[Doom_Machine]

creative labs gigaworks progamer g500 pc speakers

Comparing speakers can be difficult without side by side listening so i'm going from memory based on all other system's ive heard over the years.
i went to bestbuy and just wasnt in the mood for comparison shopping or running here or there so i picked out the best they had for around $250, it rang up as $79 for some reason and if i kept my mouth when asked if it was the correct price i'd likely have them for that but the question caught me off guard.
No matter how good the marketing is, small speakers are just never going to compare to larger speakers for the same power output ***cough..bose..cough*** you have to move air and 3 inch speakers are just tweeters so manufactures use higher frequency in subwoofers to make up for what the small speakers cant handle, this makes the bass muddy or boomy sounding or they may use bi direction speakers to make the sound more filling with some creative crossover tweaking.***cough..accoustimass..cough*** These are THX certified but THX certification doesnt really mean much but at least its a certification of something unlike others in both home and pc speakers. ***cough..bose..cough*** darn itchy throat
i'll also point out that many consumers dont have trained ears for judging speakers properly nor can i so its always best to read professional reviews on any sound system before you buy.

The package was somewhat heavy for its size with most of the weight being the subwoofer as it should which is a good sign cuz you will want a heavy dense enclosure to help prevent harmonic vibration (assuming thats the correct word). Everything was packaged very well with adequate protection from handling damage. As with many pc speakers all wiring and screws were included as well as short speaker stands but no extra's. setting it up was as easy as i think it could probably get without being wireless, maybe 10 minutes setup time depending on how you have to run your wires. The wiring is rather cluttery looking so it would help to have a rug or something to cover them if their laying on the floor. My Surround satalites wires run up the wall so white would have been a much better color for the wire sheeth.
The controller is wired which sucks and has basic function such as volume/mute/power/headphone plug in...other than that its worthless and is just one more wire to look at.
The grill on each satalite is removable but looks worse with it off, its not the prettiest speaker set but ive seen worse.***klipsch..cough***. Each satalite has a port hole for bass and is stuffed with dampening material.The enclosure for the satalites is plastic but doesnt feel too cheap, i also cant feel that much vibration on the outside which is good. The grill on the subwoofer enclosure shouldve been made stronger and is metal mesh like the satalites but an accidental kick or push your computer chair against it and i can see it being dented easily, a likely scenerio if you have kids. The subs enclosure is wood with a plasticy like coating but definitly wont be scratch resistant as i found out with my older klipsch sub. Like the satalites it has rubber feet on the bottom and seems quite stationary on carpet. My biggest gripe is that the stand for the center speaker wont work cuz the screw doesnt fit in the stands hole which is too small, a major mistake on the design if you ask me and theres just no way to do it without some dremel modification unless there was one screw with a slightly smaller head that i mistakenly put on one of my other speakers but i'm sure there wasnt.
The sound quality is about as good as small speakers of this size and power are going to get which is adequate or great depending on your hearing and experience with really good sound. i have heard $100,000 speakers before so i can tell theres much depth missing from small speakers like these. Like most subs that come included with speakers its rather muddy/boomy, i much prefer the deep throbbing bass of 50hz and lower cutoff but they have to make up for what the small speakers cant handle so its rather loud at 120hz i'd guess so thats why its boomy, plus it being a ported enclosure, i like sealed.
At its loudest settings i didnt notice any distortion which is great and very important espeically on the subwoofer end. Near the computer the sub can be felt easily enough helping out those jarring deep sounds like in doom 3 but certainly not like a heart pounding thump from a rockford fosgate punch with 18db boost at 40hz or an earthquake home sub with 24db boost at 31hz but the price alone will tell you why. i would like to have seen more bass options so you must rely on your pc's sound software to help out.
Overall this is a great 5.1 surround sound system for your pc for the price and it gets the job done, the depth of sound does leave some to be desired but thats really dependant on how well you hear and your listening experience or preference.
As far as comparing with similar speakers in this price range i have to say that sound quality wise will be similar, whats left is how well its designed and how nice it looks. my older klipsh amp lost a couple of channels which is what happens to most systems of this type, starts off with losing one channel then another, it was a bash amp, hard to say how long this one will last but i'd say most should last a couple of years less you play it hard.

hope someone found this helpful