There are now a lot of speaker systems on the market aimed at attracting the iPod owner. Most are designed specifically for the iPod and are generally portable, such as the Logic3 i-Station and the Altec Lansing iM3s. JBL have however taken their existing technology and rendered it acceptably co-ordinated with the iPod to appeal to the ever-growing accessory market with the Creature II speakers.

JBL have been around for over 60 years providing quality home audio as well as professional equipment to music lovers all over the world. The Creature IIs are part of their ‘Multimedia’ range that also include the On Tour and the On Stage speakers, and are a plug-and-play solution for computers and portable music players alike.

At £69.99 they are not the most expensive speakers on the market, but are pricey enough to expect a good performance from. They fit into the home audio category rather than the portable speaker as there is no battery power option. Plus lugging around a hefty sub-woofer isn’t at the top of most travellers’ requirements.

First Impressions
The speakers come in 2 colours – white and pale blue-grey. The grey set has a definite old-fashioned appeal, and feel like a completely different set of speakers to the clean, white version. Both sets have exactly the same technical specs and dimensions.

The system consists of a powered sub-woofer and 2 mini satellite speakers. Their design is very retro-modern – curvaceous and simple with silver controls, dials and tweeter-fronts. The sub is bell-shaped and has a 9” by 9” footprint. The satellites cover a minuscule 9 inch square patch each. The sub connects to the mains while the satellites are powered through the subwoofer.

Connecting the speakers together was a breeze. The jacks to plug the satellites in are colour and shape co-ordinated to make sure even speaker Luddites can get the set-up right. The left speaker plugs into a brown triangular jack and the right into an orange square jack. The volume is controlled using satisfyingly-sensitive touch pads on the right satellite speaker. The bass and treble are controlled by knobs on the front of the sub. Green LEDs on the back of the sub and on the front of the tweeters show when the system is turned on and connected correctly.

The speaker cables are of adequate length to position the satellites at either corner of a desk whilst the sub can sit either on top or under. The speakers are magnetically shielded and so clustering them around a monitor or TV will not do it any harm. This was also great for where space is limited: not only are the speakers tiny but they don’t need to be spread out to protect other electrical equipment.

There can be no doubt that the speaker system looks interesting, but its unusual appearance could cause polarisation of opinions. In our opinion the sci-fi look is cool – it is distinctive, it matches the iPod, the Macintosh iBook and iMac and would fit equally well in an office or a lounge. The inconspicuous satellite speakers are perfect for low-profile sound and their ease of use and connection make them ideal for any user.

Performance
Naturally, the Creature II speakers were plugged into an iPod to test out their sound. This was through the lineout/headphone jack – the speakers have no docking port as the system isn’t specifically designed to accommodate the iPod. However seeing as the speakers are powered from the mains this didn’t affect the battery life any more than playing the iPod through headphones.

Thanks to the long cables, the distance between the speakers was suitably broad so as to allow a good stereo sound to be achieved. Various genres of music were played to see if the speakers could cope with the different levels and sounds that comprises them. We used hip hop to test the bass, heavy guitar-based rock for the clarity of sound, and jazz for more of the high levels.

We were satisfied to discover that the speakers sounded as good as they looked – the bass was deep (and adjustable which is unusual with iPod-ready speakers) and the top levels were clear and distinct with no tinniness. For speakers with a 1-inch diameter the satellites gave out ample volume – in fact for speakers twice the size the sound was impressive. They could adequately accommodate different genres of music through some knob-tweaking and the music that was produced filled a large room no problem. At higher volumes there was unsurprisingly a little distortion, but then again not everyone listens to hardcore hip hop so may not need to feel their brain shake before they can appreciate a good song playing. Or a good set of speakers for that matter.

If there would be a downside, there was a bit of sound missing in the middle – separation was quite noticeable where the bass and treble were so pleasing. This was only minor however and could generally be mostly overcome with a bit of level adjustment. There is also no provision of a remote control, but iPod users could invest in a Ten Navipod or a RemoteRemote for wireless control.

Summary
Overall the Creature IIs performed extremely well. Their great appearance was matched by their value for money – absolutely worth their £69.99 price tag. The speakers have a range of uses, from music to computer sound, and could easily cope with any type of music thrown at them. They are an ideal set of speakers for the casual listener or the more demanding music buff, and have a lot to offer in all departments.