5.1-channel - Black - MPN: 51000000AA277
Strengths: Great sound.
Weakness: Not quite the Megaworks 510 D
Not a lemon like the Megaworks 510D! The sound has less of an edge but I expected something like that based on the reviews. I just hope it keeps on working. YAYYY!!!! :D :)
Well I've owned them for a little more than 2 months now. I haven't really noticed anything wrong yet. I just dont' want them to go downhill like my 510D's did (which was after 2 months). Something interesting is that after you flip the switch on the subwoofer, you have to push the standby/power button on the wired remote to turn on, and when you do, it makes a click or the sub does like my sony stereo reciever. I guess creative did that because one time I had my speakers on with the power on and I heard the noise of my computer coming on amplified by the speakers, so putting in a method like a controlled power on like my stereo reciever is how they made the system less likely to be destroyed like the 510D's. At least I think so lol. But they still work so that is the good thing. Oh has anyone heard about speakers needing a 'burn-in' listening time before the reach the peak of their quality? Kind of like when recording using svhs tapes.
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TopStrengths: Crystal clear high and middle, punchy warm and rounded bass!
Weakness: Relatively long burn in time
Undoubtedly, this is one of the best multimedia speakers available in the market today. In fact, the speaker sound amazing for DVD and music alike. The high and mid are crystal clear and provide a nice soundstage. The bass is simply amazing, punchy, warm and rounded. It handles classical music nicely.
Well, there is something we need to be very careful. This system need to BURN IN. Burn it in nicely and you can enjoy many hours of fun. When I first tested it, the speaker played so soft, my older Creative Inspire 4200 totally drown it out. I was puzzled and thought about sending it back. However, I noticed that the speaker played much louder on the second day, then, louder on the third. Even when I am writing now, I have to keep adjusting the volume once in a while to prevent it from getting louder and louder.
The key is, burn it in by playing some soft music in low volume (about 30-40% power) at least 5 hours a day. I found out that classical music did a very good job on this. Never max it out on the first day or risk burn out your amp. I maxed it to 90% on the first day and the sub was pumping some hot air out of its box. Phew, I turn it down immediately.
Above story is solely my own experience. Please do not complain if it is not working on yours. Enjoy!
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TopStrengths: Overall total sound is great if you are able to dial them in. (have the audigy card) Freakin Rocks.
Weakness: None as of now
I went from the Inspire 5.1 5300 to these and all I can say is (especially for the price) anyone who does not think they are awesome is out of their mind. I would with out doubt reccomend these speakers. The sub is FINE if you have the capability to adjust a crossover. (CREATIVE CARD) THEY ROCK!!
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TopStrengths: Great system altogether. Very good low bass. Can rock the house with these.
Weakness: For my large room the speaker cables were to short.
A lot of people have been saying they have burned them up. But if you look at there reviews they only had it for less then a week. These speakers have a pretty long burn in time. So if your worried about it, I would say play these for about a week or 2 (atleast 2 hours a day straight) at a lower setting to burn them in. Probably a little overkill but just to be safe.
These are great, high quality speakers, I would recommend them to everyone. If your a gamer, these are great with a Audigy 2 ZS sounds card.
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TopStrengths: Excellent Price/Sound Ratio
Weakness: Quality. After 13 months develops major problems. Sent $20 for RMA diagnostics. Repair charge $170. Do not buy. It will break.
Creative speakers will spoil you for their above average sound. After they break then what? Forget the RMA. Throw them away! Unfortunately Logitech and Klipsch have their own set of problems.
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TopStrengths: House-destroying bass, excellent clarity up and down the range, competetive pricing
Weakness: Small amount of white noise, but that's inevitable
I bought these speakers for $240 at Newegg.com, and I was extremely excited when I recieved the box last night. The directions included for hooking the speakers up were idiot proof, and I had everything up and running in less than 45 minutes. Precursory tests using the Dungeon Siege soundtrack, ingame Unreal Tournament 2003, Warcraft 3, and Simcity 4, and the Matrix and Star Wars Episode 2 DVD's show that I definitely got what I paid for. Everything sounds excellent. I'm running an Audigy 2, and I use the CMSS mixing software that came with the soundcard to upmix everything to 5.1
To all of the SPEAKER NOOBS that complain about burnouts: Ever heard of a BURN IN?! Just run the speakers on low for a couple of days until they reach peak output quality. This doesn't require magic or any special tools, and can save you a lot of grief in the long run. If I knew nothing about conditioning speakers for proper use, I probably wouldn't be spending the money on a system this good in the first place.
I have used most if not all of the top-of-the-line speaker systems (Logitech, Harmon Kardon, Klipsch, etc.), and this is the best I've found for the price. The THX approval on this system is well-deserved; Creative has designed another excellent sound solution.
