Creative GigaWorks ProGamer G500 5.1 Speaker System (310 Watts, THX Certified)

Creative Labs GigaWorks ProGamer G500

GigaWorks ProGamer G500 5.1 Speaker System (310 Watts, THX Certified) Review, by Narasu Rebbapragada February 7, 2006

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• Reviewed by: bathtubsink

  Strengths: sound clear. look nice. big heavy sub

  Weaknesses: Only lasted two months of normal use.

  Overall: I loved the speakers for about two months, then it happened to me. I noticed that the "stand by" power light on the desk controller would be out after a few hours. I would have to unplug the power cord from the wall socket to reset. It just got worse. Finally nothing but a click. I am 47 years old and I don?t crank em up, my wife would kill me if i did. After doing a little googling. I see this is a common problem for G500 G550 G750 on the Creative labs forums. It has been a little bit of a nightmare to get a RMA number for returning the set to Creative for repair. Today this was my third attempt to get a RMA number and its been almost a week. I think they will be for sale on eBay after they are repaired/replaced. I will be changing brand. I would not recommend these speakers until the power problem has been addressed. And I am sure they wont correct the issue with them; according to their on forum. Go to Creative forum/support and you will see many unhappy campers...

• Reviewed by: Tplayer

  Strengths: Sound quality

  Weaknesses: System turns off at random

  Overall: I am on my second set of G500 speakers (the first were RMA'd because they suddenly stopped working). I've had the replacement speakers for about 2 months now, and they just started turning off at random.The sound is nice, but be ready to add on $40+ shipping each time they die since Creative doesn't pay for the return shipping. Check out the Creative forums at http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board?board.id=speakers and search for "G500 power" for more info.

• Reviewed by: markhladek

  Strengths: Solid and punchy

  Weaknesses: Some hiss, but it is not notable.

  Overall: From the first moment I lifted the box (a heavy one - thankfully shipping was free!) I was impressed. These speakers are solid and well worth the investment. I am replacing a set of Creative 5100 5.1 speakers that are at least five years old...what a difference. These G500's are loud and powerful. I am not a gamer, but I love my music loud and I love them!

• Reviewed by:

  Strengths: Loud, clear

  Weaknesses: slight hissing (more than I'm used to) and they sometimes have a crackeling/booming sound even when I'm not using them, and my front right speaker became muffled recently.

  Overall: I loved these speakers for a long time. Their clarity and volume was great. Now they make a loud crackling sound, which is very expensive to repair ($100+ and from other creative reviews, inaffective) and the front right speaker is very unclear. I would really like to say that there is nothing wrong with these and that their tonality and volume make the price more than worth it, but they have no staying power.

• Reviewed by: beeker318

  Strengths: price, sound quality, control

  Weaknesses: none really, there are no digital inputs

  Overall: I bought the G500?s to replace a beloved set of Klipsch Promedia v2-400?s that quit working after about six years. I wanted to buy a set of Klipsch Ultra 5.1?s, but read some disturbing reports about their longevity. I compared the G500?s with offerings from Logitech and to my ear, they sound every bit as nice as the 5500?s until you crank up the volume to obscene levels. The 5500?s are more powerful, but also much more expensive. The 5500?s are also hard-wired, which turned me off. The G500?s have push terminals on the speakers, making it easy to extend the speaker cable if needed.The G500?s don?t have any type of digital input, unlike the Logitech speakers, but I didn?t care about that, so it wasn?t an issue.When I first installed them, I thought the bass sounded too loud, but the control module allows for good tweaking of the sound and I was able to bring out a very nice balance between the sub and satellites. I don?t think that the G500?s have quite the same level of clarity as the Klipsch speakers, but they do sound very nice and they will crank.I only spent a little over $200 for these speakers and I think that they hold their own sonically against much more expensive sets. They are a great balance of performance, features and price. It?s nice to see Creative put out such a nice product.