I was suddenly in the market for new computer speakers when my old JBL Spot 2.1 suddenly broke. After a few hours of comparing and review reading, Creative Pebble Pro speakers were my first choice because they look small and seem to get good reviews. Creative Pebble Pro is a model from Pebble series, which offers different levels of speakers with different configurations and sizes. I simply need a small speaker with good sound quality at lower volume, mostly because that is my most frequent use case.

My order came quick and I was immediately surprised by the actual product. Yes the dimensions are exactly as listed in the specification, but I was not expecting the curve making the speakers seem very bulky, not to mention that my small hands cannot seem to handle one unit using one hand. Initial hiccup, but not a deal-breaker.

Connection was reasonably easy. I can use the wired connection (3.5mm aux jack or USB-C cable), or wireless via Bluetooth. The speakers themselves need to be powered by at least 30W Power Delivery adapter. This can be a bit confusing to users plugging the speakers to the computer using USB-C cable. Yes, the speakers still need additional power on top of the USB-C power from the computer, which is topped at 10W. Speakers will work with 10W, but the sound output will not be “optimal” as intended by the manufacturer.

The sound quality is where I found the most disappointment. At low volume, I could not get decent quality of mid-range vocals. Since I use my desktop computer a lot to watch movies at reasonably low volume, this brought down my movie watching experience. To be fair, when I crank up the volume and use it exclusively to listen to music, these speakers are decent. It simply does not meet my expectation for my common use case.

After the first failure, I decided to get Edifier Hecate G2000 thanks to a friend’s recommendation. Hecate is a sub-brand from Edifier for products aimed for gamers. Compared to Creative Pebble Pro, Edifier G2000 are slightly taller but slimmer, easier to handle with one hand, at least for me. It offers 3 connectivity options: Bluetooth, 3.5 mm aux jack, or USB cable. Being speakers for gamers, they come with built-in backlight (12 colour options, can be turned off).

According to Edifier website, G2000 uses 2.75-inch full-range unit with 16W RMS power output. It has 3 EQ settings to choose: gaming mode, movie mode, and music mode. Strangely, I find that movie mode is the best EQ to watch movie and gaming mode is the best EQ for music. We cannot customise these modes, they are simply 3 presets for us to choose.

When we turn on the speaker, there is this weird-and-loud startup sound that cannot be turned off. Since I keep my speakers on most of the time, I rarely have to deal with it, but if you have the habit of turning off your speakers after use, you may want to remember to avoid starting up the speakers near someone asleep or other circumstances where the loud sound can be problematic. One time I had an electricity blackout and my speakers make the start up sound loudly, and the backlight is back on. This was a bit annoying because it took 12 long press to turn off those lights.

Sound quality is much better than Creative Pebble Pro, at least to my personal taste. Watching movies with these speakers are quite enjoyable with clear vocals, as well as decent highs and lows. With the combination of slim form factor and nice audio quality, it was an easy decision to keep G2000 as my new computer speakers.

Happy to finally found good replacement of computer speakers. Hope that Edifier G2000 will run strong for years to come.