Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort Technology, Black

My wife needed PC speakers that were clear so she could understand people in Zoom conference calls. She has some hearing loss and needs to accentuate certain frequencies. Her Win11 laptop speakers were anemic, as were her monitor speakers and several older pc speakers I had. She needed a set that was extremely frugal with her limited desktop real estate. She also needed at least a tone control. I could not believe how few pc speakers have tone controls these days. And navigating down multiple menu levels within the O/S to adjust tone is very inconvenient. Most speakers I found with a tone control were absolute pigs for the footprint they grabbed on the desktop. It was sticker shock when I found these speakers, but they ticked all the boxes, had good reviews, and I've been happy with Creative products in the past. These do a great job and she can understand everyone clearly. The two niggles I have with these speakers are: 1. After they power down (or sleep) after no audio for ten minutes, it takes several seconds for them to power back up after audio is detected. In my opinion, they should power up almost instantly. Due to the delay, she often misses the first few seconds of audio when she reviews a video or performs other tasks, and that frustrates her. The manual says you can just turn the off and on every time, but that requires quite a reach in her case and brings me to the next niggle. 2. To turn them off, on, adjust volume, and adjust tone controls, you must somehow grasp completely smooth knobs that are recessed so low into the front that there is hardly any of the knob to grasp. It is very uncomfortable to adjust the knobs. It's not a big deal because these are something you usually just set-and-forget. But, if you want to flip them off and on real quick to wake them up, you must deal with these almost ungraspable knobs. Overall, these are fantastic speakers. I am not deducting stars for these niggles. They have great fidelity, plenty of power, they are easy to set up, take up as little desktop space as possible, and they are good-looking. I would not hesitate to get them again.

This is an update to my prior review below from about 6 weeks ago... I thought my speakers were dead after 11 years. BUT, turns out it was totally operator error and I'm quite embarrassed. I seriously thought I had checked, double checked and then rechecked all connections to the speakers, computer, etc. and made sure everything was plugged in. I was ready to hit the the button to complete an order for a new set of these. But in my mind I couldn't believe and accept the fact they would have really completely stopped working. I decided to check one last time before putting them in the trash and sure enough, one of the connectors was not fully connected. First, I don't know how I didn't catch it the previous times I checked and second, the connectors are really secure so I don't know how this happened. Regardless, the speakers are working just as well as the day I bought them and they suit my needs perfectly!!! If you're on the fence I would bite the bullet and make the purchase. These are beyond amazing and a great price for the quality you are getting. I purchased these speakers in June if 2013 and overall was very happy with them. They were a bit larger than I would have liked but to me the sound was good and they are a nice looking speaker. I also liked the wired set up versus USB or wireless. I know many have complained about the auto shut off or standby feature but that wasn't really an issue for me. That is until a week ago when they simply never came back on. I think 11 years is a good run and honestly they still look brand new. While I'm giving these speakers 5 stars for everything I've just mentioned I'm not sure why but this go around I'm a bit reluctant to purchase these again. I'm looking at other options, maybe something smaller but most have a USB hookup. Also, I don't want to compromise on sound but don't want to spend a lot of money and I'm not sure I can find something better for this price. I'm anxious to get new speakers but don't want to make a rash decision.

Update: I recently upgraded my speakers as I wanted some more low end in my music. These speakers are decent for the price point but I was getting a little frustrated with the sound quality on them. Certainly not bad, but I will say I had these speakers for the shortest time of any set of speakers I have owned in the last 10 years. I am going to use them for an MP3 player setup downstairs so it isn't like they are getting thrown out or anything. These speakers are quite decent. They have some nice heft to them and the knobs have a very nice feel to them. They seem to be quite sturdy so I anticipate them lasting quite a while. I am pleasantly surprised by how sturdy they actually feel. The sound quality on them is quite good, I think I might still be burning them in as they only have about 7 or 8 hours of use on them so I expect it to even improve a bit more. For the price, these are some great speakers. I am not disappointed in my purchase the least bit. I really like being able to adjust the treble and bass on the speakers themselves, very nice feature that I have not had on a set of speakers in years. The headphone and aux jacks on the speakers are a nice touch too, these would actually make a nice setup for an mp3 player in my den, so there is a chance that a second set may be purchased in the near future. For my setup, I lay one speaker on it's side and it sits just under my monitor stand. That is not possible with these speakers. They are HUGE. They are a little more than a foot tall but only about 3 or 4 inches wide. Looking at the picture I did not think that they were going to be anything close to this size. I have one of them standing up next to a laptop that is open and on a docking station. The laptop has a 14 inch wide screen and the highest point of the speaker is slightly taller than that. That being said, the speakers aren't particularly wide or deep though so their foot print on my desk isn't anything crazy they are just tall. I am not using the stands for the speakers at this time but they seem to be as sturdy as the cabinets and they give you some hefty screws to attach them. The cord that connects the speakers together is a little bit on the short side. It does not appear that it can be easily changed either as the cord is not able to be removed from the left speaker. I am sure someone a bit more clever than myself could figure something out, but just straight out of the box it is lacking. It just bareley stretches around my two 24" widescreen monitors. The cord is not pulled completely tight but I probably only have 2 or 3 inches of slack so I would guess the connecting cord is only 3 feet long. I did not use the audio cable that came with the speakers as I already had one run to my computer. It looks like another standard 3 foot cable. Pros: Good sound quality for the price Sturdy Construction Bass and Treble adjustment knobs on the speaker Nice small power cable, it won't eat up more than port on a surge protector Cons: Surprisingly Tall Short cable connecting the speakers together

