This is one outlet's own report from PC Gamer — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportPC Gamer · 1h ago
Creative XF1 speaker review
I've slowly come to the realisation that, for computer speakers, once you get past the mid-range price point it becomes all about diminishing returns. There are some really solid budget picks (with Creative's Pebble Pro being our budget speaker of choice ), but the $100-200 range is where you get the most features and the best price-to-value ratio. Go beyond that and you're spending a lot of money for only incrementally better sound and some non-essential luxuries.
And nothing quite proves that better than the Creative XF1 , a set of compact yet incredibly useful speakers with a whole host of neat extra features. And they even come with two cork stands to prop the speakers, which can go entirely unused if you like your speakers flat, but It's still plain neat that they come in the box for no extra charge.
Naturally, the more compact you go, the less room you have to jam speakers full of large tweeters and woofers, and as such, the balance with the XF1 isn't just where to cut costs in each unit, but just how small you can condense them down before the sound starts to take a hit.
And Creative, for the most part, has nailed that balance, with a set of speakers that are small enough to fit on my desk, but loud enough to shake it.
Buy if…
✅ You're running out of desk space: The XF1 are a small and understated set of speakers that felt at home on my admittedly pretty small desk.
Do not buy if…
❌ You want high-end sound: Though sound replication is very strong for the price and size, you aren't getting audiophile-level quality.
Features
XF1 Specs Frequency
55 Hz - 40,000 Hz
Drivers
2 3-inch woofers, 2.75-inch tweeters
Weight
2.6 kg for both
Dimensions
6.10 x 3.93 x 7.52 inches (each)
Connectivity
Bluetooth 6.0, USB Type-C, Aux
RGB
Lighting Status LED for connectivity, no addressable RGB
Price
$180 | £140
Creative XF1 is loaded with great little design decisions. For one, it has a robust set of connectivity options, with it working via USB Type-C, aux, and Bluetooth. And that Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity even supports LDAC wireless, so it retains a high level of quality no matter the connection.
The single button on the front of the right speaker can not only be spun to adjust volume, but also clicked to swap between the connectivity modes. This means swapping from my gaming PC to my phone or laptop requires no more than a mere button press. And, in practice, this works really well too. With my default audio setting being the speaker, I can click to connect to Bluetooth, and my rig swaps to my plugged-in headphones, which is effectively a poor man's version of the NZXT SwitchMix (and being much cheaper, 'poor man's' is apt).
It's a pretty simple set of speakers otherwise. Simply plug it into the mains, connect it to the left speaker, plug it into a device and start playing sound. One neat feature that comes in the box is a set of cork stands. Without clicking into place or requiring any tools, you merely place the speakers on top and can elevate the speakers at a 15° angle. Generally speaking, being able to elevate the speakers, and therefore elevate the tweeter and woofer, means that it directs the sound more towards you. You may not use the stands, but the fact that they come in the box for free is a solid extra.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
The XF1 speakers have striking quality and clarity for the price and size. Bass, mids, and treble come through clear and are easy to pick out in the mix. And it offers strong sound reproduction at low volumes, which some speakers struggle with (here's looking at you Edifier G2000 Pro ). They can also get fierce loud, which is likely linked to the fact that they are 72 watts RMS. Even the Kanto Ora , a significantly more expensive set of desktop speakers, only offers an RMS wattage of 50 watts.
Naturally, you will get better-sounding speakers if you spend more (like the Kanto Ora I just mentioned), and if you are willing to dedicate the space for it, you can get truly superb sound quality out of the likes of the Mackie CR3.5BT . But I have yet to find a set of speakers that offers this level of quality out of its size and price.
It's a speaker designed for games, music, and movies, and it handles them all well thanks in part to smart EQ modes in its software. The gaming mode cuts a tad from the upper mids, whilst giving a light boost to everything else, whereas the music mode drops bass and raises sub bass and upper mids. The Movie EQ also cuts the bass somewhat, while raising everything else.
There's a rather impressive amount of EQ options in Creative's software, including EQ presets for specific games. The GTA preset is higher on the upper mids, where the Last of Us provides a boost in bass and upper mids, with light cuts in the lower mids, sub bass and highs. I love how varied these presets are, and I think the speakers are at their best with a very slight uptick in the bass. Still, even at its default preset, the XF1 is a tiny force to be reckoned with.
The metallic clangs of Abyssus are as metallic and clangy as you'd want them to be here. It pounds when you shoot the shotgun, but it's able to catch the nuance of a soft hum or whir. Abyssus is a game all about its murky, watery atmosphere, and that atmosphere is unhindered coming from the light frame of XF1.
(Image credit: Future)
For something a bit more aggressive, I sicced the speakers on speedrunner Echobreaker, and found its combinations of synth and techno drums to come through well. When the thumps, the speakers do a good job of representing that thump, shaking on top of the desk.
Moving over to something more overtly musical, Sea Power's Disco Elysium soundtrack sounds great on the XF1. Trumpets in the middle and high end have real depth to them, where strings and piano fill out the bottom of the mix. There's a solid clarity to everything, making it easy to pick out each instrument in their own registers.
You aren't getting audiophile-level quality here, bu...
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