At a look

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Clear, detailed audio
• Can get very loud
• No distortion at excessive quantity
• Multiple connection strategies
• Noise cancellation by Creative’s software program

Cons

• Volume changes are extra minimal at greater volumes

Our Verdict

You might spend much less, however the Creative Pebble Pro is price the additional money if you’d like premium options mixed with clear, detailed audio in a small package deal. Plus, you get RGB accent lighting.

Price When Reviewed

$59.99

Best Prices Today: Pebble Pro

$59.99

We have been smitten with the Creative Pebble from the beginning, for good cause—the petite audio system sounded nice, but price solely $25 at launch.

Since then Creative has launched a number of iterations of the Pebble, considered one of them being the Pebble Pro, which hit retailer cabinets late final 12 months. It’s surprisingly feature-rich whereas providing incredible audio, and a worthwhile whereas step up from purely fundamental audio system.

Further studying: This overview is a part of our roundup of budget computer speakers. Go there for particulars on competing merchandise and our purchasing recommendation.

Pebble Pro design and measurement

When you pull the Pebble Pro out of its field, you’ll discover two issues instantly. First, it appears to be like identical to the opposite Pebble units—smooth and rounded—with comparable proportions. The audio system take about as a lot room every as a median grapefruit (4.8 x 4.8 x 4.6 inches), and are a pleasant complement to the boxiness of displays and PCs, softening the sides on a desk setup. On the underside of every speaker is a spherical rubber pad for traction, ringed by a skinny LED strip that may glow in rainbow colours. You management the three out there gentle patterns (and coloration) by the proper speaker’s controls.

Second, these audio system include fairly a number of ports and jacks. On the rear of the proper speaker, you’ll discover a regular USB-C port that may carry each the audio sign and energy, a USB-C Power Delivery (PD) port that may amplify the speaker output (however can’t carry an audio sign), and an 3.5mm auxiliary-in jack. Also on the again is the hardwired cable connecting the 2 audio system. On the facet of the proper speaker you’ll discover two 3.5mm jacks—one for headphones, and the opposite for microphone passthrough. You get Bluetooth 5.3 assist as nicely for pairing with PCs, smartphones, and different units.

The button for switching between these completely different connection varieties might be discovered on the entrance of the proper speaker, instantly subsequent to the quantity knob. Pressing it switches between USB, Bluetooth, and aux-in modes; an LED gentle to the left of the quantity knob will change coloration as you cycle by (purple, blue, and inexperienced, respectively). 

How does the Pebble Pro sound?

No matter which connection methodology you decide, these audio system sound incredible. High-frequency parts come by crisp and clear, and also you get sufficient bass for balanced audio. The Pebble Pro reproduces vocals, TV and film dialog, and telephone name chatter with correct element, and extra impressively, it does so at its highest volumes. Normally, distortion is usually a problem with finances audio system, however not these.

And the Pebble Pro can actually fill a room with sound, partly because of its 2.25-inch drivers with 10-watt RMS score. (The unique Pebble was rated at 4.4 watts, and the present Pebble V3 at 8 watts.) That’s even while you’re drawing energy from the usual USB-C port, which works for any of the three connection modes. But you’ll be able to juice up these audio system by switching to the USB-C PD port and utilizing the aux-in or Bluetooth modes. (Creative recommends its 30-watt energy adapter, however you should utilize any comparable one you might have readily available.)

Creative

Doing so will squeeze much more quantity from these petite audio system—however most fascinating is that you just don’t simply get a better most quantity, however a rise in loudness at decrease settings, too. In our very casual testing (a sound meter app on our telephone, held 10 inches away), the Pebble Pro clocked 74 decibels over a regular USB-C reference to Windows 10 cranked to one hundred pc quantity. On Creative’s 30W energy adapter (related through USB-C PD and aux-in for audio), the typical was 80dB.

But the leap in loudness was greater at 40 and 60 p.c quantity—a rise of about 20 p.c when utilizing the USB-C PD port and energy adapter. That means you’ll be able to hang around at decrease quantity percentages and nonetheless get loads of sound. No must crank till you might have a celebration, at which level you’ll be able to dial it up and fill your complete front room.

Plugging in 3.5mm headphones sounds simply pretty much as good as when letting the audio system do their factor, although what headphones you employ will affect your expertise. Be warned: The quantity knob on the audio system impacts headphone quantity, so if in case you have it totally cranked, dial it down earlier than placing in your cans. You can unintentionally (and painfully) blast your self with sound if you happen to’re not cautious.

What in regards to the Pebble Pro’s microphone passthrough?

Creative

The Pebble Pro has a nifty trick—you’ll be able to go the feed from a 3.5mm microphone by them when in USB mode, which helps you to use Creative’s software program for automated muting/unmuting throughout calls, in addition to filtering out undesirable noise.

The noise cleanup function works remarkably nicely—and it applies to each incoming and outgoing audio. Creative says the noise canceling is finest at eliminating static background feels like followers, vacuum cleaners, and even garden mowers, permitting you to talk or pay attention with out these distractions. Our testing reveals that it additionally works nicely on feels like mechanical keyboard typing while you’re not speaking. The recording we took of nonstop typing was nearly lifeless silent, with only a few seconds of sporadic bleedthrough clatter.

Should you purchase the Creative Pebble Pro?

You might spend $35 or much less on wonderful audio system, like one of many Pebble Pro’s much less full-featured siblings. But if you happen to’re in search of extra premium options, these audio system provide pleasing, crystal-clear sound with loads of quantity and sensible extras that may improve your PC expertise. Plus, the RGB lights are enjoyable to have a look at.