A Closer Look
First impressions go a long way, and while speakers are meant to be judged on their acoustic performance, aesthetics are pretty important too. If these are to be my new speakers, I’m going to be looking at them next to my monitor for most of the day, every day, and most likely for many years to come. Thankfully, they are pretty attractive, but there are clearly some stark differences between these and my old T20s.
For starters, their driver is a single unit, while the T20’s had a dual driver thanks to a dedicated tweeter in the lower section, so I’m eager to see how that sounds in comparison.
Of course, as you can see, the Creative T20’s had removable front covers. However, those mounting holes always looked ugly to me.
Of course, while these new ones do not have covers on them, they are arguably much better looking, and more modern looking too. The sold gold/brass colour of the drive looks stunning with a small hint of gloss surrounding the driver on an otherwise matte enclosure.
There’s a large volume dial on the right speaker, which is easy enough to use.
Below that, you’ll find the master power controls and mode controls for the DAC processing features and ClearVoice. You can also switch between speaker output or headphones, assuming your headphones are connected to the 3.5mm jack on the back of the speakers.
Around the back, there’s a large breathing port for the speaker, a similar size to the one found on my Creative T20s, albeit, the T20 had the port on the top of the speaker. Just remember, don’t push the speaker right back against the wall, or you’ll stifle the movement of air here.
The I/O is pretty competent, offering the headphone and microphone ports so you can hot-swap between them. Of course, the microphone input will allow you to use their SmartComms, offering auto-mute and ANC technologies for better performance. There’s USB-C connectivity, which provides audio, but also feeds back the microphone to the PC or console of your choice. An AUX input is great for those who just want to line in from a standard 3.5mm cable, but you do need a USB for the desktop software features.
There’s a simple plug to hook up the left speaker and a power connection below that.
The left speaker is a much simpler affair, with no controls located on the front.
Of course, around the back, it’s actually a hard-wired speaker, and you simply plug its AUX style cable into the back of the right speaker. Actually, in terms of setup, the design is very similar to the T20s, which also deploy a semi-pre-wired design. You get a 2-meter cable too, which should be more than enough. If you need something further apart, you likely want bigger speakers anyway.
Both the speakers are leaning back ever so slightly, this is a nice style choice, but it also subtly angles the drivers towards your face when you’re sitting closer to them; like when you’re sitting at a desk.
