Speakers Reviews

If you are considering the purchase of the Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 210D (they sell factory direct on Ebay now), please be aware that these are now only available as second hand and reconditioned speakers. In 2001 I bought a set of these (used/recon) speakers factory direct ebay. They have to be the best sounding multimedia speakers I've ever heard, even connecting to my new Sony flatscreen tv, WOW! But please BEWARE!!!... I firmly believe they have a serious flaw with the powered subwoofer inputs. The input connections don't last more than a year. Scratchy noises are consistent. I purchased another set of these speakers after the first set went bad. AGAIN, THE CONNECTIONS GO BAD AFTER A YEAR!!! I don't move them or crank the sound up like a high schooler. I spent $180.00 twice and I'm through with Cambridge SoundWorks. Excellent sounding speakers, but substandard quality and poor reliability. I've left similar message boards and have received the same feedback from others on this model. I would NOT recommend spending the money for a years use.

AS A HAPPY MEGAWORKS 210D OWNER, I AM HARD PRESSED TO BELIEVE ANYTHING NEGATIVE WITH THIS PRODUCT. THOUGH PREVIOUS REVIEWS POINT TO PROBLEMS WITH THE INPUTS BREAKING, I FIND IT CURIOUS THAT THE SUB WOULD BREAK TWICE. MOREOVER, IT'S OFTEN FUNNY HOW MOST OF THE TIME, THE PARTS THAT BREAK ARE THOSE TOUCHED BY THE USER. THIS IS A VERY NICE PRODUCT AND IF YOU FIND IT BREAKING LIKE THAT PERHAPS YOU SHOULD RETURN THE SYSTEM AND INVEST IN A BABY RATTLE.

The sub on this system is home theater quality. Not one that you usually find on PC speakers. Cambridge also makes a full line of home theater speakers, so they must have just adapted the Megaworks sub. This system is truly audiophile quality. Not to be found in the big box stores. this is a specialty item for a discerning listener. guarantee that your favorite music will sound that much better on these speakers.

I got one for about Rs. 2400 from Compuage Infocomm. I read a lot of reviews about it and finally choose it over the SBS-370. First thing one notice is that the bass is really deep. The frequency response is better than other 2.1 speakers. Also the woofer are of good quality and they can last long. The design of speakers was very attractive and the build quality is good. The loudness is too much and max volume should never be turned on.
Otherwise, a good speaker set to be coupled with your inbuilt AC'97 Audio.

these speakers are good for the money. the bass is awesome...and if you have a good sound card then the bass will make you happy. the only coplaint i have is that the plugs are loose...the 2 jacks where the small speakers plug into sometimes dont get connected....you have to push itin, and make sure you dont move it. the remote is convinient, and its simple to set up. all in all its a good product for your money

I bought this a few weeks ago from a computer shop. It is a very low cost good performance speaker.
When I was about to buy this speaker, I was able to test it using a pc with an audigy soundcard. It sounded great, I wasn't really able to test it at very high volume. I didn't notice that the bass becomes distorted at high levels until I brought it to my apartment where I was able to play it loud enough. At first I was disappointed because the bass didn't sound as good as my creative sbs370 which has a very smooth tight bass. But after a few weeks of long hours of use, I've learned that I can get the best effect when setting the bass level at only 20%, pointing to the second dot in the bass volume knob. At this level, the bass is sufficient enough to fill a moderately sized room at high volume level, and a small room at a mid volume level. But if you're going to use it with your dvd player, you can try increasing the bass level a bit further. I think this speaker is a great deal for its price. But if you want a really good sounding speaker without any compromise, you should spend more and get the kinds of altec 621, or megaworks, or klipsch promedia. Though they are a quite more pricey, they really sound awesome.

I have an Audigy and Klipsch Promedia 4.1 speakers. I thought that getting these Creative 5.1 speakers for their cost would give me more enjoyable game and music atmosphere because of the big buzz about EAX and 5.1 surround sound.

When there is no music/sound piping through the speakers, turning the volume up more than 1/4 of the total causes some very noticeable hissing noise. Once music/sound is going however, the hissing disappears and these speakers do provide good sound even at the 1/4 setting. But I had to turn up the subwoofer bass to almost 75% of its capacity before noticing anything from the subwoofer.

So while I agree the sound can be good, I tried it out with my music CDs and on the Dungeon Seige game. I now had an Audigy, Inspire 5.1, and a game that all supported EAX. I played for about 2 hours, but did not notice anything differently than with my other speakers.

