Creative Expands Wireless-Audio Lineup

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 9/3/2010

Milpitas, Calif. - Creative launched multiple new audio products, including a new low-price wireless multi-room-audio system, a new Bluetooth stereo speaker and a new line of gaming headsets.

The $69.99 Creative T12 speaker streams music from a $49 Bluetooth-equipped iPod dongle or $49 USB dongle for PCs.

The wireless-audio system, due in the fourth quarter at $169, features USB Bluetooth transmitter to stream music up to 100 feet from desktop and laptop Macs and PCs to an included sound-bar-style wireless speaker. The system, called the D220W speaker with Sound Blaster Wireless transmitter, streams music from any music-management application and any Internet music source, including the likes of Pandora, Napster and Hulu.

The transmitter also works with the company's other Bluetooth speakers, including the GigaWorks T20W wireless speaker pair and the outdoor dual-stereo Sound Blaster Wireless Rock with rechargeable battery in a granite-look rock-style enclosure. The transmitter also streams to Sound Blaster wireless headphones and to a dedicated $69.99 receiver that connects to existing stereo systems.

 Another new wireless speaker is the Creative T12, a speaker pair that streams music via Bluetooth from any Bluetooth-enabled device, including cellphones. The system, available at http://us.creative.com for $69.99, joins four other wireless speakers recently introduced in the Pure Wireless Speakers series. They are the $149 Inspire S2 Wireless one-piece speaker system, the $129 D200 sub-sat speaker system, portable boombox-style D100 at $79, and one-piece ZiiSound D5 at $299. The speakers can be used with a separately sold Bluetooth BT-D1 USB transmitter and BT-D5 iPod transmitter at $49 each.

 For gamers, two new Tactic 3D gaming headsets due in September feature THX TruStudio Pro technology to deliver a 360-degree soundfield so gamers hear sounds from the front, back, above and below, the company said.

Creative's D220 sound-bar-style speaker streams music from a Bluetooth USB dongle for PCs at $169 for both products.

The Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Sigma at $89.99 and Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Alpha at $59.99 are the company's first Sound Blaster headsets to feature customizable sound options, the company said. "We've taken our THX TruStudio Pro audio technology suite and given gamers control of every nuance of the way their games sound, allowing them to customize their own TacticProfile," said product manager Ryan Schlieper. The company also included pre-configured profiles used by professional gamers such as Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel and members of international professional gaming teams CompLexity and Dignitas. Their sound profiles can be installed at the click of a mouse, the company said.

 THX TruStudio Pro also features real-time restoration of low and high frequencies to compressed audio, voice enhancement during in-game communication to deliver clearer dialog over ambient noise, and volume-leveling technology to continuously compensate for abrupt volume changes.