Surprisingly, this soundbar combo performs well above its retail price. It has a full sound that new, impossibly thin TVs can’t match with their built-in speakers. There are plenty of considerations for who this Creative soundbar will work best for, but if money is the main factor, start your soundbar search with this one.
Setup & Design
The biggest consideration for this soundbar combo is its wired subwoofer. In just the last few years, wireless subs have become the norm for a large section of the home theater speaker market. The freedom to place the sub anywhere in the room without pre-planning for wiring is massively convenient. It is understandable, however, that a wired sub makes sense to keep costs low. The subwoofer cable is only around 10 feet long and permanently attached to the enclosure. So if having a wired cable is a blow, then having that wire being non-removable is just an insult to that injury.
My unit came with two power cables, which were not listed as normal on the box. But beyond that mistake, it still came with the advertised aux and USB cables — no HDMI cable.
Connecting the pieces was simple enough and wasn’t any more complicated than any other soundbar on the market. Each of the ports on the back of the small, black soundbar were clearly labeled.
The soundbar measures 26.8 inches wide by 3.94 inches deep with a height of 3.07 inches. Its low profile should mean that it can fit in most entertainment stands and won’t take up too much room on top of a dresser. In fact, the Stage V2 could work really well on top of a dresser in a bedroom setup. If there’s room next to the dresser for a thin, tall subwoofer (nearly 17 inches tall, 10 inches deep, and 4.6 inches wide), then the cord might disappear behind it without a second thought. Using it in smaller rooms seems like the best bet.
It could absolutely be used in a living room setup based on its performance, but I would worry the sub cable would present problems for a lot of people. If the soundbar is wall-mounted or sits higher, then snaking the sub connection cable through furniture or in a wall would mean the subwoofer would need to live right in front of the TV, in constant view. Your mileage could vary quite a bit depending on your room configuration and your preference for seeing all the components.
The soundbar features a metal front grill with a Creative logo. The lights indicating the input and volume shine through and remain present unless it is turned off. All combined, the appearance is mostly unassuming, if not slightly masculine.
Features
The soundbar can be connected to a TV with HDMI using Arc passthrough, an optical cable, or USB audio for a computer connection. It supports an auxiliary input for things like a personal audio device as well as Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music streaming when not in use as a soundbar.
The V2 is wall mountable out of the box but has rubber feet for sitting on a shelf or stand. The included remote allows switching through inputs, toggling surround sound and dialog modes, as well as changing the treble and bass EQ. The remote can do the basics like raising and lowering the volume, muting and powering the soundbar on and off. Plus, if you change the sound until it sounds like garbage, there’s a reset button to get it back to its default sound.
In my testing, I tried to keep the bass and treble at defaults to get a sense of how it sounds out of the box. If you need to change those frequencies, though, the option is available.
Performance
The dual-use of this soundbar for TV and music means performance is varied. While it can absolutely be used for music and works well, it will be used primarily for shows and movies, presumably. Let’s start with how it performs in that area.
Besides providing an overall boost in sound performance, the main reason for adding a soundbar to your TV setup is for better dialog. A better center channel speaker should help alleviate straining to hear what people are saying and keep the overall sound more balanced.
Pressing the dialog button toggles between a dedicated mode to boost human speech. It tweaks the EQ to raise the volume of voices without raising the overall volume. Plenty of soundbars include a dialog feature. Some work better than others. That’s the case here; the Stage V2’s dialog feature just doesn’t boost the vocals as much as I would want. It does lift them slightly, but just not enough to be too distinguishable.
Watching Ready Player One and Star Wars: The Force Awakens provided a good insight into the V2’s movie performance. The sounds were well balanced overall — from the softer conversation scenes to the explosive moments of chases and fights. The sub provided rich low end while the soundbar provided enough high-end frequencies to offer the sparkling sounds of orchestral accompaniment. The biggest compliment that can be paid to the Stage V2 is that I kept forgetting its presence. Its sound reproduction was good enough not to be distracting in any way, just illuminating what was being shown on screen.
It added bigger blasts, larger bangs, and immersive sound. The surround sound toggle was occasionally noticeable, in a good way. It fakes having more speakers than just the one right in front of the TV.
Lastly, the music performance is very respectable. In fact, depending on what kind of music you’re listening to, you might be blown away that a speaker system just over $100 can provide such rich sounds. Pop, rap, hip-hop and music typically bass-heavy performs the best, by far.
The strength of the sub is how it’s able to lift the whole system. This is because the powerful low end can mask the other areas that the soundbar falls short. The song “Gasoline” by Haim is a good example of a style of song that falls short. The song lives in the mid-range, mixed in a way that pushes the highs down and the lows up. Guitars, vocals and instruments feel hollow because the soundbar is weak in the mid-range. It’s passable and sounds fine, but not as good as on other speakers or soundbars. The louder you play the stage V2, the more it exposes its musical weaknesses.
Bluetooth mode itself can be a little frustrating. The phone and soundbar operate the sound independently. That means you could turn your phone volume up to 100%, but if the soundbar’s volume is at 35 percent, then the total volume won’t get past that lower 35 percent volume. It can be confusing and was often annoying.
Should You Buy The Creative Stage V2?
The value of the stage v2 really hinges on its price. It manages to punch well above its retail price but does come with plenty of caveats for whether you’ll be happy with it — the wired subwoofer is the main one.
Since the subwoofer can’t wander very far from its companion soundbar, if you have a location that will accommodate that setup, and are on a strict budget, then this thing will feel like the steal of the century.
On the slip side, if money isn’t the biggest factor in your buying decision and you would like a bit more flexibility in where the pieces can be used, this probably isn’t the right product for your setup. Even though its sound is quite remarkable for the low end of the market, those physical limitations might mean the Stage V2 is a non-starter.
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