Creative Stage SE Under-Monitor Soundbar with USB Digital Audio and Bluetooth 5.3, Clear Dialog and Surround by Sound Blaster, Powered via Adapter

Lots of strange reviews on this Blaster. The product is purpose built designed for one purpose. A below monitor, monitor. The higher voltage power supply adds headroom and girth where USB power is great if you have a C port delivering rated current power. But that's the problem, the C spec. can be a range where charging power is great but most notebooks are not at that rating. So, the soundbar doesn't distort and clip starved for power. That's a good thing. The lack of an analog input is common across the industry. You get much cleaner sound processing with an internal DAC vs amplifying a pre signal (with noise). The design is slick from the vol knob feel to the remote features and operation. The term sophisticated comes to mind using this thing. The dreaded banner 'item is often returned' is tagged on this unit. I think I know why. Out of the box, it's well, boxy. Two 'race track' oval drivers, a center diaphragm, and a side port that's flared to prevent 'chuffing'. What did you expect from a 16" brick? Seems kinda mid rangey, a tad nasal, basically a $25 squawker! Back in the box she goes! They missed the secret in the instructions. Download the Creative USB Host Driver. Once installed, go into Control Panel - Sound - Creative (tab) - select 'Wide Mode'. This opens up the stage and is very noticeable. Now poke the remote sound expansion button. The two effects combined change the 'box' to an EQ'd sound stage. Well worth the effort and rewarding to hear as definitely more HiFi. I normally don't like 3D Space Sound, but this one is a game changer. The design is for near field monitoring not a juke box for a room. A two inch diaphragm and 3/4 inch port ain't gonna pound you with bass. It is clear and doesn't suck reproducing audio. If you want a more open sound or boomy bass, get a 2.1 speaker pair (with sub). If you want desktop compactness and clear audio for YouTube reviews or instructional videos, here ya go. Don't think it's a party dance machine. For what it does, it does it well. But understand it's not ideal for music listening or bass rich gaming audio. Used as a portable outside could work, but would sound very thin compared to devices made for that use. It's simply to live under a monitor and what the design was all about. Is this better than a $30 USB powered soundbar. Yes, for the bucks it's well engineered, robust, sophisticated, and not junk. Unfortunately, others can have more bass, flashy LEDs and more stars. To me, for my use, those are disposable LED gimmick toys. Point - the SE is not marketed for teens or gamers. It's a tool more than show. Thus, 5 Stars.

Its a great option for improving PC audio, especially for its powerful bass and clear vocals. It connects via USB or Bluetooth and features a compact design that fits well under monitors. Pros: * Powerful bass and clear vocals * Easy to set up and use * Compact design Cons: * Audio performance might not be ideal for audiophiles *The remote control does not have batteries, and cannot activate the soundround without the control. Overall, the Creative Stage SE is a good option for those looking for a soundbar to improve their PC audio experience, especially for those on a budget.

For the price, this speaker is excellent. Has good bass for the size. Connectivity is great for both bluetooth and USB. I really like the large volume dial and big button for input change and power. Setup takes only minutes.

Less than 'room-filling' sound but perfectly adequate. BlueTooth connection means fewer wires, big win. The BT connection announcements can be turned off, but it takes a *really* quick dbl-click on the multi-function button. I thought the feature wasn't working, but a friend told me, dbl-click really quickly, like two taps in a quarter second.

Easy to setup. Sits perfectly underneath my monitor. Connecting the USB audio input to the mac mini usb-a or usb-c works either way. Mac immediately recognizes the speaker. Bluetooth works. Having a remote to adjust the bass and treble, toggling the Surround and Dialog feature is the highlight of this product I think. Sound is good for computer use - mainly for dialogs and playing light/soft music. Don’t expect to have a high fidelity sound from this small speaker.

