When it comes to budget computer speakers, the Logitech Z407 and Creative Pebble Plus come to mind. They’re both affordable and are among the best computer speakers most people should consider their computer setup. However, there are distinct reasons to choose one over the other. And price is a big consideration.
There are better, more expensive, options out there, but the Logitech Z407 punches above its weight. This computer speaker system (both models covered here include a subwoofer) sounds bigger than it is and has a cool couple of useful features. It might not satisfy gamers, but it’s more than enough for most people.
As affordable as the Logitech Z407 is, no computer speaker system offers more value than the Creative Pebble Plus. It’s more stripped down, still has a good amount of power and decent sound — though it’s held back by distorting bass at higher volumes – and is the price of an outing at a fast food chain or a decent mid-tier (but not great) mouse.
We’ll dig into these two products a little more to help you decide if it’s worth spending a little more and getting a little more with the Logitech Z407 or paying the lower price of the Creative Pebble Plus and finding it to be enough for your needs.
The Logitech Z407 offers up a lot for its price, and its sound is bigger than the package. That’s helped along by a subwoofer. If that’s not enough, it has a wireless puck for easier control, even if it’s initially a bit confusing to use.
For
- Impressive sound with rumbling sub
- Classy, versatile and compact design
- Incredibly affordable for what it offers
Against
- Soundstage is good, but not amazing
- Wireless control confusing at first
It’s easy to set up and incredibly affordable. And the sound is pretty decent considering the size, not to mention it has a subwoofer. There are some compromises as there’s no wireless functionality. You can’t exactly crank the volume, either, without getting some distortion.
For
- Decent sound quality
- Easy setup
- Comes with subwoofer
Against
- No bass controls
- Lots of cables
- Not the neatest setup
Logitech Z407 vs Creative Pebble Plus: Price
Comparing the Logitech Z407 and the Creative Pebble Plus is a matter of comparing two very budget models. If you’re reading this article, then keeping that price down is probably a deciding factor.
Now, the Logitech Z407 is the more expensive model, having launched with a price tag of
$79 / £79 / AU$149, the price it had when we reviewed it in 2021. It’s now actually gone up in price – something very unusual in computer-adjacent tech – to a price of $119.99 / £119.99 / AU$249.95. Now, computer speaker models don’t get refreshed all that often and the Logitech is still a very worthy consideration, especially since it comes with a subwoofer, wireless puck that functions like a remote, and Bluetooth connectivity.
The Creative Pebble Plus is much more barebones. There’s no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Airplay, etc. Still, this model does come with a subwoofer as well. Its original price of $40 / £40 / AU$99.95 has not gone up significantly like the Logitech. Instead, it’s five dollars more expensive in the states and just a little cheaper everywhere else, with a price tag of $44.99 / £38.99 / AU$69.95.
Logitech Z407 vs Creative Pebble Plus: Design
As far as setup goes, both the Logitech Z407 and Creative Pebble Plus are 2.1 systems, meaning that there are two speaker boxes for left and right audio and a subwoofer for the low-end.
Since both are budget units, the satellite speaker boxes and subwoofer are all connected by cables. With the Logitech Z407, both speakers connect to the subwoofer while the left speaker and subwoofer of the Creative Pebble Plus both connect to the right speaker. This, unfortunately, requires a little more creativity for cable management.
Both the Logitech Z407 and Creative Pebble Plus have interesting looking speaker boxes with the former having a rounded almost pill-like shape that’s more for aesthetics than anything else. The Creative Pebble Plus has angled speaker boxes so that the audio is directed more towards the listener’s ears – a small but appreciated choice, especially considering they’re 4.8 inches in height (the Logitech are 7.87 inches tall).
As far as connectivity goes, the Logitech Z407 is the better model as it offers Bluetooth, micro USB, and a 3.5 mm analog input. The Creative Pebble Plus, on the other hand, offers USB and 3.5mm. More importantly, the Creative Pebble Plus does not use a separate power cable, instead drawing power via the USB port, so if you don’t or can’t go the USB route, you’ll have to purchase a separate USB adapter to plug into the wall.
Lastly, as far as onboard controls go, all of the Z407’s are outsources to that wireless puck I previously mentioned, while the Creative Pebble Plus has a volume dial and a toggle for a ‘High Gain’ mode that boosts the volume.
Logitech Z407 vs Creative Pebble Plus: Features
The feature set on both models are a bit limited, but much more so with the Creative Pebble Plus. That’s because the only feature worth mentioning is that ‘High Gain’ toggle, which boosts the volume up to 8 watts RMS.
The Logitech Z407’s feature set includes Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and the wireless puck, which not only adjusts volume, but can be used to adjust the volume of the subwoofer, as well as switch sources, mute and unmute, and skip or rewind tracks. There is a Bluetooth and input source button underneath, but otherwise you can only control it by turning the dial or pressing on it like a giant button, so figuring out how to switch between functionalities does take a bit of learning. That’s probably the most difficult part of using the Z407. Once you get it, however, you’ll find it worth having.
Logitech Z407 vs Creative Pebble Plus: Performance
When it comes to audio quality, the Logitech Z407 is the better sounding model. But, if you look at the price, that should be expected. A little more unexpected as these relatively affordable speakers have a ton of volume on tap for computer speakers and sound pretty good. They lack a bit in detail, but the mids are fairly rich, and there’s plenty of bass, though you might want to turn that down a smidge. It produces a good stereo image.
The Creative Pebble Plus sound good for the price with a decently crisp high-end and balanced mids, though bass can distort rather easily, so that when you turn up too much, the bass and, therefore, the rest of the frequency range start to overload the drivers. But with the right kind of music and volume, they have a respectable sound.
One area that’s worth considering, however, is that since the Creative Pebble Plus are angled up, unlike the Logitech Z407, the sound is angled more properly towards you if you tend to sit up at your desk.
Which budget speaker is right for you?
The better speaker is going to be determined by your needs. While the Logitech Z407 are the objectively better speaker, there are certain people that would prefer the Creative Pebble Plus. If you’re tall and/or tend to look down on your computer monitor, it will direct sound to your ears. Or, if you’re very limited on funds or prefer to save money, the Creative Pebble Plus is less than half the price.
The Logitech Z407 does sound better, includes a convenient interface via the puck, and includes Bluetooth connectivity for when you want to play some music off your phone.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qm7q7PzUpRTRbok7G8NJPM-1200-80.jpg
Source link
space2occupy@gmail.com (James Holland)
