Introduction
When my flatmates suggested lunch downstairs, I had no idea I was about to part with 500 bucks. After all, we were only heading to a coffee stall downstairs for lunch, right? Well.. as far as wrong assumptions go, this is pretty huge. Along the way, we agreed that we were just tired of the food in the neighbourhood and drove off to a narrow alley just off Sim Lim Square, and I thought, what the heck, I'd go in for a look-see after lunch. I should have taken my flatmates' offer to bring my wallet back home for me, leaving me with only enough to get home. =)

"... I casually asked the shopowner if the stock for DeskTop Theater 5.1 set was there. And it was... the next thing you know, my wallet was out and my credit card was being zapped for $495!"

"For me, if it sounds good to me, it has delivered the goods... precisely what the Theater 5.1 does for you at the end of the day."

Anyway, I was in Interactive Media when I casually asked the shopowner if the stock for DeskTop Theater 5.1 set was there (reported earlier in Hardware One). And it was. It took very little convincing on his part, and the next thing you know, my wallet was out and my credit card was being zapped for $495!


Installation
I brought the whole device home, and quickly flipped through the Install Guide (which like all brand new Creative products, consists of a printed manual and some loose sheets that contain last minute information).

"The 4m cable for the rears (especially the left rear) just wasn't enough for me. My PC is located in a corner, and I normally run the rears along the wall to minimise cables strewn all over the floor."

Similar to most Creative devices I have purchased in the past (Voodoo IIs, Cobra pad, Encore DVD, SB Live), installation was painless and pretty straightforward.

In fact, it took longer to disconnect my old sound system which consisted:

1. a Sony Dolby Pro Logic midi compo system (L/R/C/RL/RR/sub) (switched to Stereo mode when using EAX/DS3D)
   
2. a PC Works kit for rear out Hook up consists of 3 cables from the the PC to decoder/amp box
   
3. AC3 SPDIF (RCA to RCA)
   
4. front line in (mini stereo to mini stereo)
   
5. rear line in (mini stereo to mini stereo)
   
   All 3 cables were provided (gold plated and colour coded)
   
   6 speakers (5.1) were supplied, and plugged in to one of the six RCA jacks at the back for L/R/C/RR/RL and LFE (low frequency/sub).
   
   "The only new thing introduced was the center speaker, which was similar to the SoundWorks satellite unit (substantially heavier than the PCWorks variety)."
   
   The 2 front speakers came with 3m cable while the 2 rears came with a 4m cable. All 4 were similar to my old PCWorks speakers. The subwoofer too was similar in size to the old PCWorks sub, but lacked the satellite (L/R) speaker connections.
   
   The rear satellites also came with the flimsy stands supplied with the 4Point Surround speakers which I left in the box (I placed the two rear speakers on top of two CD storage cabinets which were about 4 feet high instead)
   
   

   The only new thing introduced was the center speaker, which was similar to the SoundWorks satellite unit (substantially heavier than the PCWorks variety). The center speaker came with two types of stands, one that tilted upwards (when the speaker was placed below your ear level) and one that tilted downwards (when the speaker was mounted above the ear level). I used the latter.

   
   I only have one problem with the cables: the rear ones are just too damned short!
   
   In the past I could make do with the PCWorks length because I basically had three runs of cables, giving me more length to play with:
   

   PC -> volume knob -> sub -> satellites

   
   
   With the Theatre 5.1, this was reduced to only 2 runs
   

   PC -> decoder/amp box -> speakers

   
   The 4m cable for the rears (especially the left rear) just wasn't enough for me. My PC is located in a corner, and I normally run the rears along the wall to minimise cables strewn all over the floor.
   
   (Click here for Diagram)
   
   
   Features
   The front panel includes controls for the following:
   
   Creative Multi-Speaker Surround (CMSS) Modes
   There are three modes:
   1. Music
      
   2. Movie
      
   3. Stereo / 4 Point
      
      These work for the analog inputs.
      
      Music and Movie modes allow you to convert a stereo input to a 5.1 setup to give you a wider soundstage. Music replicates the front stereo to rear stereo, while Movie Mode uses the rear channels to produce a ProLogic like effect.
      
      The last mode, FourPoint literally converts my $500 Theater 5.1 system into $160 4Point system. =P
      
      I usually use the FourPoint mode when playing SBLive! DS3D/EAX games. Only the first two modes make use of the center speaker.
      
      Dolby Surround Modes
      There are three Dolby Surround modes, depending on which inputs (analog or digital) are used:
      
      1. Dolby Digital AC3,using the SPDIF inputs
         
      2. Dolby Pro Logic (Analog), using the front stereo analog inputs, and
         
      3. Dolby Pro Logic (Digital), using the PCM stereo digital input (from SPDIF)
         
         Other Functions
         There are three other buttons to handle Audio Mode, Speaker Test and Mute. Audio Mode allows you to select Left Only or Right Only inputs (for karaoke VCDs)
         
         Speaker Test, produces a white noise signal successively through each of the speakers so you can adjust the individual volume levels. Mute does exactly what it says it does: =)
         
         There are also 4 volume knobs: master, center, subwoofer and surrounds. And to round off the front panel, a power switch.
         
         The only odd thing missing is the rear delay setting, which delays the sound output
         
         Connectivity with Encore DVD
         I am sure that most people will be buying this system to complement their Encore DVD (or equivalent hardware DVD setups) and on that front, it is good. The Encore SPDIF plugs right in, and works great just out of the box.
         