I finally came to the conclusion that this extra center speaker isn't going to get used unless there is this 5.1 sound decoding available in the source media (ie, from DVDs). Other than that, you are getting just 4 speakers + subwoofer in use, and EAX sound didn't use this center speaker and didn't sound any different than on my Klipsch.

The Audigy manual says there is a way to use that extra center speaker with regular music but doesn't go into details and the clues it gave didn't help.

So I recommend these speakers as an inexpensive choice if you dont already have 4.1 or 5.1 speakers. If you want more power, consider the Logitech Z560 or even more power, then try the Klipsch Promedia 4.1. But if you are just considering upgrading from some other 4.1 speakers for gaming, it's probably not necessary. For watching DVDs on your PC? Maybe you can also if you really plan to watch enough DVDs on your PC to make it worthwhile...just remember to make sure your sound card can support the Dolby Digital 5.1 format.

Tip: If you have the Audigy card (and probably others too) but only 4.1 speakers, you can achieve this "5.1" speaker setting by plugging in another comparable speaker to that "center speaker" port on the card..that's basically what the Creative Inspire 5.1 set does. Then change your software setting to 5.1.

Great sound quality! Great price.
Another thing, there is 5200 series out there same price with 5300. But 5300 is slightly better than 5200. You have to have a 5.1 sound card to get the speakers work.
I love Creative.

I recently did an overhaul of my system(both internally and externally) and I needed to get some new speakers to go along with my audigy card. I decided on going with the 5300 series of speakers and I must say, I was really impressed. I took the speakers through the paces in both gaming(esp. in shooters like MOH:AA,Jedi Knight 2 and Hitman 2)and DVDs(Pearl Harbor,The Mummy Films,And LOTR:Fellowship). I HIGHLY recommend getting your hands on these speakers for not just the quality of the product, but the low price as well.

This is a great speaker if you have 5.1 stuff. If you don't, you won't get anything from the center speaker. Ignore the people who heard popping/cracking sound. Maybe it was because I had a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy sound card. Great speaker if you play games or watch DVD that have 5.1 audio. Otherwise, get a 4.1 speaker. With 47 RMS, this speaker have enough power for home use (even too much for me because my neighbor is knocking on my door everyday). In my opinion this speaker is not as good as the 5300 but it's good enough. Must buy if you don't have a 4.1/5.1 speaker.

I've owned these speakers for 18 months now and have them set up in my home office. I drive them with a SB Audigy card and from the day I set them up, they have produced nothing but sweet sound. The bass is clean and not overpowering. The wired remote not only has volume and bass adjustments, but also a headphone jack that when used, cuts off the audio to the speakers allowing me to work late and not disturb the family.

I have never heard any "popping" noises (other than a small pop when I power down my PC.) I have the AC plugged into the surge protector side of a UPS. I don't know if that makes a difference or not, as I've never tried it any other way.

The only drawback I found was if you want to wire the rear speakers to the back of a standard bedroom, you'll have to buy a set of RCA M-F extension cables, as the existing cables are too short. If you shop around, you can pick them up for a few bucks. I just wish I knew that before, so I could have had them on hand when I first installed these.

There are many junk surround speakers being sold today, but these are not one of them. For the price, it's very hard to beat the quality.

This is my fourth or fifth Creative Labs/Cambridge Soundworks speaker set, and they get better each time. This set isn't quite as good as the last one, a 2.1 (stereo with subwoofer) system that cost me $75 or so, but unless you turn it up really loud, it's comparable.

What I like about it is the use of leads with attached plugs. Anything under the desk here is liable to accidental kicks, and the spring-loaded wire clips sometimes lose contact. Also the volume control is larger than earlier models (which makes it much easier to keep on the desk) and it holds a headphone socket. Even the satellite speaker stands grip the top of my monitor well.

This system looks like an example of someone taking a step back and spending some time to intelligently improve the speakers. Even the plugs are color-coded with the sockets.

UPDATE: I recently purchased Creative Labs TravelSound speakers, I would highly reccomend these over the Sony SRS-T77.

I needed a set of travel speakers that I could take with me to Europe and I just received these today. WoW! Very nice sound & EXCELLENT design for portability and traveling.

The unit is relatively flat with the speakers swiveling out to face the listener, then swiveling back in for packing. It also has what looks like two "bass" tube-type openings on each side, overall the sound is excellent. The unit accepts "AA" batteries and came with a compact AC adaptor styled a "world" AC adaptor given that it accepts varying voltage levels, however the prongs themselves are designed for the US standard. Not what I would call a "world" connector, but very well designed (prongs fold in) and likely to come in handy. The other reviewer's (JazzDiver's) comment regarding 100Hz was a mistaken reference to sound frequency, the 100Hz actually refers to the low range of the 100-240 voltage range the AC adaptor converts from.