Pros: Great looks. Sounds is both clear and tremendously powerful for speakers of this size and price. Couldn't be easier to set-up. Versatile and well-equipped. No separate sub. Cons: Size isn't for everyone. No remote. Not having a separate subwoofer may be a dealbreaker for some. I recently moved into a studio apartment and I can't afford a massive sound system. Like many people I rely upon my laptop as pretty much my sole source of entertainment but was growing tired of using headphones and my valiant, but tiny Altec speakers on my HP laptop. Looking through Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, and Cnet.com was definitely an exercise in frustration. In fact, it took me two months of trolling through those sites and my local Best Buy before I gambled on these. I finally settled on the T40 because both the T20 and T40 have garnered solid reviews. Are they perfect? No, but neither are most reviewers. But generally no one had horror studies to tell (ahem, JBL, ahem) and the only complaints seemed anal-retentive. A sale price of 99.00 on Amazon.com was also perfect and the lack of a subwoofer was a plus. Finally, I've owned a few Creative products in the past...MP3 players, etc...remember soundblaster? And while they were often on the fringe of the mainstream, they have always been solid and never poorly made. I want to break this review into several parts based on how I went about choosing these speakers: 1. Looks: with a sophisticated design and piano-black exterior, these speakers are very fancy looking. On my black lacquer Ikea desk, they look outstanding. Of course, like a shiny black BMW, they do require weekly dusting but I find it to be worth it (buy a Swifter). You will get nice comments from your friends, trust me. That being said, these speakers are a full 12 inches high, so they may be bigger than what you're looking for. Each speaker is slightly canted upwards for optimal sound since they are essentially pointing towards your head. 2. Versatility and Ease of use. There is everything you need here. You have a TV aux in (with included RCA adapter), Aux in, Headphone jack and a standard audio cable for hooking up to your laptop. The power adapter is smaller than most laptop adapters and doesn't even get hot. Wires are needed obviously but are minimal and easy to tie up. There is a Bass/Treble/Volume button right on the front so adjustments couldn't be easier. Very clean and thoughtful set up. People complain about the blue light around the volume button but c'mon. I don't even notice it. People need to calm down. Incidentally, I prefer the dust covers on and overall, the speakers are very chic and modern. 3. Sound: You might notice I put this third. Well, that's because I didn't have high expectations from a two speaker setup. But let me tell you, these speaker will SPOIL you. Pinback sounds amazingly clear and concert-like. Nine inch Nails sounds awesomely angry and loud. Deadmau5, Daftpunk, and Kaskade sound club-ready. Yankees Games sound crisp. Top Gear sounds terrific. These speakers have ALL the bass you need without any of the headaches (rattling furniture, angry neighbors). The high and mid-range sound is quite frankly excellent for two single speakers without any separate tweeters, etc. These speakers are great all-rounders for both movies, music, and internet use. Are other speakers better? Sure, but I bet you'll pay more for them and have to accomodate an ugly subwoofer to boot. 4. Price: There are not many other worthwhile alternatives that offer this sort of quality at this price. The Altec/Logitech crowd designs range from comical and horrendous to just plain tacky. The JBL designs are cool but like a BMW, their reliability sucks. Bose is laughably overpriced. Really little to complain about here. So there you have it. Great looking. Excellent Design. Terrific Sound. Good value. What more do you need?

