Creative Stage SE is designed to be placed under the monitor on your desktop. It is a piano-lacquered, rectangular piece measuring over 40 cm long. The polished surface is great…for about four seconds.
Rating 3 out of 5
opinion
Stage SE from Creative are speakers designed for your desk. It’s thin enough to fit under the screen and make a lot of noise. But not good if you are going to listen to music. However, it does score some style points when used while watching movies.
Positively
- It seems a lot
- Simple to install
- Good sound for movies
negative
- Absorb dust and fingerprints
- Music sounds flat
- no screen
- It lacks a 3.5 mm input
Once you touch it, your fingerprints stick. It doesn’t affect the sound, but I can’t understand why Creative would stick to an ’80s aesthetic when everything should be shiny.
Well, let’s move on and we can quickly tell that it’s sparse with the controls. There is one, a large spinning wheel at one end. But you can turn the volume up or down, and it can also be pressed to change the voice input, for example. On the back there is a USB-c port and a USB-A port, if you prefer, you can connect them via Bluetooth. But then you miss the digital audio. You can also connect it to a console as long as it has a free USB port. Oddly enough, it lacks a 3.5mm input.
In the so-called speakerRacetrack48 watt powered speakers. Creative has also broken into technologies like Clear Dialog and Surround Sound. The former makes it easier to hear dialogue in scenes, while the latter provides a wider vocal range.
The sound can not be greatly adjusted. With the included remote control, you can adjust to warmer or cooler sounds. The difference isn’t immediately huge… On the same remote control, you can also adjust the ambient mode, control playback, and change the audio input.
Stop blabbering and tell me what it’s like!
sound like that. When I play music through Apple Music, the bass is not as strong and the sound lacks dynamics. It looks very flat. After fiddling extensively with the equalizer, I was able to get a relatively good sound. But again, the sound is lacking something. But you definitely raise your voice!
However, it looks better if you use it to watch movies. Then the sound comes to life and gives you a comfortable cinematic feel in front of your computer. The function highlights the sounds and also the surround mode gives a broader sound picture.
Creative’s Stage SE suffers from the same problem as nearly all other full-range amplifiers: poor sound when playing music.
no screen
When I still express my disappointment, it is also time to point out that the speaker lacks any form of information exchange. If you have Ambient Mode turned on, you won’t be able to see it anywhere. Same if you set a warmer or cooler sound. There is no telling what or how much you set. However, on the remote control there is a reset button, which resets all sound settings to neutral. Couldn’t they have at least been stuck to the black and white LCD?
The Creative Stage SE is priced at 900 SEK. Is it worth it? Well, not if you are going to use it to play music. If you are using your computer as a TV, it can be a perfectly good and simple solution.
to set
the creator: creative
model: SE stage
Tested: April 2023
Links: USB A & C, Bluetooth 5.3.
measuring: 410 x 108 x 68 mm
impact: 48 watts
prize: Costs 900 SEK in Creative
More Stories
EA President Talks New Dragon Age: 'A Return to What Made Bioware Great'
She thought she had bought a phone – she was shocked by its contents
Rumor: Lots of AI in Google's Pixel 10 and 11 cameras