Creative Technology Inspire P5800 5.1 Speakers

My wonderfully awesome and sweet girlfriend got me these speakers as an early Valentine's Day present, but made me promise not to use them when she's around. She's not a big fan of my computer games, especially the wargames where I start giggling when people go flying through the air. I had wanted a set of surround sound speakers for my computer, so we went shopping around and I picked these out at Circuit City. They were $79.99, but came with a $20 factory rebate and a $10 store rebate, so in the end this awesome set costs less than fifty bucks plus tax.

My PC has a Creative SoundBlaster HD 24-Bit 5.1 Channel sound card and these speakers are designed for that card. It says so right on the box. My sound card has three output jacks on the back: Front speakers, rear speakers, and subwoofer. The included cables with this speaker system are made and color-coded specifically for my card. I know there are a lot of other similar sound cards on the market that will also use this same setup, but you better make sure before you buy these speakers. If your sound card doesn't support surround sound, then it probably won't have the extra jacks to make this system work and you'd be wasting your money.

Here's a quick run-down of the system specifications for the Inspire P5800 series:

RMS Power: 72 watts
Front satellite: 8 watts RMS per speaker
Rear satellite: 8 watts RMS per speaker
Center satellite: 18 watts RMS
Subwoofer: 22 watts RMS
Total system power: 115 watts
Overall frequency response: 40Hz to 20kHz
Signal-to-noise ratio: 80 dB
Warranty: 1-year
In the Box: Two front satellite speakers with attached 2-meter cables, one center satellite speaker with attached 2-meter cable, two rear satellite speakers with attached 4-meter cables, subwoofer, wired remote control, 5.1 audio cable, five removable speaker grilles, power supply adapter, quick start leaflet, warranty and technical support booklet.

The center and front speakers have a 2-meter cable on them, which is about 6.5 feet long. The two back speakers have about a 13-foot long cable, which is necessary for proper placement. On the box and in the instructions it shows you how to place the speakers for the best possible sound quality. On the back of each satellite speaker is a hole so that you could easily mount it on a wall using a nail or screw. The bottom of each speaker has some little rubber tabs to keep it from sliding around should you choose to just place them on a desk. For best results, you need to place the four outside speakers so that they form a box around where you will be sitting. You should place the subwoofer on the floor and point the grill towards a wall so that you can get bass deflection for the best sound.

The biggest selling point for me to get this system was the included remote control to adjust the subwoofer and main volume. It is a little box that two rollers on it that let you quickly and easily adjust the volume. The cable for it is kind of thick and weighs down the box, but it does include a piece of double sided adhesive foam so that you can mount the control on your desk. The little roller knobs for the volume are not labeled, so you will have to be very careful when adjusting the volume or else you'll blast your ears out. I may paint a little notch on the wheel just to tell what level it is on. For the best sound, turn your Windows System Volume down to about 30-40% and then use the volume remote to do the rest of the work. The remote also has a headphone jack, which saves you the trouble of crawling under your desk to plug them in.

So how does the P5800 system sound? It screams! It thunders! Seriously, I think this speaker system sounds incredible. The bass is low and pure and will rumble your guts. The satellite speakers are crisp and clean. A lot of the quality of the speaker output depends on your sound card, so I know that is helping things with my system. When I turn the volume all the way up, there is no hiss or crackle. So far, I have played two games that support Creative's EAX3 surround sound (Knights of the Old Republic and Call of Duty) and they both blew me away. Both games are in 3D environments and you can hear people walking and talking all around you. It is like playing the game all over again. Listening to music on this system is also quite incredible. Overall, I think these speakers are capable of getting almost too loud. I can't stand to be in the same room with them when the volume is only turned up halfway.

All in all, I am extremely satisfied with the output and quality of this system. It is exactly what I was looking for and more than meets my expectations. For the price, they were a steal.

* Special thanks goes to NC10 for adding this to the product database so that I could write this review.