Creative Pebble X Plus review: Small speakers, powerful sound

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Compact design
• Good sound quality for the money
• RGB effects, if interested
• Support for many audio sources

Cons

• Fixed, short cables
• Limited control from mobile
• No software for Mac

Our Verdict

With aux and Bluetooth as alternatives to USB, this is more than just a computer speaker. The Pebble X Plus can be a complete audio solution for your bedroom, student dorm room, or home office. It sounds surprisingly good without costing too much. Better control from the mobile app would have been nice, but otherwise there’s not much to complain about.

Creative’s round, small Pebble speakers have long been a good choice for those who want better computer sound on the desktop without having to spend more than a few hundred dollars. The new Pebble X raises the bar on ambition, price, and most importantly, quality.

Further reading: See our roundup of the best budget computer speakers to learn about competing products.

Creative Pebble X Plus design and features

The Pebble X comes in two versions, one with just two stereo speakers and the Pebble X Plus, which includes a subwoofer. That’s the one I’ve tested here. The two speakers — spheres with beveled front and bottom — are larger than previous models and measure 5.48 inches in diameter. They stand fairly firmly on their flat, rubber-coated underside, but have their center of gravity a little way up so it’s possible to tip them so they roll around on the table.

The underside also has a tripod mount if you want to place them higher than table level. But that’s the height they’re meant to be at — for example, on either side of a laptop. And where they sound best. The tripod could come in handy if you have a very small table and want to both units side by side.

These are more expensive speakers than previous Pebble models, costing around $90 for the speaker pair or $130 for the Plus package with subwoofer. But there’s still not a real premium feel to the exterior. It’s made up of black plastic that looks good from a distance, but has some obvious seams when viewed up close, and has a slightly plasticky feel to it and in the controls on one speaker.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

The subwoofer is slightly larger, a 6.24-inch cube. It’s clearly smaller than the subwoofer available for the cheaper Pebble, but when I lift it out of the box, it becomes obvious that this is more than just a big empty box with a speaker element in it. It has solid weight and is clearly more robust than its predecessor.

It also feels more solidly built than the satellite speakers. It’s a shame they don’t have the same build quality. Especially since the subwoofer is meant to be hidden away, for example in a corner or behind the computer screen, while the satellites are designed to be visible, with their ring of RGB diodes all around. They glow in slowly changing colors by default and can be set via an app or software to shine in one color, change color patterns, sync with the sound or with other Creative gadgets.

Setting up and installing it all is simple. But a little limited, thanks to the fact that the cables connecting the speakers to each other are hard-wired and quite short. At most, you can place the speakers 3 feet apart.

The speakers need a power source connected to one of the speakers’ two USB-C ports, and then it can be used directly as a Bluetooth speaker. The other Pebble speakers don’t have this capability, making the Pebble X a more versatile choice. Here you can easily connect any mobile phone, tablet, or laptop without messing with additional cables.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Two power modes

You also have an analog 3.5mm input for auxiliary audio, and on the side separate ports for analog headphone and microphone. These are most useful if you have the Pebble X connected to a computer as an external sound card. For that, a cable to the computer is enough, it can take the power from the USB port. But then you will not get the maximum power of continuous 30- or up to 60-watts peak out of the speakers, but only half. For most sound, you’ll need to plug a separate USB-PD adapter into a wall socket on the other USB-C port.

On the front of one of the satellites is a volume control with a built-in power button, a button that controls the RGB lighting, and one that switches between input modes, whether you’re taking audio from Bluetooth, USB, or auxiliary. That’s all you get in the way of controls. There’s no way to adjust the soundscape.

How does the Creative Pebble X Plus sound?

Okay, okay, enough about design, connections, controls, and everything else. On to the important stuff: Does this system sound good? Yep, you get a clean and clear soundstage with excellent detail in the treble and midrange.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

The Pebble X Plus system sounds best in front of me on my desk and is a brilliant boost for a laptop or gaming PC. As a Bluetooth speaker, it can fill a small- to medium-sized room with fine sound, although it starts to lose quality above about 80 percent volume, but there’s still enough punch in the sound to disappoint few.

When I first tested playing music, the subwoofer sounded very hesitant, delivering midrange tones well but becoming paper-thin at really low frequencies. This turned out to be due to the fact that it did not stand firmly on the table, the rubber feet under the bass box had a plastic film on them that did not allow it to grip the surface, and the vibrations did not go further into the air.

So don’t miss that when you set them up. Then it sounded much better. It’s therefore a bit of a shame that it’s not possible to attach it more permanently, for example by screwing it to the underside of the desk. Then it would also be conveniently out of the way.

In Creative’s control program for PC there is an equalizer and other controls for balance and microphone input, but only there. It is a Windows program and there is no equivalent for Mac. The Creative App for mobile phones is not nearly as feature-rich, where I could only control the lighting and upgrade the firmware.

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Mattias Inghe

Sure, there are more lavish and more premium speakers than these, but for $130, this is an investment in quality sound that most people can afford, and one that is also stylish, versatile, and handy enough for most desks. The fact that it can double as a decent Bluetooth sound system for a medium-sized room is also clearly a bonus. I don’t care much for all the RGB effects, but fortunately they can be switched off.

This review was translated from Swedish to English and originally appeared on pcforalla.se.