Update March 2026: Our ancient Sharp flat screen TV finally started to be lame, so we purchased a new Roku set. I was disappointed to learn that most TVs now connect to soundbars via Bluetooth. I'm not convinced Bluetooth is worthwhile, especially on stationary/non-portable equipment. For a while, I thought our TV had no headphone jack, which is the easiest way to connect the speakers. I was cleaning and happened to have a enough light to notice it was buried in a location near the ethernet cable connection. Today I had time to connect the GigaWorks T40 speakers that used to be connected to the old TV, which functioned for many years to make it so that we could actually follow the dialog on the programs we watched. This had become challenging with the new TV using the built-in speakers. What a big difference! We used to require the closed captions, but not anymore! These are great speakers for a PC, and also great for circumventing the idiotic way sound is mixed for new er movies and TV. The only real drawback is the trend of manufacturers obsessively using blue LEDs for everything. Not only annoying, but messes with night vision and circadian rhythms. In the one photo you may be able to tell I used a piece of translucent red plastic to cover the blue light around the volume knob. Original review:This is the second set of these speakers I've purchased. The first were connected to our TV to improve the sound quality. I've found that "theatre" speakers systems with more than 2 channels bury the dialogue, the entire reason we wanted better sound. Although these speakers are intended for a PC, they work perfect on any TV with an audio output. They are a bit large for a desktop, but the sound is quite good. The quality of construction is impressive. The appearance of the speakers is pleasant, without goofy shapes, lights or gimmicks. Bluetooth speakers usually have inconsistent connection quality. I only use them wired, and don't even know, or care, if these will connect via wireless.(edited for clarification)This second set of speakers were for my wife to use on ZOOM calls.

Aug 2020 Update: The left speaker just went bad (loud constant static) and is no longer usable. This happened during a mundane Teams conference call- so no loud audio spike or noticeable cause. The right speaker still works, but no more stereo sound. My online research shows that it's not easily possible to learn if the speaker itself went bad or the controller (housed in the right speaker) went kaput. So, I got a good (almost) 5 years from them. They were great for that 5 years. It's a shame they are gone. Turning these speakers on Day 1, my impression was basically "Ok- they sound fine." Given 3 months to break-in and I'm now very pleased with them. They have warmed up considerably and sound very balanced. I have bass at 50%, treble at about 60% and the sound is quite nice. I keep volume pretty low normally but turning them up is no problem. They get plenty loud for me. I found myself quite impressed a few days ago when playing the PS4. I had some over-ear Bose headphones plugged into the DS4 controller and I think that sound is delivered via bluetooth. It sounded pretty bland but passable. On a whim I tried plugging the earbuds into the GigaWorks T40 headphone jack. HUGE DIFFERENCE. I mean, complete night & day difference. I finished playing Uncharted 2 using the T40 headphone jack and the ending (which is pretty cinematic) had me totally engrossed, it sounded fantastic, and I had a huge smile on my face. My only critical feedback would be 2 items. I wish there were 2 input jacks on the back but there is only 1. This means I always have a cable plugged into the front as I have 2 sources. Also, I wish the speaker with the controls had a switch to assign it as the L/R speaker, as some studio monitors offer. Not the end of the world but it would be a nice option. Also, the auto turn-on/off delay doesn't really bother me. It's about a 3 second delay and doesn't affect me too much. I typically always have some audio going (Spotify, Youtube, Ps4, etc.) so they rarely shut off. Overall I'm extremely happy with the T40s.

I bought these speakers back in 2020, when they were ~$100 (oof). These speakers are still going strong and incredible for my needs. The sound quality is great and it has adjustable bass and treble. It is boomy - which I like but the sound is still very clear. I have an NYC unit thus can't have real subwoofers. These speakers provide ample loudness and even solid vibrations without it being a nuisance to neighbors. I highly recommend this for most people in tight spaces/apartments, especially if you want some surround sound without an actual bass. It also does get loud if you want but very adjustible. It was a fantastic value for the money when I bought it and its still going.

