Creative Gigaworks T40 series II review

Creative’s Gigaworks T40 series II speakers are taller than most other 2.0 sets, but they have a compact footprint so won’t take up a lot of space on your desk. There’s good reason for the larger size; instead of using a single speaker to produce the full audio range, each satellite has several small speaker drivers that play separate audio frequencies for improved sound quality.

Two main drivers handle the mid-range and high-end notes are produced by a smaller tweeter. Even though it doesn’t have a dedicated subwoofer, a small bass-port in the top of each speaker is designed to create a low-end depth that other 2.0 sets aren’t capable of.

Sound quality was undeniably impressive for a 2.0 set. Mid-tones were clear and the high-end was very crisp in classical and acoustic tracks. Although it can’t compare to speaker sets with dedicated subwoofers, we were still impressed with the strength of low-end notes. Rock and electronic music sounded appropriately heavy, but only when sat relatively close to the speakers. More than a few feet away and the deeper bass notes were inaudible, unless we changed the tone settings.

The captive cable between each speaker is 1.5m long, so positioning them on a desk is fairly easy. The 3.5mm cable that connects the set to your computer is slightly shorter at 1.4m, but this should still be enough for even the widest of desks.

Volume, bass and treble controls are found on the right satellite, which we think is much neater than the wired remotes used by some speaker sets. The volume control doubles as the power switch; when the speakers are turned on its outline glows blue. Both the headphone output and 3.5mm auxiliary input are located beneath these controls, which is convenient for connecting another device such as an MP3 player. A stereo to dual-phono adaptor is included if you want to use the T40s with a games console or DVD player.

Creative reserves the Gigaworks brand for its premium speakers, so it’s unsurprising that the T40 Series II is expensive, costing more than most 2.1 sets. Thankfully sound quality is surprisingly well-rounded considering the lack of a subwoofer. If you don’t have the space for a subwoofer these speakers are the next best thing.