         One of the things that I didn’t like about the Encore when I was using the stereo analog (downmixed) stream was that the speech didn’t seem to synch with the screen. The lips seemed to be moving at a totally different phase from the audio/dialog. This is no longer a problem with the Theater 5.1.
         
         Connectivity with Sound Blaster Live!
         This is where I have some problems with the system. Aside from the two analogue stereo inputs (front and rear), there is just no other way to hook up the SBLive! with the system.
         
         

         "... the SBLive! lacks the horsepower (and license from Dolby) required to ENCODE AC3 signals in real time, so the Digital D-IN output was our last hope to getting more than quadraphonic sound from the SBLive!. But this was not meant to be."

         
         There is no way to hook up the much-hyped about Digital D-IN output on the Live’s daughtercard to this unit to get true 5.1 channels. I think you can use the stereo PCM output (SPDIF) of the Live!'s daughtercard to connect to the Theatre5.1, but the Live will only be outputting stereo.
         
         I think it is already an over-discussed point in the Creative SBLive! newsgroups that the SBLive lacks the horsepower (and licence from Dolby) required to ENCODE AC3 signals in real time, so the Digital D-IN output was our last hope to getting more than quadraphonic sound from the SBLive!. But this was not meant to be.
         
         Another problem I have is the inability to mix AC3 5.1 sound from the Encore with the two analogue stereo inputs from the SBLive! (DS3D/EAX)
         
         You have to choose from one of the following options:
         
         
         
         This is not really an important feature just an inconvenience for future games (if any) that has DS3D within the game and AC3 for the FMV. You will be required to toggle between FourPoint when playing a game, and switching to Music/Dolby Digital when watching the FMV.
         
         
         Sound
         I guess this is what everyone is waiting to hear (no pun intended), right?
         
         Before I shoot my mouth off, let me qualify what I am about to say. I can't speak for everyone because I am not a true audiophile. I did dabble in separates for a while but the lack of space in my room finally put an end to that hobby. Besides, my frequent number of PC upgrades didn't leave me with much spare dosh to spend on hifi. =P
         
         

         "The full range of the MicroWorks (which I attribute to the larger satellite units rather than the larger subwoofer) is just plain unbeatable. Midrange on the PCWorks/Theater 5.1 seems just muddy."

         
         My experience with audio equipment is that unless you can place TWO sets of equipment side by side (what is often known as an A/B comparison test), it is VERY hard to tell how good or bad a system is (provided the 2 systems are decent enough and NOT your crappola 10 bucks free PC speakers)
         
         In the shop, the demo had a speaker switch that allowed me to toggle between the Theater 5.1 and the mother-of-all-Cambridge-speakers, the MicroWorks, and there is NO COMPARISON. The full range of the MicroWorks (which I attribute to the larger satellite units rather than the larger subwoofer) is just plain unbeatable. Midrange on the PCWorks/Theater 5.1 seems just muddy. Unfortunately, the MicroWorks costs more than 350 bucks just for a stereo pair.
         
         
         

         
         "... I am quite satisfied with the overall sonic characteristics of the speaker, which is playing some demo XG midis and some MP3s..."
         
         "The highs were just as crisp as I remembered, if a little bright, ... a signature of Cambridge SoundWorks PC speakers."

         
         (Oh, before I forget, if any of you wishes to test out the demo unit in Interactive Media, bear in mind that the output is extremely noisy, because of aforementioned speaker switching unit, which looks like a home-made hacked unit.)
         
         But back home, I had nothing to compare it to. I had already carted off the midi system speakers to a corner (my room now looks like a Typhoon Zeb just swept through it!)
         
         And frankly, I must admit that the sound is quite good. I suspect that some changes have been made to the speaker since my PCWorks (I never had access to the FourPointSurrounds for testing), especially the subwoofer unit. I could turn up the bass/sub levels to fairly high levels with less levels of distortion. The highs were just as crisp as I remembered, if a little bright, but that seems to be a signature of Cambridge SoundWorks PC speakers.
         
         

         "For me, if it sounds good to me, it has delivered the goods. And that's precisely what the Theater 5.1 does for you at the end of the day."

         
         In fact, I am quite satisfied with the overall sonic characteristics of the speaker, which is playing some demo XG midis (using the free XG softsynth bundled with my old A3D card) and some MP3s as I am typing this review.
         
         In case anyone is interested, I belong to UK school of thought when it comes to comparing hifi performance. The US school tends to be fixated with numbers, comparing flatness of the frequency response, ad nauseum. For me, if it sounds good to me, it has delivered the goods. And that's precisely what the Theater 5.1 does for you at the end of the day.
         
         With music, the sound is perfectly acceptable to me, and seems better than my old PCWorks.
         
         And with Dolby Digital? I was too wowed by the zipping and zapping, and whooshing and swooshing to even care about frequency response!
         
         =) The dialogue is crisp and clear, clearly the results of using the larger driver found in the center speaker (similar to SoundWorks)
         
         Overall Impression
         I suppose that the Desktop Theater 5.1 delivers what it promises: an affordable, easy-to-set-up decoder/speaker system for the PC. But don’t expect top-of-the-line sound reproduction system, that even dogs can hear.
         
         If they market themselves right (with better packaging and manuals, and give us longer cables dammit!), they could probably sell truck-loads of these to newbies just entering the consumer DVD (or even DIVX *ptui*) market. Unlike LDs, the market penetration of DVDs has been quite rapid, offering a relatively inexpensive medium for excellent video and sound reproduction. However, most home users lack a decent home-theatre setup, which is what the Desktop Theater 5.1 delivers. And they will be wowed!
         
         =) I still remember the first time I heard domestic AC3 in a showroom! What a rush that was!