If half-stars were available, I would have rated this product 4 and a half stars. <EDIT> The review below is 3 years old now, and it still stands, but here is an update. For some reason the bass now sounds better. My best guess would be that through use (cone excursion) possibly the glue loosened up, an the cones are traveling much truer than they were when I got them, or at least it sounds that way. IOW, a break-in period. Kind of a long one, they didn't really sound better until after a year or so. But I made another improvement, which is I connected a subwoofer I had laying around. I had put this off because I could not find a practical way to do this, but I found a box that works as a crossover from Rolls (SX45, about $90) that made this work pretty well. I roll the Creatives off at 150 Hz, and the sub back in at 150 Hz, and it sounds much, much better, because now the Creatives are not trying to do all of that work in the lower octaves that they are probably too small to do efficiently. As I originally stated, sub-200 Hz is where the Creatives fall down, while above 200 Hz they sound really good. But the combination of this and the sub really works well. The Creatives by themselves sound OK when the volume is low, but now I can listen at a reasonable level and still get good bass response. <END EDIT> The box says "Premium, home theatre sound with booming bass". If you qualify that, it is exactly correct. And here's what I mean by "qualify": The word "premium" applies if you are comparing this system to conventional computer speaker systems (it is the best I've come across in that regard). The term "home theatre sound" applies if you are comparing this to a low-cost "home theatre in a box" system, usually costing much more. This system ranks high in that category sound-wise (although it is a 2.0 system and HTIB is usually 5.1), but of course it can't begin to compare to a conventional high-dollar home theatre system. Booming bass? You betcha, although that might not be what we have in mind. "Premium, home theatre sound" is rarely accompanied by "booming bass", simply because "booming" bass is not ever really high in quality, so there is a bit of a dichotomy there. But if booming bass is what you are after, this system has it in spades, even though the goals for bass response in home theatre are usually quite different. Read on for a further explanation. The Good: If we consider just frequencies above 200 Hz, these speakers perform as well as many expensive bookshelf speakers. That's right, they really do. The dome tweeter (big fan of those) creates very clear and detailed highs, and mid-highs. Mids and mid-lows are equally good. In fact, I can't recommend them any more enthusiastically because of how well they perform in this range above 200 Hz; they are on par with hifi speakers or even prosumer desktop recording studio speakers costing many times more than this. There is also a lot of headroom; you could really rock the house, sheer volume-wise. And again, Amazon beat everyone else on price, which is reasonable for what you get. The Not-So-Good: As we get into lower frequencies, the farther below 200 Hz we go, the worse these speakers perform. This is also a function of volume; at low volumes the bass is not half-bad, and better than what one might expect from computer speakers. But as the volume is raised to a conservative listening level, the bass becomes muddy, poorly imaged, and with distortion that almost makes turning down the bass until there is an absence of bass, the better choice. Again, there is plenty of headroom, at least as far as the amp is concerned, but the bass elements just can't keep up with it, and they start to double the frequency and become very unlistenable. Kick drums (the bass drum in a trap set) are not all that bad; there is a solid kick reproduction although it feels a bit squeezed and missing its natural lower frequencies. What is disappointing is how poorly bass guitar sounds. And that is pretty ugly, although most computer-class speakers do just as poor a job, if not worse. Being an Audio Engineer for a very long time, with a history of building, rebuilding, and doing sound reinforcement with speakers of all kinds, my best guess is that this poor imaging and muddiness is a product of porting the speakers, which works well with large speakers, not so much with tiny speakers (although comparatively speaking, these guys are gargantuan next to most computer speakers). This porting technique gives an efficiency that doubles the lower-frequency volume (for the same amount of amp)and extends the bass response about a half octave lower, but the cost is cone hangover and associated muddiness and imaging issues. As a matter of fact, you can cover the port with your hand, and while the bass level then drops about 3 dB, the bass quality increases dramatically. I cut some styrofoam "corks" and plugged the ports, and turned the bass up a notch, and under those conditions the bass was also greatly improved, so that means the "corks" will be permanent in my setup. This essentially turns the speakers into more of a bookshelf speaker as far as bass response is concerned, meaning that the bass is more "tight", and imaging improves and muddiness disappears. But not completely. You can't expect miracles or 2.1 bass response out of a computer-class 2.0 system regardless who makes it, simply because the physics of that precludes it. But corking the ports makes them sound much more reasonable, and less like listening to that moron with the raised-up pickup truck sitting next to you at the stoplight booming rap music until your iPhone vibrates out of its holster. Bottom line: So it is easy to see why the gentleman who favors classical music rated these speakers so poorly. These are the wrong speakers for critical hifi listening to classical, even though the response is very flat and musical in frequencies above 200 Hz. But if you are primarily a gamer, or you want good quality for common computer speaker tasks, these speakers are ideal. Perfect for background music. Maybe not so perfect for watching Transformers III at home theatre levels, or for full volume music listening, but that is not what they are designed as, and is really not to be their expected performance level. Still, they are absolutely keepers. They should perform better in smaller rooms, too (I auditioned them in a room that was 20x24x9). I may add a 3rd-party sub, which would very likely compensate nicely in the lower frequencies. I'll amend my review when I do, but my prediction is that adding a complementary sub would make these speakers pretty hard to beat, even in categories above computer speakers.

