Creative Labs Inspire 5700

First Impressions Review

Introduction

    After doing some searches on the internet for reviews on the Inspire 5700s, I found one thing...there were pretty much NONE. So I decided to post my amateur review so people can get some idea of what these speakers have to offer. First off I just wanted to note that I am more of a car audio enthusiast than a home audio fan.  Later on I intend to post some pictures of these speakers. Please note that the terms used in my review may not be the most accurate but they should at least get my point across...after all I don't review products for a living and I am by no means and audio expert. I just think this review can benefit some people when they are deciding to buy this product.

What You Get

    Both me and my roomate ordered speakers on the same date, he got the Logitech z560 speakers and i got the Inspire 5700s. He based his decision on the reviews sites had on the Logitecs. I however wanted a 5.1 system since I am a DVD movie collector. I also wanted something that would play music (mp3s) well.

    First off, when our boxes arrived I noticed that the Inspire Box was a lot smaller than the box that the Logitecs came in, which is surprising because the Inspires come with an additional center speaker and a large processing unit. So anyway onto the main contents of the box...

    Well you get 4 surround speakers, a larger center speaker, a subwoofer, processing unit, wires, CD with 'useful' software and manuals/other documents. My first impressions? My, what small speakers you have. The surrounds were approx 2" speakers, the center was approx. 3" and the sub was 8"...oh wait, did I say 8"? Didn't mean to try and fool you like Creative Labs tried to. Behind the 8" shell is a much smaller 6 1/2". This 8" shell is known as a passive radiator. It works almost like a port, but since there are no port holes, there are no port noises. According to Creative Labs, the surrounds are 7 watts RMS each, center is 21 watts RMS and the subwoofer is 30 watts RMS. That brings the total to 79 watts RMS. Yeah, I know, don't let that 'high' number boggle your mind. Creative Labs seems to be ignoring the fact that their competitors are all using much more wattage not to mention bigger speakers...especially subs. This might seem to be an unfair statement because I'm sure we can agree that not all wattage was made equal and the same thing goes for the quality of the speakers. So let's take a listen and see what the numbers DON'T tell us. BTW, you get all the necessary wires to hook the speakers up to a Live or Audigy soundcard. 

What I Heard

    Ok because I paid $380 CAN for these speakers, which makes them expensive in the market, I am going to be fairly harsh because my standards are going to be high, but not unreasonable high.

    I hooked the speakers up to the sound processor and then hooked that up to my Live soundcard using the Digital Din connection. I tested out both DVDs and mp3s so far. I am not a gaming fan so don't expect anything there. So onto the sound quality!

    Sorry to say, but when it came to music, I was not impressed at all. Not compared to the quality and loudness that comes from the Logitecs z560. The sub was dying for a twin brother or better yet for a big brother to come take its place. One 6 1/2" just isn't cutting it these day, shame on Creative Labs for cheaping out that way. There was an overall calling for more power as well. There is just so much sound you can get out of a 2" speaker with 7 watts going to it...no matter how much research you have put into the designing of the box and speaker itself. I listened to a variety of music, yes even opera. Each time I got the same results, the sub was just dying and the surrounds and center speakers did not deliver well defined sound. Perhaps next time Creative Labs would think about using a separate tweeter and mid speaker such as those found in the Klipsch line. The sub was also very muffled. Not the quality of bass I expected from Creative Labs, the QUANTITY maybe...but not quality. Now don't misinterpret these statements, they sound wasn't horrid, its just that there are much better sounding speakers out there in the market for your MP3s. But what about for your DVDs.

    I played two DVDs to test these speakers with. A Bug's Life and The Fifth Element (Superbits ver). For now I am just going to discuss the sound produced from A Bug's Life maybe I will add on more about The Fifth Element later on. I was pretty impressed with the sound that came from the speakers. Much more than with the mp3 testing. The surrounds worked well enough to get you involved and integrated with the movie and the center speaker did its job by making words nice and audible. Although the sub was lacking it was sufficient for those who are not bass enthusiasts. A good question these days would be... who doesn't like bass? Or at least the ability for their sub to produce cupboard rattling bass. The sub wouldn't rattle your cupboard...maybe make your feet hair tingle if u are right up next to it. Sound was nicely separated, during the movie I heard crickets and other bugs making noises from behind me, which was pleasing.

Notes

    All listening was done at the optimal settings on the sound processor. I did not discuss the Dolby Digital/ DTS decoder because it is very technical, which in many ways are beyond my scope of knowledge. Suffice to know that it does its job and does it well when it comes to decoding audio for movies. A headphone jack would be nice, but I think we already established that Creative Labs doesn't seem to listen to what their customers are asking for in terms of their speaker products. The remote was also a handy item which worked well...no complaints there.

    Creative Labs needs to come to the realization that these speakers are going to be used by computer users and are not suited to replace living room systems. If their marketing leans towards living room systems the product certainly isn't leaning towards that class of customers.

   I know this review, if you even want to call it that, seems very brief and lacking in detailed but I wanted to post something quickly so that other people can read this and get some idea. If you have anymore questions just email me and I will try and answer them the best that I can.

Conclusion

   So do I recommend the Inspire 5700s? At the current price I would NOT recommend these speakers. Lets face it, if you computer users want 5.1 for your computer make some sacrifices and either get a better sounding/much cheaper Logitec z560 and use Windvd or Powerdvd and enable 4.1 speaker downmixing OR spend a couple hundred dollars more and get a proper sounding 5.1 system such as the Klipsch 5.1 or the Videologic DigiTheatre DTS. If not I suggest waiting for Logitech to put out a 5.1 system to the z560s. It is bound to come out sometime soon. And for you living room people, don't even bother with this all in one solution, save up and get something proper.