Creative GigaWorks ProGamer G500

2 front speakers, 2 rear speakers and a sub provide good all round sound here. With a dedicated control remote, which has headphone jack; includes stereo RCA to stereo miniplug adapter for auxiliary audio input; upmix feature for two-channel sources; THX certified.

For around £120. this system is damn good for games & movies at home, and decent sounding for nearfield music listening. Not really a monitor speaker for semi-pro or home ...
...Subwoofer capable of decent low-distortion fundamental bass down to 30 Hz, with output falling off below that. You won't get 30 Hz at acceptable levels of distortion from ANY 6.5 or 5 inch sub. So, set up properly, the bass is as it should be- clean, accurate, powerful. And, aside from room modes, the sub is not "tubby" or "bloomy" in the ~80 Hz region, either. A well designed sub.

The electronics - the amplifiers ... more

2 front speakers, 2 rear speakers and a sub provide good all round sound here. With a dedicated control remote, which has headphone jack; includes stereo RCA to stereo miniplug adapter for auxiliary audio input; upmix feature for two-channel sources; THX certified.

For around £120. this system is damn good for games & movies at home, and decent sounding for nearfield music listening. Not really a monitor speaker for semi-pro or home recording studio, but nice for listening to CDs or streams. Subwoofer capable of decent low-distortion fundamental bass down to 30 Hz, with output falling off below that. You won't get 30 Hz at acceptable levels of distortion from ANY 6.5 or 5 inch sub. So, set up properly, the bass is as it should be- clean, accurate, powerful. And, aside from room modes, the sub is not "tubby" or "bloomy" in the ~80 Hz region, either. A well designed sub.

The electronics - the amplifiers driving the satellites- need to be quieter. It's a shame they don't have maybe 6 or 10 dB better s/n ratio for the amps, 'cause otherwise this would get a little better rating. Come on, Creative! Use a better design for the amps! It's not a LOT of hiss, but if you have a DEAD SILENT PC like I do, you can hear a slight hiss at all times from the speakers if you are quiet. The hiss level is just above "quiet room ambience" and DOES vary with volume control setting. You can minimize it by judicious setting of levels from your sound card but there's still a little hiss.

Sound from the satelites is good, with an ability to sound warm on things like banjo or oud that many smaller sat's lack. Highs are OK but not super detailed; but they're not harsh or shrill either. HF extension sounds OK, but transient response isn't optimal from 4000 Hz and up; this is a full-range single driver satelite, after all, so you can't expect it to compare with designs using separate tweeters. Don't get me wrong, there's highs to be had; they just don't have the "sweetness" or "air' you'd associated with good home audio systems but at this price and it's 5 channels plus sub plus amplifiers, so you gotta keep that in perspective.

CONCLUSION: Good overall sound with deep bass. relatively affordable, but no digital audio input. 

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