Creative Labs i-Trigue 3600

Creative's i-Trigue 3600 speaker system offers quality sound and great looks for your PC. It comes highly recommended - although at this price, we feel it is quite expensive.

Creative left no stone unturned when they designed the i-Trigues - futuristic, slim and somewhat sexy, the satellite speakers and large subwoofer would be a welcome addition to any desk. The silver base that supports the speakers is a nice touch, while the design of the satellites is carried over into the subwoofer - its sleek lines and cavities mimicking its smaller counterpart.

In addition to their good looks, the i-Trigues are also very user-friendly, thanks to a convenient wired remote control which utlises a large control knob together with a headphone and auxiliary input. The remote is essentially a large round volume knob and has a convenient blue LED to signify power when the speakers are switched on. The Headphone and Auxiliary jacks are located on the front of the remote, meaning you won't have to duck behind the speakers or subwoofer to plug these in.

The i-Trigues are also relatively easy to set up - colour coded wires and connections corresponding to well-layed out inputs at the rear of the subwoofer. The power pack is extremely heavy and bulky though, so be wary of this when you're setting up. We also noted that the cables attached to the satellites were longer than most other systems - which means if you want to position them differently, this isn't going to be a problem.

We were extremely impressed by the bass levels the i-Trigues are capable of, especially at higher volume levels. We found that the bass control merely needed to be at halfway to produce optimum sounding beats - especially in heavier tracks. Be careful though - turning the bass up too much will drown out the clarity in the rest of the music, so you'll have to experiement depending on what music you often listen to.

The satellites were crisp and clear throughout testing and the volume levels they are capable of were striking. We didn't notice any evident distortion at higher volume levels either - and the volume levels really do pack quite a punch. These satellites are designed with what Creative call NeoTitanium Tri-Array technology. Tri-Array is a combination of three high-precision micro-speakers, while NeoTitanium is the use of spherical titanium diffusers. It sounds quite complicated, but basically this technology ensures precise and highly accurate sound reproduction - even when you are positioned a fair distance away from the unit.

The main complaint we have with the i-Trigues is the mid range, which is quite weak. This was most evident when playing more complex music, such as classical guitar riffs. It feels somewhat distorted and isn't as crisp as it should be. In saying this, we feel the i-Trigues are a valuable solution to most PC users and if you like you bass, then you may be interested in what Creative has brought to the table.