Last, the speakers come with their own travel bag, very sleek and compact. If you're looking for amplified portable speakers, I doubt you will be dissapointed.

I considered the SonicBlue speakers, but read the reviews carefully, it looks like an awful lot of people aren't happy with them, despite some (suspicious?) glowing reviews.

One last comment, I purchased these on Sony's website as they don't seem to be available on Amazon.com yet.

I love these little things. I was fortunate enough to win myself a pair through an internet promotional deal several years ago, and am still pleased with the results. They've enhanced my portable CD-player, and then my CD-mp3 player, and now, my dedicated hard-drive mp3 player. Even now, people marvel at its compact design and surprisingly clear sound quality.

Until the next generation of technology comes along, you'll probably be hard-pressed to find a pair that's so conveniently designed. No, you don't really get any bass to speak of, and you can't turn it too loudly, but if you have a power source handy (I always use the AC adaptor), you can play plenty enough for you and your workmates to enjoy the music clearly.

I literally take this and my source of music everywhere I go, because you never know when you might want to share some impromptu tunes.

As a frequent traveller, a criteria in whether to bring something is if the function justifies the space and weight. These small speakers in a compact and light package with their excellent sound are likely to come on every future overnight trip.

Now of course it isn't going to sound like a nice home stereo or even a boom box. But it can play loud enough, I suspect, to evoke complaints from your neighbors in the hotel. The high end is nice and crisp, and gives a dispersed sound that seems much wider than the width of the speaker, perhaps thru DSP. The midrange and bass are adequate, not quite in balance with the high end, but pleasant sounding. The bass goes audibly low, though of course with this power it's not going to shake your room. Unlike headphones (the only viable alternative) I could listen to these for hours, though quality headphones can sound better. I play music and movies on the computer thru the speakers and they are very good for this purpose.

The AC adaptor deserves special mention. Smallest and lightest one I've ever seen with this power capacity (9V 1000mA), obviously does not have a transformer. The prongs swing down when not in use, handy for packing. And it works for 100-240v, which is all you'll need. You will need a plug converter when using this in locales that use other than US plug style, but not a transformer. Also takes 4 AA batteries (I recommend rechargeables).

I bought a unit like this from Sony about 3 years ago, I think it's called the SRS-T1. That one includes a heavy transformer that only works in the US and does not have as rich midrange or bass, also has half the output power. The SRS-T77 is a huge improvement sonically, in weight, and in flexibility.

Well im going to keep the review short and only list what i found deficient in the product since everyone is raving about how good it is. The sound system did a good job for a 5.1 speaker set however the sound seemed very hollow and overdriven in the low end. I had to turn the bass down completely so the neighbors(apartment) would stop comming over to pester me. Furthe,r my sound card didn't allow preprocessing of the trebble therefore the only adjustment availiable was on the the megaworks and it wasn't sufficient. For music the sound was muddy and no adjustment could make it sound better. After messing with the system for a couple of months I feel that it is a great game and movie system but just doesn't cut it for music. Make you own choice however i feel that the 2 way sets (gigaworks) that they have come out with will probably give the spaciousness and the extension of the high end that is needed. I hope this helps you in making your decision.

I previously owned the...4.1 Videologic Sirocco Crossfire's recommended in [a] review...The highs were unbelievable but the bass was lacking a whole lot. After reading that the Megaworks 510D replaced the the favorite as editors choice..., I decided to pick up the THX version which had some improvements over the previous model. These can compare considerably to Hifi setups costing up to 3x as much. I was amazed at the warm and natural sounding tones the 550THX produced, the overall soundstage it reproduced did not seem exaggerated but was rather accurate. The strong points of the system are the physical build quailty which are vast improvement over any of Creative's other speaker line, the mid range and BASS. This has very punchy and accurate bass. A in depth review of the three systems I mentioned in this review can be found [online] including real world, frequency and sound meter testing for loudness, bass and overall sound reproduction. I was deciding between the Klipsch 5.1 (more expensive), the Logitech Z680's (bass too boomy, not punchy enough and there was a hissing issue with the satellites) and the Megaworks 550 THX.

