We have recently reviewed a 2.1 acoustic system composed of Creative Inspire 2.1 Slim 2700 speakers with midget 5cm loudspeakers of the satellites. This time Creative surprised us even more by launching more stylish minuscule PC speakers with the record-breaking 3cm loudspeakers.

Creative Inspire I-Trigue 3300

The box contents

The system comes in a relatively small colorful package. It measures 35x30x28 cm. Inside it has the following stuff: 

• two satellites; 
• subwoofer; 
• wired remote control; 
• power supply unit; 
• minijack-to-minijack cable; 
• concise user guide. 

Appearance

As you can see, the strongest point of the speakers is their exterior. It's hard to disagree that such class of systems is meant primarily for gracing a workplace. The manufacturer positions the I-Trigue speakers for usage with notebooks, LCD monitors, PCs in tiny modern cases and various portable devices.

Satellite of Creative Inspire I-Trigue 3300

Although the satellites look miniature, they are 21 cm high. The body's shape is unusual and consists of two parts: a front panel made of light metallic alloy and a transparent plastic case. 

Dynamic loudspeaker (enlarged)

The satellites house three identical dynamic loudspeakers. The cone is made of aluminum foil and is 3 cm in diameter. The flexible corrugation is rubber but rigid. All the loudspeakers are magnetically shielded to protect the monitor from pickups. 

Satellite of Inspire I-Trigue 3300 (disassembled)

The dynamic loudspeakers are pressed to the front panel with special juts on the inside. The satellite has a rubber pad underneath which damps vibration and protects a lacquered surface from scratches and damage. The cable coming to the satellite is two and a half meters long.

Remote Control

The remote control of this system is not wireless, which is typical of such systems. But in contrast to Creative Inspire 2.1 Slim 2700, this RC has a headphones-out. Once you plug in the headphones, sound in the speakers turns off. 

Wired Remote Control

On the RC's left is a general volume control and a subwoofer's one. To switch on the speakers you must turn the general volume control to its extreme position. The cable connecting the remote control and the subwoofer is 2.5 m. The RC comes with rubber pads with sticking surfaces which help to fix the RC on any smooth surface. 

Subwoofer

The subwoofer's exterior is a bit different from the other components. The manufacturer left it similar to the other 2.1 systems of the line probably for the economy purposes. Its body is pretty small making 24x24x25 cm. The subwoofer has the phase-inverter acoustic scheme. Its body is wooden, with the panels being 13 mm think. Inside there is no filler.

Subwoofer of Creative Inspire I-Trigue 3300

The phase-inverter's hole is on the side panel. The LF speaker's cone is in front and covered with a protection grid. The cone made of paper is 14 cm in diameter. The flexible corrugation is made of foamed polymer. Four rubber legs support the subwoofer underneath. 

Subwoofer's back panel

On the back the sub has the following stuff:

• wired remote control connector; 
• analog-in; 
• speakers' outputs; 
• power supply unit connector. 

Connection

The system is connected with a 2.5m cabled supplied (minijack-to-minijack). The audio signal was produced with the Creative Audigy2 Platinum sound card in the tests. 

Subjective tests

Creative Inspire I-Trigue 3300 produces rather good sound for its class. But the satellites are short of the mid frequencies. Well, they don't have the adequate tools - the loudspeakers are able of only high and upper-mid frequencies. That is why, the system makes peculiar sound. 

As the subwoofer is small and designed for a relatively high range of the low frequencies, its sound is not undirected. So, if the subwoofer is shifted to the left or right on the table, the listener will get an effect of a third speaker. First it can be unnoticeable, but it will make you feel uncomfortable with time. In general, the sound is typical of this class: a low distortion level at a low volume level, a lot of lows produce only some overtones. 

Although the volume reserve is sufficient for a workplace, no one will have a desire to listen to this system at its full volume level. 

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Creative Inspire I-Trigue 3300, like other similar acoustic systems of the modern design, is meant exceptionally for OS sounds like welcoming guggle during the PC booting or for informing of new ICQ messages. I think that the speakers should play better for their price (around $100).

On the other hand, the original design and the peculiarities of the satellites outweigh the drawbacks in the sound. Also remember that such acoustic class is not for music listening, and I-Trigue 3300 has a good design and is handy in use.

Highs

• original appearance; 
• wired remote control; 
• headphones-out; 
• small dimensions. 

Lows

• no normal mids in the sound; 
• subwoofer's sound field is not uniform. 

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