Creative Gigaworks S750

Computer speakers are those nasty, cheap plastic things, aren't they? If so, nobody has bothered to tell Creative about it, as its top-of-the-range Gigaworks S750 proves. The speaker set comprises 7.1 speakers proudly displaying the THX-certified badge and miles of cabling.

Each speaker has a titanium supertweeter for better high-end sound reproduction, which is something your average pair of computer speakers often misses out on. The seven satellites then plug into the 210w sub.

We connected our set to a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS - THX-certified itself - and cranked up the volume on various sounds including DVD movies and standard audio.

Sound reproduction was faithful and, once the sound levels had been tweaked, there was good balance between the satellites and the sub. It helps that the speakers are quite heavy, which cuts down on distortions caused by flimsy casing.

Creative provides an audio control pod that plugs into the sub. This lets you control the volume level of each speaker, the treble and the up-mix, which converts 5.1 or 6.1 inputs into the 7.1 format the speakers are capable of. There's also a remote control, so there's no need to leave the armchair when the house starts to shake apart.

At £329.99 they aren't cheap, but it's not an exorbitant price for THX-certified speakers. But before you consider buying a set like this, make sure you have a sound card capable of driving them. The standard onboard affairs won't have the oomph to power them.

It's also worth noting that the price doesn't include a decoder, so you can't just connect a standard DVD player. If you have a PC that's up to scratch, go for it, you will not be disappointed.

Contact: Creative
http://europe.creative.com

Specifications:

• 7.1 speaker system
• THX-certified
• Remote control
• 700w RMS (210w RMS subwoofer)
• 99dB signal-to-noise-ratio
• 25Hz to 40kHz frequency response