The Megaworks makes a very suitable all in one home theater package for your PC if you are on a tight budget. At this price, you definitely will not be disappointed...As stated above, the Megaworks performs at a more neutral level, mantaining its quality throughout all pieces of material whether it be a DVD or fragging on a FPS. I wanted to add a little more detail as why I chose this set out of the three mentioned.

1. Logitech specializes in computer mice, thats all Im gonna comment on that. I admit theyre price points are VERY attractive but are really as dedicated in audio comparing to the other two brands. If you dont know the difference between a tweeter and a sub, then by all means you can pick these speakers and you wouldnt be able to tell any difference.
2. Klipsch has a excellent line of high end speakers and have been around since the 1940's, so looking at their history and dedication, you can already guess how well even their multimedia sets perform, of course you are also paying somewhat for the name so they aint cheap.
3. Cambridge Soundworks have been around since the 1980's and founded by Henry Kloss who is also the founder of Acoustic Research. Cambridge is best known for producing great high end speakers but rivaling other company's price points in all aspects of performance levels whether it be in the mid or high end range.

Meaning, Cambridge might not produce the best of the best at the high end level but you get the best bang for your buck and their quality certainly cannot be denied. The other plus about the Megaworks are if you feel in the future they are inadequate, you can always upgrade them as they are the same satellites and sub from the Newton series that Cambridge produces. You will in no way be sacrificing any quality or overall look (if that is an issue) as the satellites are intended to match the supplied sub. The supplied satellites (MC50) contains only a 3.5inch driver and already sound spectacular but I can only imagine how much better the overall system would sound if you added a 1 inch silk tweeter and better frequency response such as those in the MC200's - MC500's. One last tip, looking at Cambridge Soundworks website states that the MC50 satellites can extend well below the 150hz mark. If you own a Audigy*2 or Extigy, you can adjust the crossover (default at 150hz) where the sub takes over at 100hz enchancing the midrange of the satellites more and only letting the sub handle the extreme lower end frequencies. This dramatically enhances the stereo imaging. Again getting back to Andrew's review, if you lack a physical decoder or are more into gaming, the Logitech is a another option at this price point but personally I would pay more and go for the better quality Klipsch. But if music is your thing (which is significantly harder to reproduce), the Megaworks will deliver and then some.

wow these speakers are amazing, creative also has awsome tech support, these speakers perform flawlessly in lows, highs, mids. the bass is incridiable, u cannot notice where its comming from, really smooth, and the controller is nifty, gives you options for rear, master, center, bass, trible, and mute. at 80% the speakers are unbarable, saying its really clean and undistorted at 80% but its way tooo loud for me. 60% is sometimes pushing it, 40% is my usual casual listen level, these speakers sure do have a lot of power. the package it came with was quite well done. a lot bigger then i expected for the size of the satillites and the sub but thats a good thing:), setup is quite easy to do, but do make sure you do have a compatiable 5.1 sound card. the rear speakers cables are quite long, long enough to get to the rear for my room. hear things i never heard on my old logitech z 640 speakers, awsome job creative!:)! defently a good buy! no tweeter who cares if its able to produce such good sound, and if you have issues with any parts u can call creative and they will replace it (like i think my remote is messed up), i asked them if i need to send in the product or pay anything they said no to both, awsome tech support! go creative!

ok review add on after a few months of experience.
awsome still, no issues at all, creative have excellent tech support if anyone ever needs it. some of the best midrange and low range sounds out there. considering the fact that these are 3.5 inch drivers in the satillites it should be able to do well, and combine it with a 8 inch downfiring sub, highs are half decent but can be better:).

I bought this because I wanted an extremely small radio with both AM/FM reception that was almost credit card sized for use on commuting trips on Amtrak. Overall, I am pleased, and at the price point--quite pleased. It runs on one AAA battery for a long time (replaced once in 1 year). It is small enough to hide in an inappropriate location (say, a classical concert) to hear a game :). Surprisingly good FM sound through the earbuds--the small speaker is not very useful.

Small downsides: uncomfortable, hard earbuds--recommend replacements with anything compatible; paint on radio case easily rubs off; and due to the size, analog tuning is trial and error. A digital tuner with presets would be a plus--but I note that similar sized radios with that feature are almost 2X in price. Overall, a very good, very small, low-power, "hideable" personal radio.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting much. I was looking for a good travel radio, and settle on this. It sounds much better than what you would expect for a 1" speaker. The AM reception is good, not great but that's only a small penlty for the size. I live in North Idaho and get the nearby AM stations up to 90 miles away loud and clear. At night I sometimes pick up KFBK in Sacromento and KGO in SF most of the time. On a SOny ICF-24 I get these stations consistently. The tuning is a little tricky. Battery life seems good, I've had the radio on for about 15 hours on a single AAA using the speaker turned up all the way, and it's still going strong. For the size and price this is the best radio going.

