Creative Pebble 2.0 USB-Powered Desktop Speakers with Far-Field Drivers and Passive Radiators for Pcs and Laptops (Black)

When I replaced my monitor my new one didn’t come with internal speakers, only a headphone jack. I am accustomed to using airpods to monitor sound when I am editing and I’ve gotten into the habit of using them whenever I listen to anything on my computer, which actually other than editing isn’t very often. But a lot of websites are making increased use of videos which means to listen to them having a set of old fashioned speakers sounded like a good idea. I didn’t want (or need) super expensive speakers just to listen to a news clip or a social media clip so I started searching for a pair of small, attractive computer speakers and was dismayed that most of the cheap one were unattractive and barely above using a tin can in terms of sound quality. I stumbled on these hidden several pages in during my search, which is a shame because Creative practically invented the first small cheap computer speakers. I bought these more on how they look than anything else and had very low expectations how they would sound for a price well under twenty bucks. When they arrived I was impressed. The presentation was typical of Creative Labs, which is to say top notch. The documentation is superior and the look and feel is much better than expected.SOUND QUALITYBe realistic, you can’t reinvent physics and there is only so much you can do with a speaker this small. Typical of this company, rather than try to dazzle with phony equalizations that have an initial wow factor then sound tiresome and hard to listen to they have opted to have these sound natural for the content that comes out of most computers. That’s something that’s not easy to explain but don’t expect them to rock the room with bass or break glass with sizzling highs. Instead they just “sound good” and personally I am very happy with that sound. Part of that equation is they understand that the typical user of this pair will be sitting only 2-3 feet from the speakers, that required an entirely different approach to how they sound compared to speakers that are at the other end of a room. I didn’t believe my ears, I can’t imagine them sounding any better.HINTS1. Per Creative not all computers have enough juice to power these speakers to their full volumepotential. They suggest, and I agree, that if you can, rather than using one of the USB ports on your computer instead plug these into their own dedicated power transformer (the same kind you use to charge your phone or other USB device). For me doing that about doubled the sound volume.2. Where should you plug the mini audio cable into? Creative is kind of vague on that. With a lot of computers you might have more than one option, for example in my case my computer has both an audio line out jack, an audio headphone jack and an audio jack for headphones on my monitor. The last one is the least desirable because almost all monitors these days are using HDMI connectivity which is probably going to digitize and re-digitize an audio signal several times and try to optimize it for headphone listening. To a slightly lesser degree the headphone jack on your computer may try to output sound optimized for headphone listening. Your best choice if possible is to use the line level output. These are amplified speakers and they can deal with the kind of output from a line level jack, which is likely the purest and cleanest sound your computer is capable of outputting. Many computers autosense what’s plugged into a jack or will pop up a setup screen to let you choose how to use that jack. It turns out my computer (an HP workstation) offers a very sophisticated setup to fine-tune the speaker output even better than a graphic equalizer. The difference between using my monitor’s headphone jack and my computer line level jack was night and day, they made these speakers perform to their absolute fullest potential.3. That soft springy disk on the back of the speaker is called a passive radiator. In simple terms what it does is to act as a non-powered loudspeaker by capturing the vibrations of the actual speaker and replicating them in synchronous harmony and generally improving the bass performance. You can utilize these passive radiators to their full potential by experimenting a little how far away you place the back of the speaker from the wall behind your desk (if your desk is free-standing this doesn’t apply). While there isn’t a hard and fast best solution, I’ve found that with these a distance of about 8-10 inches sounds the best to me. By the way, the passive radiators are delicate and can be ruined if pressed on too hard or the rubber ring has a hole poked into it. Keep your fingers away from that area.ONE SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTCreative Labs is a very old and successful company and I am hardly qualified to tell them what to do, but there is one small thing they overlooked, possibly because no one has ever told them about it. It’s not major and certainly not a dealbreaker but it could have been designed slightly better. The issue is that the speaker is a sphere and the volume control is mounted at the lower lip of a crater on the face of it below the loudspeaker. When I put my fingers around the volume control to adjust it gravity causes the sphere to slightly tilt over toward the front, it has to because of the placement and angle of the volume control. Aesthetically I can’t think of a better location for the control, it looks beautiful where it is, and the current location is absolutely easy to reach for and adjust and I wouldn’t want to change either of those things. If I were in their design studio I would probably choose to counterbalance that tendency to tilt forward by putting a little weight inside toward the rear of the base, I don’t think it would require much.YES NO MAYBEI don’t consider tendency to tilt a flaw, just a minor issue. Moving beyond that these are beautiful, they sound great, they are well-made and they cost a fraction of what they’re worth when compared to the no-name junk in the same price category. When the true meaning of five stars is (and should be) a product that is best in class and near flawless in execution, these earn that rating hands down.

