The Creative T20 and T40 2.0 “Gigaworks” speakers had a fantastic run for the past 10 years. The new Creative T100 is the latest successor to the 2.0 speaker format and retails for S$149. Its design follows the DNA of the Creative Stage series, with similar silicone buttons, glossy body.
While Creative has released many types of speaker formats – soundbar, portable unit, multi-channel – the 2.0 format is the most timeless due to the separate speaker unit and the full-range sound, delivering better midrange and stereo effect.
The T100 has a peak power of 80W to deliver a punch in your audio experience with your desktop, laptop, or other devices. It connects via Bluetooth 5.0, optical, 3.5mm, as well as supporting external USB storage, including FLAC file format. Tip: the USB port can be used as a power source to charge your USB devices like smartphone or wireless earbuds.
On the right speaker, there are 4 buttons for basic controls like power, input source, and volume.
The remote control offers more audio controls, like preset EQ, fine tune treble and bass levels, song track changes.
As much as you get convenience out of single-unit portable speaker, you cannot beat proper speaker units on the T100 with 2.75-inch drivers. With portables, you might get very exciting sound with deep bass and sparkling treble, but they often lack midrange. And for those with good midrange, they usually forgo treble and deep bass.
The speakers look imposing next to laptops, delivering full, expansive, warm music. They also look proportionate next to large monitors. If you need anything better, you would have to get bookshelf speakers.
The 4 preset EQ modes offer slight variances to the sound signature. “Music” is the default, offering balanced audio spectrum. “Cinema” appears to beef up the lower bass a bit. “Concert” takes the treble away from centrestage and bring up the bass, good to tone down treble-heavy tracks. “Gaming”, on the other hand, sharpens the treble for more transparency. In any case, you can still tweak the treble and bass levels to your preference. However, I could not determine the adjustment level as there is no level indicator when I do the adjustments, but still, you have your ears to listen to the difference.
Among the Creative speakers I have reviewed, the T100 delivers the best overall sound quality favoured for listening to music, though it lacks the sub-bass impact for gaming or movie watching. Comparatively, the Creative Pebble Plus is very convenient as it runs on USB power, though lacking in warmth and no sound customisation. The Creative Stage has similar weakness in midrange but offers the best sub-bass feel, while the Creative Stage Air offers portability and convenience.
I have no comparison with the older T-series speakers, but in terms of design, I prefer the T100 over the older models.
Verdict
At a retail price of S$149, the T100 is not as affordably priced compared to the other alternatives from Creative, but it offers fuller quality sound, more powerful speaker drivers and adjustable EQ presets. Personally, I am quite happy with the Creative Stage series, as they have excellent value. For consumers on a budget, the Pebble Plus is also a more fun-looking package with a little sub-bass emphasis.
Likes
- Full-range balanced sound
- Many connectivity options including optical and USB storage with FLAC, MP3 and WAV audio formats
Dislikes
- Bluetooth wireless codec only supports SBC
- Lacks deep sub-bass response compared to other systems with sub-woofer
Visit the Creative T100 official product page here.