I received my Creative Stage SE Model MF8410 this morning and the installation took less than 15 minutes. The soundbar fits perfectly under my iMac 24" screen. I purchased this model because my iMac speakers need a little boost in volume. I've only been using it for a few hours and though the sound quality is a little better than my iMac speakers, the volume level is less than what I was hoping for. One of the other reviews I read prior to purchasing it explained that the "frequently returned item" warning was likely due to buyers not downloading the Creative USB Host Driver. BUYER BEWARE: Before you purchase this model understand if you plan on using this soundbar with your iMac, macbook or other Apple devices, be aware that the SuperWide Technology or Wide Mode is only available for Windows computers.

Maybe if I hadn’t listened to several other speakers back to back, this speaker may have gotten a fair chance. Having said that, I did compare this against about three other speakers and ultimately decided on the Vizio SB2020n-J6 which is just $20 more and leaps and bounds better of a speaker. This speaker lacked a 3.5mm jack and my MacBook Pro had an issue with the USB-C as an audio source in Zoom…only in Zoom. I had to pair the speaker via Bluetooth and only then would it allow me to use the speaker for Zoom. I also tested the Razer Leviathan V2 X, which is also a USB-C only connection and it did the same thing. I could play music through any source from both speakers, but could not use USB-C for Zoom audio and had to pair via Bluetooth for Zoom audio to work. This speaker is also a piano gloss black and had fingerprints galore from my minimal amount of time testing it. I could see how scratches would also easily show. It looked great and it fit neatly in between my laptop and my second monitor perfectly with its 16 inch size, but that’s about where the pros ended. The sound from this speaker, even with the tone control max out to the “brightest” setting as Creative calls it, was still very much flat. The speaker also fired straight into my chest and not up towards my ears so the sound spectrum was misdirected. It sounded more like I was listening to music in a tunnel. So, to give it a fair shot, I used the dialogue button on the remote and played some movie trailers to see if it truly enhanced anything. I could not honestly tell a difference. I recorded some audio files with my XLR microphone to get an idea what my Zoom calls would sound like, albeit via Bluetooth only, and they still had a flat “tunnel effect”. Minimal treble, flat mid range and almost zero bass led to an unpleasant listening experience. Overall, I was not impressed by this speaker. Again, maybe if I had not compared it back to back with several others this may have shined a little more. I probably still would not have picked it due to the lack of the 3.5mm aux jack, but maybe it would have had a better chance. I chose the Vizio SB2020n-J6, also on Amazon, and feel like that is a much more solid choice in overall sound, has a 3.5mm aux jack and a subwoofer output jack in case you need to add a powered sub for added bass.

I didn't need a full blown studio monitor setup, nor did I want something covered in unicorn vomit. While I don't like supporting "creative" as they tend to not support Linux very well, it was cheap-ish and fit the space I wanted with minimal gofast RGBz. I'm sure down the road I'll open it up and remove the one facing LED. The sound quality is "okay", a little heavy on the artificial bass, but not in a good way. One thing I do like about it though is vocals really stand out and I do a lot of my work with 8bit mono (mostly talking). I am able to cut, normalize, reduce, and compress without much problem and the end result is very close to the original vocal source. Highs almost disappear past 12KHz vs my other setups which is fine for doing voice work. Pros: * Decent audio quality for the price * No RGB * Works well with Linux * Small footprint Cons: * Rolloff below 60Hz (expected for the size) * Rolloff above 12KHz * Dust magnet (aka piano black) * No Aux-in Other: * It has a remote I'll never use Of the small soundbars I've had, this one has better sound quality overall, just don't expect it to hold a candle to a decent audio monitor setup.

Tiene muy buena calidad de audio, se escucha claro y fuerte; es una gran solucion de audio si no tienes espacio para un setup mas propio. La conectividad es por USB y requiere de alimentacion externa para funcionar. Se puede conectar por bluetooth e incluye algunos presets de sonido.

