Creative Stage 2.1 PC & TV Soundbar and Subwoofer Review

Setup & Performance

Easily one of the most pleasing aspects of the Creative Stage is just how easy it is to set up. One power cable, one subwoofer cable, one input cable. Your non-tech family members would likely have this thing set up within an hour, which is fantastic (for them). Of course, everyone else will do it in about 5 minutes. As I said before, it’s perfect for using under your PC screen or your TV. I’m opting for TV, as we’ve got the kids homeschooling at that end of the erm “office” today. *shakes fist at COVID-19*.

It really was plug and play ready, I used the TV’s ARC HDMI output the audio through the soundbar. Just remember you may need to go into your TVs settings and select which output you desire. Some allow you to do it automagically, some allow you to use both TV and Soundbar together, etc.

The sound is actually really good. I’m not saying I was expecting it to be rubbish, but I went in with modest expectations at least. I won’t beat around the fact that yes, I do have a honking big 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup here and no I’m not going to replace it any time soon. That being said, I’m not snubbing the Creative speaker either, as for watching a bit of Doctor Who with the kids, then we blasted through a whole season of Futurama, and I threw on some Planet Rock Radio. It all sounded great and compared to the “speakers” that come built into today’s flat TVs… this speaker blows them all away easily! Albeit, I should point out that sound reflection from my TV stand was an issue, so having the soundbar closer to the edge is much better, however, that’s party due to the glass surface.

the subwoofer is pretty slim, so don’t expect home theatre levels of WOMP from this thing. However, you’d be surprised just how rocking this thing is. I threw on a bit of AC/DC and it sounded nice and meaty. There’s even an EQ option right on the remote, allowing you to choose from a few basic profiles to suit your needs. Plus, you can actually dial up the bass manually too, should you need to. So long as your living room isn’t enormous though, this speaker will give you pleasant low-end tones.

Overall, I really like this speaker. It’s ideal for a smaller living room setup, ideally where you’re sat no more than about 8ft from the screen otherwise the stereo image is just going to get scrubbed. That being said, in larger rooms, it’ll still sound WAY better than the stock TV speakers.

For desktop PC use though, sitting closer to the speaker like that does make the sound much more impactful and with a nice wide stereo image, which is great fun for gaming, especially if you have that subwoofer right down by your side as you’re gaming.