Creative I-Trigue 3600: Big Ambitions, Small Design

Listening Test Configuration

• Sound cards: E-MU 1820, Terratec Aureon Firewire
• Acoustic systems: Creative Gigaworks, Logitech Z-2200

For listening at a "reasonable" level, once the subwoofer volume was adjusted, the 3600 performed well. The reproduction had good timbre, without overemphasizing the highs like many micro driver systems.

Naturally, where bass is concerned, you have to limit your expectations. The relatively low volume of the subwoofer enclosure can't match the breadth and depth larger models can deliver. It all depends on the type of music you listen to. Sometimes not a single song sounds good, other times almost everything does. Sound effects such as explosions and the like obviously lack the impact they have on a more powerful system.

The sound deteriorates if you try to crank up the volume. The limited amplification power and the capacities of the micro drivers add up to distortion that quickly becomes noticeable, along with metallic sound on sources that are subject to that kind of fault. Going a little farther, we could add that definition is limited in the midrange, but that's certainly the aspect that's easiest to accept. You don't expect speakers like these to compare to studio sound.

So the overall assessment is mixed, as we had expected. The 3600 is a possible choice if you're looking above all for a small-footprint speaker kit with modern esthetics, but sound buffs should choose models that perform better on the purely acoustical level. But of course, they're also bigger.

In Conclusion

Creative's I-Trigue 3600 is a speaker kit with a very small footprint and modern esthetics that has managed to reduce certain disadvantages of micro drivers, but it's still a compromise between esthetics and quality sound. It's a compromise you may be willing to make, but be sure of what you're getting before you make your choice.