Ho recentemente acquistato la soundbar Creative Stage SE e sono rimasto piacevolmente sorpreso dalla qualità del suono che riesce a offrire. Suono avvolgente e dialoghi cristallini Una delle prime cose che ho notato è la capacità della Stage SE di creare un palcoscenico sonoro ampio e coinvolgente, nonostante le dimensioni compatte. La tecnologia Surround offre un'esperienza audio immersiva, perfetta per guardare film e serie TV. Inoltre, la funzione Clear Dialog è davvero efficace: i dialoghi sono nitidi e chiari, anche nelle scene più movimentate. Versatilità e facilità d'uso La soundbar è estremamente facile da configurare e utilizzare. La connessione tramite USB o Bluetooth è rapida e stabile, e il telecomando permette di regolare il volume e selezionare le diverse modalità audio in modo intuitivo. Apprezzo molto la possibilità di passare facilmente da un dispositivo all'altro, ad esempio dal PC allo smartphone. Design elegante e compatto Il design della Stage SE è minimalista ed elegante, si adatta perfettamente a qualsiasi tipo di scrivania. Le dimensioni contenute la rendono ideale anche per spazi ristretti. Perfetta per piccoli ambienti Se come me avete una scrivania o un televisore di dimensioni contenute, la Creative Stage SE è la soluzione ideale. Offre un suono di qualità superiore rispetto agli altoparlanti integrati nei dispositivi, senza occupare troppo spazio. In sintesi, i punti di forza della Stage SE sono: Suono potente e coinvolgente Dialoghi chiari e nitidi Versatilità di connessione Design elegante e compatto Facile da utilizzare Perfetta per piccoli ambienti Consiglierei questa soundbar a: Chi cerca un suono di qualità per il proprio PC o TV Chi ha poco spazio sulla scrivania Chi vuole migliorare l'esperienza di visione di film e serie TV Chi cerca un prodotto facile da usare e configurare In conclusione, la Creative Stage SE è un'ottima scelta per chi desidera un sistema audio compatto e performante. Il rapporto qualità-prezzo è davvero interessante e la soddisfazione è garantita.

Je l'ai installée sous mon écran et franchement c'est top, ça prend quasi pas de place et ça libère le bureau. La qualité du son m'a vraiment surpris pour la taille, les basses sont bien là sans être envahissantes. Niveau puissance, j'ai un salon d'environ 30 mètres carrés, et quand je monte le volume ça sonorise la pièce sans problème, c'est vraiment bluffant. Le Bluetooth 5.3 fonctionne très bien, la connexion est stable et rapide. La télécommande est pratique, on peut l'utiliser en Bluetooth ou en USB selon l'envie. Parfait pour quelqu'un qui veut un son correct sans avoir à sortir une fortune ou à empiler des enceintes partout. C'est largement au-dessus des petites enceintes, ça change tout pour le gaming et les films, et par-rapport aux haut-parleurs d'un écran de PC c'est juste incomparable. La finition noire laquée et la molette de réglage du son sur le cote de la barre est agréable a utiliser. Encore une fois je recommande sans hésiter

Lo compré para mi ordenador de sobremesa y la verdad es que tiene muy buen sonido . Fácil de usar con su mando a distancia

Stevig geluid voor deze prijs:-) Desondanks sommige negatieve reviews toch gekocht en zeer tevreden mee. Als je de Creative Stage SE onder je monitor plaats , ok , maar max 50% ... vanaf 60% op verdere afstand beluisteren / betere sound en met de afstandsbediening spelen ;-) Draaiknop , makkelijk bedienbaar. Ps, om trillingen te vermijden heb ik er extra dempers onder geplaatst. Bas OK Spatial OK Afwerking OK Serieuze upgrade voor pc systeem :-)) In combinatie via USB naar Mini PC Beelink EQ14 / Windows 11 ... tip: installeer ook de EqualizerAPO + PeaceSetup = perfecto (toch voor deze prijs) Enige opmerking/minpunt: géén Creative software bijgeleverd (is echter overbodig) ...