Location: Home Page » Preys-World » Articles » Creative Gigaworks T20

Preys-World - Creative Gigaworks T20

Tuesday 16th of October, 2007 - 16:03:57 GMT

It’s been almost 15 years since Creative opened up the high quality Audio industry to the PC. Home gaming reached new highs when dedicated sound cards first hit the scene and the quality of computer speakers could only rise in tandem to accommodate 8 to 16 and now 24-Bit soundcards.

From the tin pot tweeters of yore during the mid ‘90s we got the .1 system which added a sub(woofer) for better bass. 2.1 quickly morphed into 5.1 as Dolby Digital became established in cinemas and on DVD. The extra satellites that comprised Dolby 7.1 have yet to topple the original Dolby Digital. This is not a bad thing because going over five satellites will basically cause your home cinema setup to shape your room rather than vice versa. These days it’s standard even for a pre-made, directly purchased system to come with such a set up.

I must stress that for some of my tests I have used a flat EQ on iTunes for testing music, from my MacBook (that's his sound engineering qualification in action, readers - K). Since we wanted to give the speakers the best chance in Windows we purchased ALchemy for Audigy 2 under Windows Vista. That way, the soundcard's output stopped sounding like I was in a concrete underpass beneath a dual carriageway and could be judged critically. All other testing material came from CDs.

Any .1 set up, by very definition, has a designated channel for the lows, the sub-woofer sits separate to a range of satellite ‘Tweeters’. This means that as you sit on the desk, the tweeters face you and the sub rumbles away underfoot. The advantage of a system like this is obvious when gaming, surround sound is a joy to behold when you’re fully engrossed with laser death in a futuristic war zone. However, the massive rise in digital music popularity seems to contradict the quality of these set ups, depending on the chosen format and bitrate at which the music is encoded.

The general effect of digital music through a .1 set allows you to clearly distinguish between what you hear and the type of speaker it’s coming from. This means that all those highly ripped tracks sat in iTunes are coming direct to your ear via a mid-range transducer, which influences how it sounds. Take that same track straight from a HiFi and the difference is demonstrably clear. Instead of having that tiny driver providing everything that goes straight to you and the bass coming from under the desk, you have it all presented to you in a neat little package thanks to (in most systems) the speakers all being in the same unit.

Time Alignment

This term basically means the Tweeters are on desk, and the sub on the floor. I wont go in to the intricacies of which is closer and which sound gets to you first, we're not Sound On Sound so can't go into Phase in great detail but unless your .1 system is properly set up, the potential attainable sound quality is reduced from the outset. Furthermore, the better the quality of the crossover within the system, the better things sound because the “right” signals (according to your ears) will go to each driver. If it’s not so good, then the resultant sound will be murky. That makes it a surprise that the T20s are 2.0 and we'll explain why.

No bark from a sub(woofer)

You can see from the picture how these look. Mid range Cone tweeter (made from glass fibre), smaller Dome driver below that and the port on the top. That’s how Creative have added the bass to the T20s. The depth of the speaker box accommodates a ported enclosure which solves many of the above problems with a .1 set up. The whole arrangment is time aligned from the factory. All speakers are, by some way or another. Whether from time delays or shaping, it’s designed to reach your ear at the same time. So immediately you have the bass arriving at the same time as the mids and the highs and this should provide clarity.

So to go along with this construction you have your basic Bass, Treble and Volume controls, an Aux input, Headphone output and main input on the back. Worthy of note is the fact that the main input on the back is not a fixed cable. In the box you are supplied with a 3.5mm cable which is instantly the best thing that they’ve ever done to computer speaker systems. In my set up, I used the same speakers for my Xbox 360. This means that if I want to plug them in (and if my Mac is using the Aux in for music) then I have to unplug the main one. Which on any other set equals fumbling around down the back of the case to find the sound card. And then you get the joy of plugging it back in after. No more, with the cable supplied here, simply unplug and off you go. Fantastic. Also included is a smaller 3.5mm cable to use in the Aux port. Clearly aimed at facilitating a portable MP3 player, it’s an immensely useful piece of kit and it’s good to see Creative weren’t scrimping when they designed this set.

Build quality is also something that comes to mind. These speakers are pretty chunky, and they weigh a fair bit too for their size. Which is a good thing as it usually means they used heavy magnets. Tweeters are made of Glass fibre, which is a nice shade of yellow and makes a change from the usual cardboard tweeters by most companies. The Dome driver is unusual for a computer speaker, it’s actually the first time I’ve ever seen one. However, it’s a very welcome addition and along with the port on the top, completes the look of the unit. Made of a glossy, smooth plastic, these speakers really do look the part. The small blue power LED which illuminates the front is can be the only downside of the speakers’ overall looks. Until you get used to it, it is rather bright and can be distracting, especially if you’re watching a movie in a dark room. A small, red LED would have been much more customary if you were also meant to watch movies – then the light would have been no brighter than you’re accustomed to when using a television to view DVDs.

So how does it sound? Even better than the Logitech 2.1 set up that it replaced in my home. These things pack a punch. They’re happier at higher volumes and that’s where the advantage of their design shines. The integrated bass port keeps it in line with the rest of the sound. Gone are the days of the bass rumbling out of control when it gets loud and tight, responsive, smooth bass is very much in. When the volume is fairly low (at, say, late evening “let’s not wake everyone else up” levels) I found the bass to be perfectly suited. But those that like their bass driven anthems might want to resist the urge to hit the bass boost excessively. The highs and mids deserve to be explained together. This is where the combination of Dome and Cone shines. Cover one and listen to the other, then vice versa and you can hear how clearly the Dome manages to push out the highs. Its size helps, being about the size of a 2p piece compared to the larger Cone tweeter. And for highs, smaller is better, to get those lovely little sound waves out. The crossover is smooth and there are no apparent ‘mixed’ frequencies to muddy up the mix. Boosting the treble, I found, gave most tracks a wider range and really opened up the soundscape. Just a notch to the right and it let the speakers breathe. Again, boost the volume and things are crystal clear.

My PC runs on Vista and the sound system on that is well documented as being quite shocking from my Audigy 2 without paying for extra software. Only games have run through that card, and despite the hardware problems, the T20s still sound stellar with Jeremy Soule's music and associated effects in Supreme Commander. This is also the time to point out that over the past month I’ve enjoyed everything from Norah Jones, to Nine Inch Nails and Opeth. The T20s can broadcast almost any style fantastically thanks to their well conceived design.

The final selling point is the price. These were only AUS$139 which is comparable to their UK£61 launch price. Now if that isn’t a bargain (particularly when replacing more venerable 2.0 or 2.1 sets from yesteryear) then I don’t know what is. You could buy a 5.1 set up of reasonable quality for this money but I really would push for this as a decent replacement any day.

The Creative Gigaworks T20 set isn't the best if you have the cash, but the best in this (and even most of the above) price range that I've heard in a long time from a company that you’d normally only associate with its computer gear.

Score: 5 Daves!

- Duncan Stace