Dual base . Amazing sound clarity for this little speaker. Even though price is little high it’s worth every paise.. better than 2.1 speakers as it has dual base and we can hear mid tones clearly

A little background: I have gone through a lot of speakers over the years for various reasons (upgrades, speakers stop working, damaged drivers). Once I got my first 2.1 set I knew I always wanted a sub-woofer in all my speaker sets. But as I upgraded into larger speakers over the years, my taste in music changed to those tunes that employed heavy bass and beats. Now that I listen to these speakers, I sort of realize why. Most 2.1 PC speakers are enjoyable for many types of music, movies and games (explosions). But, if you want to enjoy an immersive audio experience, you need to turn the volume up. At which point the bass becomes overpowering and disturbing to (neighbours or other people living in the house). REASON for 2.0: The fact that I enjoy loud music and the general lack of space in my room pushed me into looking for quality 2.0 speakers. I had heard a Bose audio dock and couple of other (premium) smallish speakers without subs throw a descent amount of bass. So I figured why not? After a little research, I picked these up. Research: [...] BUILD: Awesome. PROS : They are heavy for just satellites. So there seems to be a good amp(s) and quality drivers in there. The controls are just perfect (although a little smooth to grip properly). Bass, Treble and volume - Brilliant classic controls. The speakers themselves don't take a lot of space on the table. There is a snug-fitting grill on the front that is easily removable. Those orangish-yellow cones look even better in real. There is a power adapter with a reasonable length cable on it. The cable connecting the two speakers are long enough for two wide screen monitors. Overall build feels a thousand bucks. :) CONS (Not really): These are quite tall (you may read that mentioned often). Its not tall in a bad way, just oddly tall :P AUDIO: immersive and full-bodied PROS: The speakers have a very flat response and most music sounds quite natural. I wouldn't really consider them studio monitors but they come close. The mid's and treble's are especially detailed. I'm just amazed at the clarity the speakers provide. I was able to enjoy songs I hadn't heard in a long time and could hear nuances and instruments in the background. You know you have good speakers when you enjoy music like that. At 32 Watts the speakers aren't exceptionally loud. However, they are loud enough to fill a room and more than loud enough if you are sitting in front of them. Even at the max volume, there is surprisingly minimal distortion. The specs mention a frequency response starting at 50HZ. Not so sure about that, but it can deliver good audible bass (100Hz) with a little tweaking. Using the sound-card's EQ settings, I increase the bass at around 100HZ mark by a few decibels. The bass/treble controls on the speakers have a broader range and aren't as specific as a proper equalizer. However, they still do a great job and I use them on the fly when required. Also to note the, volume/bass/treble controls apply to headphones connected to the speakers as well (which is rare and awesome) CONS : If you have used 2.1's before, you will definitely find the earth shaking bass missing. There is no sub! If you want to shake the floor, get something else. SUMMARY: I bought them at $109 on sale and I feel like that was a steal ! I have had 200 Watt 2.1 systems which I enjoyed for other reasons (parties). This speaker however, I have been enjoying it personally ! If you are looking for 2.0 systems, i think they are good buy no matter what.

Bocinas de un tamaño considerable, pero debido a sus 2 driver por bocinas se pueden lograr una sonido fuerte y sin mucha distorción. Los bajos se perciben mas profundo gracias al diseño de las mismas bocinas sin embargo los medios se llegan a perder un poco, sin embargo esto no supone un problema para disfrutar de la musica o sonido a un muy buen nivel de volumen, ademas debido a su control de bajos y tremble se puede regular para tener un sonido nitido la mayoria de las veces Su nivel de volumen bastante aceptable, lo destacable es su desempeño con un DAC son capaces de soportar salidas altas y amplificadas aunque de esta manera se puede acentuar el problema en los medios, la potencia y claridad que ofrecen son muy buenas sorprendetemente los bajos no distorcionan mucho con el sonido amplificado por el DAC

gr8 speakers and sound is perfect for the PC

Halten was sie versprechen, guter Klang, gute Technik. Und sehen noch gut aus.