Update: I also bought the v2.1 to test. This is the version with no passive radiator and has the high gain switch and a small bass module that sits under your desk. This model has significantly more head room in the bass section than the v1 and even the v3. These sounded best when utilizing a graphic EQ to push the frequencies below 60hz. The overall timbre of the speaker was very similar to the V1 (read my review below for that). This is hands down the best pebble speaker set. The bass module is not powered but it does provide more headroom and less distortion than “passive radiators” ever could. Best of all it doesn’t color the beautiful midrange and high end of the V1. I ended up keeping these. The V1 is still great for the money. But it’s night and day between the V1 and V2.1 - I think it’s worth the extra for the bass moduleI bought all three pebble speakers: V1, V2, V3. I could not find any good reviews of all three together so here is my attempt - Hope it helps! My back ground I love music, perform live regularly and own speakers from Definitive Tech, Mirage, Hsu Research, etc.V1 - Very transparent sounding top end. Airy, open, detailed are immediate words that come to mind. These speakers nail this sense of "air" on tracks like Eric Claptions Signe (Unplugged). It does so in a way that is honestly shocking for the $18 I paid. These qualities evoke the appropriate emotional reaction to certain music like Norah Jones as the piano notes "float" in the sound stage the way they should and the brushes on the snare have the right shimmer. try these tracks your self to see for your self. Now the con's against these speakers lean more on the bass side - they severely lack bass response. That being said they also dont pretend to have any - there is no over bloated mid range. In certain pop tracks I found that I preferred using Apple's "sound enhancer" to accentuate the bass response.V2 - These physically are the same size as the V1 but they have a modified power amp section for a claimed double in wattage at 16 watt peak. They also include a high gain/low gain switch on the bottom of the right speaker. They sound good in both high gain/low gain - the high gain mode has a clear bump in the mid range. You can hear how the high power amp pushes those mid frequencies. There is a noticable increase in mid bass clarity compared to V1. When pushed on tracks like Ingrid Michelson's The Way I Am - The added mid range bass is a clear advantage. I would not call this "Punchy" Bass however as these speakers are still the same as V1. But the biggest con agains the V2 is the trade off for this slight mid bass is a lack of clarity in the top end. The magic of the V1's air is lost to the attempt to push the passive radiators to create a sense of low end. Not to mention it costs more.V3 - These speakers were very disappointing to me. They have an even more pronounced muddy top end due to an over accentuated mid range bump. I can see how some could hear this as "more bass" but take my review for what it is - these will not satisfy in the bass section. The worst part is the trade off's due to physics of having such a small speaker. All of these design choices trade ALL of the top end clarity that existed in the V1. They definitely sound more "boxy" and in your face. None of the subtlety of the V1 exists. These speakers sound like tiny speakers trying to be something they are not. Furthermore they cost double what the V1 are currently priced at. They do have a Bluetooth feature if that matters to you.Note: I also did a blind test with my wife who has a good ear - She also noticed the special clarity of the V1. Also, I did use a high powered USB source for max potential for each of the speakers (I also found little difference between this and using the laptops USB port). For those reviews that talk about more volume - ALL three speakers sound like trash at max volume so I don't think that should be a deciding factor - all three produce acceptable volume.In conclusion, all three speakers do have very similar frequency responses. They share more similarities than differences. They ALL sound good for what they are: hence the positive reviews for all of them. But after comparing head to head: the V2 and V3 are a compromise in the wrong direction. They are trying to push the wattage of these tiny speakers which can't handle it in the first place. Do yourself a favor... buy the V1 for $18. If all three were the same price I would still choose the V1 for its clarity and detail. When I closed my eyes this speaker evoked an emotional response from me... when the other two only reminded me of its limitations.

Super nice little desk speakers for the low price. My monitor didn’t have speakers so i wanted something simple that was affordable, these were a great option. Super easy to set up, nice volume control, and they’re quite aesthetic. I use both windows volume and the speaker volume at like 50% and they’re plenty loud even at that.

I have had these speakers for a few days now. This is the second set as the first set i got only gave a clicking sound. Both came fast after ordering. Replacement set works great. I use them at work to be able to hear prompts from my computer, listen to audiobooks and music. I turn the volume knob all the way up and control the volume from my keyboard or mouse for ease. Works great this way. Sound is good and clear. Better than what I expected for speakers that were less than $20. Is not a surround sound system or a booming music blaster but works great in my office that is right next to our production floor in a sheet metal shop.I have no complaints about the quality or looks. They are compact about 4 inches wide each. They connect to a USB port for power and a headphone jack for audio. I was gonna give 4 stars because of the first set not working but because of the fast replacement and ease of return shipping I give it a 5.If i have any changes or anything to add I will update.