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TopStrengths: GREAT SOUND!!! the sound on this system is great had my whole house shaking when i turned up the sub. very clear sound at maximum volume.
Weakness: OMG get this. this is my second set i finaly got comp usa to come to an agreement an make an exchange. THE SET I EXCHANGED FRIED AT 65% VOLUME THE SECOND DAY I HAD IT.
These speakers produce great sound but have the lowest possible level of duration. Would not buy again if you held a gun to my head. I went back and exchanged the second set for store credit and got me a set of Logitec Z-560's Which i am currently very pleased with. Buyer be ware if you plan on purchasing a set of 550's.
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TopStrengths: Good looking clean design, well packed. Nice sound but I only hear it a half a hour.
Weakness: couldn't get de center speaker to work with the soundcart player 5.1 perhaps that was a software problem. but worser the complete system broke down. I must send it back now. Something inside burned.
Sound was not very loud, couldn't get my soundcart right (only on 4 speakers) Set is broken after about 1 hour playing.
Perhaps Creative send me a new system and hopefully that one works better. Than I will write a new review.
I hope this machine was build on a bad monday.
Greetings
Maarten
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TopStrengths: Good Sound (high end) Nice controls, High wattage
Weakness: Bass, Bass is strong however lacking in the lower ranges, so If you like jazz, games, bass! consider the Klipsch my friend has a set and the bass is much deeper.
The specs say 25hz response, but I have autosound 2000 (from my car stereo days) and the bass really cuts off at about 40 and weakens to almost nothing at 30hz. I wish I had got the Klipsch!
I think the problem is that the box is not big enough for the woofer (air space wize). I have extensive experience in box building and will probably modify this one or build a new one. I have a set of altec lansing (stereo) speakers with a smaller driver in the same size box and the bass response is better.
I am really suprised these got by the THX certification!
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TopStrengths: E6ATb,HY Hu XEPA CE6E!!!Quality is studio-like,the subwoofer shakes the walls.Be careful while turning volume higher,it can kick u off ur feet.Also,it looks really cool.
Weakness: Mine had a wrong documentation.The order in wich it says u have to connect the cords to ur audio card was wrong.So i had to test them and switch two plags over.Forget about mp3z!Wont satisfy u anymore
I guess out of all Creative,Klipsch,Altec and the rest of multimedia speakers none can beat these.The previous Megaworks510D were superb,and these are significantly better.These are PERFECT,as far as i can judge
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TopStrengths: Lot's of sound. Stays clean at high volumes. Did I say lots of sound?! Very crisp, good bass. Nice treble and mid range.
Weakness: Cables provided aren't long enough because of the size of my room, but extension cords worked great.
I got this speaker system when I got my Audigy 2 Platinum. After hearing these speakers, I wished I had waited for the Megaworks 650s. These speakers kick a$$.
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TopStrengths: from a (5.1 beginer) its awsom , strong and clear sound with the Extigy makes it almost perfect
Weakness: in 5 days, at High volume IT BURND UP ! I returned it and got a new one, I'm afraid to reach The Top volume again.
This is the 1st system That I got after a 2.1 genius system , it performed well enough until I played .. Korn .. on high volume , then it went BOOF .. smoken ! . so I advise you to get the Logitech 5.1 system insted .. or any other .. the power of this system is not what the speakers can take .
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Creative MegaWorks THX 550 Multimedia Speaker System
Strengths: The speakers had good clarity in the mid to high range.
Weakness: 1)The bass fell off terribly and became “fuzzy.” 2)The connections at the amp are very sloppy. 3)The system shut off at 80% power in 6-9 mins. 4)The system doesn't have the near power Creative claims
Probably the amp was faulty at purchase. The speaker system had little power until almost 80%. At 20% it was barely auditable, at 60% it would be considered audible during “normal daytime working use” at a company. At 80% the system would shut its self off I assume as overheat protection after a song and a half or about 6-9 minutes. After the first evening the right channel was completely gone. I spent most of the next day checking for configuration issues with the sound card, and connection problems. I found the connections at the amp were very sloppy and got more speakers to work if I used some of the looseness at the amp connections. The sound card is a Creative Sound Blaster Live Platinum 5.1 so I see no excuse of a compatibility problem. I finally ran the speakers with some old Yamaha’s model VST-MNO 1996 speakers that are rated around 45 watts total for the system. These 2 speakers at 30% power completely drowned out the entire “operating” 550 system at 80% for the six minutes or so it would run. I stayed away from the Klipsch 5.1 Pro Media because of the poor reviews due to amp problems they are having. If you want a good computer sound system you are much better off to buy a lite to mid weight surround sound system. Creative is marketing a broken down Dodge Dart as a Ferrari. The only reason they got 1 star is I couldn’t go lower. I paid $350 to waste over 20 hours then went out and put together a high end computer sound system.
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