Compact design and great sound.

In short, I am very pleased with these speakers and would highly recommend them to anyone who asked. Of course, it is also important that you have reasonable expectations for this compact system.

I purchased these speakers as a replacement for the passive speakers that would not work any more with my new computer. I generally listen to music and movies on my home theater system, but I figured if I was going to have to get new computer speakers I should get something that I would appreciate. I wanted something that would provide nice sound quality while not taking up much room on my already overloaded computer desk. It was also important that they not break the bank.

The JBL CREATURE® II speakers seem to fit all of these criteria perfectly. The come very well packaged from the factory, and set up is a breeze. The speaker connectors are specifically shaped for left and right so that you can not get them mixed up. All of the wires provided are plenty long so that you are not limited in your placement of the components, and the satellites are small enough to hide about anywhere on your desk. You do have to be somewhat observant to notice the chrome volume buttons on the right satellite, but I guess if I had bothered to read the instructions they would have pointed me in the right direction.

Once I got everything set up I was very pleased at the output of this little system. The sound from the tweeters is very crisp and life-like, and the bass fills in very nicely from the small sub. My computer room is about 12'x12', and the sound is rich and full anywhere in the room. As with any system that only has two very small high/mid frequency drivers and a subwoofer, there is bound to be a bit of a whole in the sonic coverage. However, JBL does a very good job of minimizing any gaps in the sound. Overall, the sound from this system is very pleasing. I found that I had the best results when placing all of the speakers at or above ear level with the subwoofer near the corner of the room. Experimenting with the placement of the subwoofer can really make a big difference in the richness of the bass. You also have separate bass and treble adjustments located on the subwoofer unit to fine tune the sound to fit your preference.

In summary, I repeat that these are great speakers for the purpose that they are intended. Do not count on these to mimic the output of your home theater system, but they are certainly capable of filling a mid-sized room with sound. The JBL Creature II lives up to the promise of the JBL name.