This 2.0 speaker set is a descendant to the I-Trigue 2200, with just a few slight changes. It’s a little more stylish, but astonishingly, loses a feature that figures in the previous version. The set is aimed at those looking for a speaker solution for a laptop or movable media player; let’s look at whether it’s worth its price tag.
Specifications: System Setup: 2.0, Output (RMS): 18 watts
Driver satellite: 36 mm NeoTitanium micro drivers
Magnetic Shield, Signal-to-noise ratio: 80 dB
Frequency response: 120 Hz ~ 20 kHz
Controls: Power On/Off & volume control, tone control
Headphone jack
Design
These speakers are high. The 2300 has a whole gloss face and a proper stand for better looks and stability respectively (as compared to the 2200). The thin face and depth of the 2300′s satellites are the same as those in the previous model. The depth given to the satellites, along with the air-vents at the rear, are destined to enhance the bass. Each of the satellites has two high-quality NeoTitanium drivers for better sound clearness crossways the spectrum. The drivers are not hidden, as in case of most satellites.
As customary, the right satellite holds all the controllers and connectors. There’s a headphone jack, the two knobs, and an LED on the front. Of the knobs, one is the volume control which also does the duty of the On/Off switch, and the other is for tone control — no divide bass and treble here. In fact, there’s a Creative two-speaker set from around the year 2000 that has separate bass and treble… I just can’t see why this unit has only a tone control! The back houses a DC-in, Line-in, and the jack for the left satellite. I must say the plan of the speakers is attractive.
Performance
The combined output spec of 18 watts RMS is good on paper, but the sound quality wasn’t quite as good as I’d predictable. It was a pleasure listening to tracks without too much bass. The treble of the strings in Country and Soul tracks was copy sensibly well by the small 36 mm drivers.
With type like Rock and Trance the drivers couldn’t really handle the bass. Turning the knob to the treble side sent the highs way too high, and made the music sound even worse. I found that the best settings for tracks with lots of bass was with the tone knob set at almost full bass, and the volume knob at sandwiched between 50 and 70%, 70% being just about manageable. Throughout my testing, the dual driver satellites delivered the mids and highs, but even with the depth provided by the design to enhance bass, there wasn’t much of it to be grateful for.
It’s unlucky that the quality that the satellites can deliver is not complemented by a woofer; satellites with NeoTitanium drivers should be escort by a sub, otherwise it’s a waste of those quality drivers. Speaking of which, the I-Trigue 2200 provides a port to attach a sub, and this one doesn’t! I’d say this system is at best good enough for some quiet music in the backdrop.
The Creative I-Trigue 2300 2.0 sells for Rs 4,499, and comes with a one-year warranty. It beats me why anyone would want to spend that much on a 2.0 system. For that price, you can easily afford a good 2.1 set, or a low-end 5.1 system, which would deliver enhanced music overall. If you’re looking for a solution for your portable media player, you’d do enhanced to look for a set of moveable speakers (it’s likely you might require to invest more), or perhaps better headphones than those that came bundled with the device. And if you’re looking for speakers for your laptop, I’d say it would be much better to spend in a good pair of headphones.