Product Listing

Creative ZiiSound T6 Speakers - Slam on the Wireless

By Hurrairah bin Sohail - 9 May 2011
Launch SRP: S$569

The Verdict

A Mix of Old and New

Before our final thoughts and conclusion, the last bit of information you'll need to judge the Creative ZiiSound T6 is its price tag. The speakers costs S$569 and this has to be taken into consideration when gauging the standards of performance it should aspire to meet.

With its specifications, technology and features, such as Creative's SLAM, similar to that of the Gigaworks T3, it is no surprise that the T6 sounded very much like the T3. We had a Gigaworks T3 unit lying around our offices and toggled between it and the ZiiSound T6 during our listening. To an untrained ear, there is little difference between the two units. The bass of the T6 remains as erratic and unpredictable as before and this is a serious issue for a high-end speaker system.

The ZiiSound T6 tries to cram modern features such as 5.1 USB audio and wireless playback into an old swivel-array design.

Unfortunately, the similarity is so great that some of the old model's design flaws have also been carried over. While the control pod is a slick piece of design and is fast becoming a Creative hallmark, there is still no user feedback or indication of the overall volume level. If you happen to have maxed out your settings and turn your notebook on, the entire neighborhood gets treated to your OS start-up tune. The bass control knob, which is definitely essential due to the erratic nature of the ZiiSound T6, is found at the back of the subwoofer. While this is a standard design practice, we find it highly inaccessible.

Improvements have been made to the soundstage which mimics a 5.1 system very well. However those who value a good soundstage have multiple true surround options available with similar specifications and in the same price range. It has to be said though that the ZiiSound T6 is much easier to setup than a regular five speaker surround sound unit, which does make it a highly attractive alternative.

The option of connecting to the system via Bluetooth is handy and apt-X technology ensures that there is little degradation of sound quality. However, the common problems with Bluetooth still remain and the connection is temperamental at best. The fact that switching over to playing via Bluetooth does not have auto-pause results in the user having to go up to the sound system anyway, thus diluting the purpose of the feature.

Scoring Breakdown
Test Type Score
CD Testing  7.0
MP3 Testing  7.0
Movies (DVD) Testing  7.0
Game Testing  7.0
Overall Audio Performance  7.0

 

The Creative website boasts of the numerous features found on the ZiiSound T6. It almost seems that the designers were trying to cram the latest features and abilities into an existing design in an attempt to 'update' it. The problem is that none of them actually have the “wow” factor. Even the swivel-array satellite speakers, which do add value, are a blast from the past and modern systems are rarely produced in this configuration. They do not detach and they cannot be placed at the user’s discretion.

As you can see from the final round-up, the ZiiSound T6 scores a solid 7.0 all across the board. But for its price, we expected a lot more. The overall impression of the Creative ZiiSound T6 was fairly underwhelming. While it may be full of options and features, none of them stands out enough to tempt any owners of the GigaWorks T3. Besides the ease of setting up, we don't see the T6 capable of upsetting a true 5.1 speaker system.

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7.0
  • Design 7
  • Performance 7
  • Features 7.5
  • Value 6.5
The Good
USB audio input
apt-X technology ensures good Bluetooth playback
5.1 surround sound in 2.1 configuration
The Bad
Bass is erratic and unpredictable
No auto-mute when switching to Bluetooth playback
Old, tired design
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