The SR-1 is a great package combining good sensitivity and selectivity with good audio in a featherweight package. AM & FM reception are both quite good (although the ear buds are needed for FM since the wire serves as the antenna) with the ability to pick up AM stations several hundred miles away at night. The internal speaker sounds good considering the tiny size of this radio, but it's not room filling sound. The ear buds sound decent, but as other reviewers have stated there are better options available... but I'd only recommend it for music as news / sports sounds fine with the set provided. The only ergonomic problem with this radio is that it is hard to use some of the controls with the radio in its supplied pouch. Battery life is great and it only uses a single AAA cell.

Overall I'd highly recommend this radio as a take anywhere means of staying in touch with what's going on or to listen during a commute. It has been recently discontinued by Sangean so act fast if you're interested and find one still in stock.

Although I am kind of disappointed that Altec did not include a bass volume control with these speakers I am satisfied with their performance. If your primary application for using these speakers has an equalizer you should be able to tone down the bass to an acceptable level. If you are not using an equalizer buy the Altec AVS300LA 3PC 10W 220V SPEAKER ( AVS300LA ) which has a bass volume control and sounds good for half the price. The AVS300 satellite design is not as nice and they don't sound quite as crisp, but for inexpensive speakers they are great. (I own both the AVS300 and 221 series). See the cnet review on the 300's for more information. The 221 satellites sound excellent and once you have the bass under control they are perfect if you don't want to spend a lot of money for good quality sound. As for those who say they are unable to get these to sound good with an equalizer they may not be using an application with a good quality equalizer. I have not tried Media Player yet, but Musicmatch works great with these speakers. Also where you place the sub woofer makes a big difference. If you place it in an inclosed area or in a corner of a room you are going to get a lot more bass, if you place it out in an open space it will not be as overpowering. After you figure out the best place to put it you can make the adjustments with your equalizer. One other con is that the sub is unshielded so keep it away from any monitors, hard drives, etc.

These little speakers deliver amazing sound and rich bass. I listen to a lot of contemporary jazz and new age when I am working and these speakers bring the music to life. These speakers will amaze you even with hard hitting, thumping music. These speakers do not have alot power though. So I do not recommend them if you like crazily loud music. However, if you are looking to relax and listen to some soft grooves (music while you work), these speakers will not disappoint you.

These are some nice sounding speakers, got them for like $12 in an auction probably the best computer investment I ever made. If you are looking for great souding speakers for little money these are defiently something to consider, I would even say they are probably better then the Logitech Z-340. Definetly sound like speakers that you would have to spend at least $100 on.

Good and bad: This is, quite simply, the best designed computer speaker system that I have ever owned (it had better be for the price). The highs are high, the bass hits you in the chest when needed, and it NEVER distorts...no matter how loud you go. And this system has some SERIOUS volume. The control unit does a beautiful job of mixing the speakers for the different audio modes, and it's digital surround controller is nothing short of jaw dropping.

So why only four stars? What's the "bad"? When connected to the digital output jack on my Creative Labs XGamer 5.1 Digital sound card, I experienced a very faint "tinkling" sound in the background while playing DVD movies in Dolby Digital mode. The sound is very very faint (you actually have to listen for it to hear it at all), but Creative's tech support was unable to help me find a resolution...though it is some kind of interaction between those two specific products (SB Live! Platinum owners apparently have nothing to worry about).

Overall, the downside to these speakers are minor, and the vast majority of people would never even notice them, so I stand by my statement that these are the best computer speakers ever (sorry Klipsch owners, but these REPLACED my ProMedia 4.1's...the DTT3500 just has better sound for the same price). I seriously recommend these to anybody who can afford to drop three bills on their computers sound system. You will NOT regret this purchase.

I got this set for about 350$ when it only appeared. It took me about one hour to install the whole set. The amplifier has 5 nice "faces" and can be held both vertical and horizontal. If comparing to the DDT2500 set, you will notice that the diameter of the central speaker became bigger. When I turned on the music I especially noticed the blasting sound of the bass. If equipped with SB live! 5.1 card then the DVD movies are really good. The system supports EAX and DD 5.1 tech. The amplifier seems to overheat a lot,so I would recommend to ventilate it somehow. Although, there is no much difference in power from DDT2500, the new system derivers smoother and more powerful sound yet for an affordable price. the system did not contain any softwre with it, which seems a bit strange for such a serious system. I would recommend this system for hardcore games fans and for some wonderful DVD experiences. Well, Creative labs brought up to life a perfect 5.1 system, which looks somewhat like BOSE components, and that is good.

