: 170mm x 105mm x 82mm
Subwoofer: 182mm x 253mm x 286mm

Speaker Sizes:

Front/Rear Mir-Range Drivers: 55mm / 2.125"

Front Tweeters: 25mm / 1"

Center Full-Range Driver: 68mm / 2.875"

Subwoofer: 180mm / 7"

Just above the right speakers you can see the power supply (which is deceptively heavy). The system can supposedly top 75watts RMS, however the power supply's specified output is 5000mA at 13.5volts which is 67.5w. This may be a cost-cutting measure... still, it's not a huge difference.

Now on to installing and using the speakers.

There were no internal alterations required, as I was content to use the motherboard's integrated 8-channel Realtek audio, so my trusty screwdriver stayed in the toolbox.

I cleared all the clutter off my desk, and started with the three front speakers. I initially placed the center speaker in front of the monitor blasting up at me, but later I moved it up to the shelf above to point downwards. This gave the best quality as it then didn't drown out the side speakers too much.

Sadly, one of my rear satellite speakers (the one I had designated left, but that had nothing to do with it) was D.O.A. So I got onto Creative's support team and organized an RMA and I had a replacement shipped from Germany (their European HQ). There were some problems with the delivery (I went on holiday before it arrived and UPS wouldn't deliver it to a neighbor) but Creative were very helpful and shipped it out again. I was happy with their great service.

I put the rear speakers up on the shelf too to start with, but soon I found that here they didn't add much. I decided to move them down to desk level and have them right on the corners. This worried me a bit because they'd be easy to knock off, but here they gave the best "surround sound" I could manage. I would have liked to mount them onto stands behind me, but the room is used far too much and they'd be in the way more than anything.

The little desk stands for the satellites are reasonably stable, and although they aren't adjustable like the center speaker, they direct the speakers fairy well for a layout like mine.

At this point I'll also note that all the speakers (apart from the sub obviously) have a wall-mount hole on the back so if you're gearing out a whole room from scratch it shouldn't be too hard to fix the speakers to the walls and save a bit of desk clutter.

Usage

My main use for my computer's speakers is music. I listen to a lot of music (or at least I try to) when working, and it's also a good test of audio quality. Computer-generated sound effects in a game are all well and good, but it can't even begin to replicate the quality and depth of recorded music (even MP3s at 128 bps, which I know would make audiophiles cringe).

But before starting, I decided to do a little test. I set the computer to mute, and turned the volume dial on the speakers to the max. This caused the speakers to pick up a little bit of static, and produce a noticeable pulsating hum. This was however at the very loudest, and I think that to have music or a game that loud would be potentially hazardous to my health. If the system was wall-mounted in a large room the additional volume may be required, but still they get very very loud before reaching this static.

Next I decided to play some of my music. There are certain tracks that I know nearly by heart, beat for beat, through constant (ab)use of my MP3 player and Icemat Siberia in-ear headset -- pretty well the entire Rage Against the Machine self-titled album is permanently engraved into my skull. This album has some fantastic bass lines in it, stupendous guitar solos from Tom Morello and biting lyrics with Zack's unique voice, so this is a great place to start.

The front three speakers are clear and work well with the quick-switching stereo mix of Rage tracks. The central speaker does tend to overshadow the two side speakers when the volume is down, but at higher levels they work well together. The rear speakers though (once I'd gotten the replacement) were quieter, not adding a lot, but generating a background level that made the tracks a bit
more immersive.

The subwoofer base is incredibly powerful. With the dial to the max, it definitely spoils the rest of the music, and even at half it thuds too much. I found that at about a fifth it's not noticeable, but any lower I miss it, and for me that's the best way to tell when it's right. On a side not, if you're a boy-racer "chav" (bit of British culture spilling in here for a moment) you'll love it.

Next I broke out the classic Hendrix. The high solos were electric and clear. The drum breaks were good, but I found the cymbal crashes lacking a little. As always Hendrix's combination of fast and low riffs sounded beautiful. I put on some Led Zep next to see how the cymbal crashes fared up, and it must have just been my Hendrix tracks as these sounded crystal.

I do play some games, although often several years after their initial release (I'm only just getting into Half-Life2 for instance). Sound does play a big part in gaming, providing both depth and realism, and also allowing for a story to develop around the characters. After all who wants to play a game where the graphics effects are stunning but with mono-tonal one liners and boxy explosions?

The 5.1 setup added a lot of in-game depth and allowed greater perception of where sounds (and thus targets/events) were coming from. Because I don't have an uber-sound card I wasn't able to enable hardware acceleration for advanced EAX-3D effects, however I was pleased with how well the standard integrated chipset managed and I didn't notice anything poor or dull in the games I tried out (which for the record were: Half-Life2, Hitman: Blood Money, and Halo).

The one single annoyance I have with the speakers was (ironically) a visual one:

Conclusions

Although anything is a good upgrade from a standard stereo setup, I have been impressed with the quality of the Inspire T6100, and for the price they're not going to break the bank (especialy if you get the OEM version!).

There are a few cheaper 5.1 systems available (Creative do have a lower range, the SBS580 for instance) but these have considerably lower power outputs for the satellite speakers, and I found they weren't that much cheaper anyway.

Pros:

Good build quality.
Great sound quality at low and mid-range volumes.
Relatively cheap (Retail: 45 pounds/USD$80 at time of writing).
High volume potential.

Cons:

Static and humming at highest volume levels.
Bass is incredibly strong.
Non-adjustable desk stands.
Annoying blue LED.

I have to say if there had been a bass adjuster on the front-right control speaker as well that would have made things a little easier, or better yet a wired remote as some of Creative's other setups use. However after the initial tweaking I didn't need to adjust the bass again so it's not a critical thing.

Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #6380 in Consumer Electronics
Brand: Creative Labs
Model: 51MF4086AA000
Original language: English, French, Spanish
Dimensions: 12.80" h x 14.30" w x 14.60" l, 17.00 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
Response Bandwidth - 40Hz - 20KHz
Audio Amplifier - 80dB
Power - 135W
Center - 18 Watts RMS

Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System

Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System