I rushed to purchase the DTT3500 when it came out in order to put together a PC entertainment system. While the overall sound quality of the DTT3500 is phenomenal for a PC speaker system, it doesn't match a set of high quality stereo system.

Since I use them predominantly for playing a wide range of music (from classical to trance) and not games or DVDs, I was almost disappointed.

The DTT3500 Theater really shines when you are playing games, and it brings gaming to a whole new level. Imagine hearing someone coughing behind you, or hearing shooting in the distance over your left shoulder. That is what it can be like.

Sound quality is great, but it misses some midrange. The subwolfer covers the lower end of the audio spectrum, while the center and satellite speakers are tweaters. It just doesn't sound totally complete when playing a variety of music. Also, volume is another area I found lacking. The satellites don't always push enough volume, so I have to turn down the subwolfer to balance it out.

On the plus side, the music is clear, crisp, and distortion free. Even with the downsides, I would still recommend it (especially since the price has dropped).

I'm not sure what the bad reviews are all about. I bought this for my sister and decided to try it out before I gave it to her. Right now they're setup in my living room and I don't want to give them up. I don't have home theatre because my room is too small for a "real" home theatre system, but this system was awesome.

The reviews that say it won't play deep bass aren't accurate. Maybe they've imporved the system since those reviews, but I sat in my living room with a sound level meter and ran through some test tones. From 200Hz down to 30Hz the meter registered 70db absolutely flat down to 30Hz and the volume trailed off between 30Hz and 25Hz or so. It was amazing to see the meter reading unchanged through the crossover and remain steady even though my ears could no longer hear it. I watched a couple of movies this weekend and the system had my floor and couch vibrating exactly the way it should have.

I used the system to play movies in Dolby Pro Logic II using the stereo analog inputs and Dolby Digital using the TOSLINK hookup. Both performed incredibly. It's like going from a mono TV with the speaker on one side to a stereo TV.

The downside to this system is that I have wires strung all around my living room which I couldn't live with in perpetuity. In truth though, this is NOT home theatre system, that's just the way I chose to test it out. It's designed to be placed around you on the floor when you play games and be cleaned up when you're done.

My primary home theater speakers (LF, C, LR and SW) are all Klipsch products. They have performed so well, I went nuts when I heard the GMX D-5.1 DCS. I may not have the ear of an audiophile, but I can hear the difference between the accurate sound reproduction of the GMX D-5.1 DCS and do-do. Their digital reproduction is great. Connection to my SB Audigy was a trip when I used the digital signal outputs with an analog source! Turn it down!!! A five would have been my rating except for the somewhat confusing setup process and a limited speaker output configuration. But don't get me wrong, a Klipsch speaker has no equal!

I just bought these and have them hooked up to my Sound Blaster Audigy Sound card.

I set it up to go to 5.1 channel, Digital Output only. Audio played from the speakers, but when I ran the Test, the one that goes "Front Left"... "Center"... "Front Right" ... "Rear Left" ... "Rear Right" ... I only heard it say "Front Left" and "Front Right", meaning that it didn't output correctly. I thought maybe the speakers were defective or my sound card wasn't setup right.

I decided to run some other tests.

I used Creative Playcenter to play some of the sample AC3 files, and they played beautifully! Played in 5.1 surround sound, I was immersed in sound. Close your eyes and you feel like you're really there.

I played a DVD and it was awesome! Words aren't enough, great bang for the buck, awesome sound quality reproduction.

Bass is phenomenal. I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and I'm pretty sure my neighbor downstairs is going to get upset.

Even playing 2 channel MP3s sounds great too. I noticed that it separates some of the frequencies. For example, all the bass to the subwoofer, of course, but also, the rear speakers seem to only play the highs, the center speaker plays the mids, and the front speakers seem to cover a much wider spectrum. This gives a nice illusion of surround sound. Even listening to 2 channel stereo sounds nice.

I've read some of the complaints that the Audigy only plays 2.1, but this is not true. The Audigy is capable of playing 5.1 through these speakers, but it won't reflect that if you try using the Test that comes with the Surround Mixer.

Make sure your DVD software is setup for SPDIF output, and any other audio app is set for SPDIF output.