Creative Pebble X review: Big PC sound in a tiny package

Price When Reviewed

89.99

Best Prices Today: Creative Pebble X

Creative’s Pebble speakers have carved out a reputation for themselves as great sounding speakers. The Creative Pebble X fits into the lineup as an affordable sub-$100 option ($90) and, while it may be a cheaper option, it’s no less capable. It features clear sound that makes it a pleasure to listen to. It also has excellent connectivity options and attractive RGB, which makes it a fantastic accompaniment to any desktop PC or laptop.

Creative Pebble X: Design and build

The Creative Pebble X consists of two speakers. Just like the other speakers in Creative’s Pebble lineup, each speaker takes a spherical shape with small cutouts for the drivers. The speakers are relatively compact, sitting at 5.3 inches tall so they can easily fit under a monitor or next to a laptop without being obtrusive. They also weigh just 2.6 pounds, so they’re lightweight and portable.

The Pebble X has larger 2.75-inch drivers compared to its stablemate, the Creative Pebble Pro which has 2.25-inch drivers. The cutout spherical design angles the speakers at 45 degrees upwards, so the sound is projected at a comfortable angle towards your ears. Along the sides of the satellites you’ll find RGB lighting. It takes the form of small rectangles and creates a mottled effect that’s quite attractive when the power is on.

There are also threaded tripod mounts on the underside of the speakers in case you want to place them on pedestals. The speakers are made of hard plastic. They look extremely well made and robust enough to withstand small drops onto a tabletop.

Creative Pebble X: Connectivity and controls

The Creative Pebble X provides both wired and wireless connectivity. Wired connectivity is via USB-C or 3.5mm aux-in. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3. The ports are on the back of the right-hand speaker. There are two USB-C ports, the reason being is one handles 30W power whereas the other provides up to 60W peak power for a larger audio output.

Dominic Bayley / Foundry

To connect, you get a USB-C to USB-C cable and a 3.5mm cable to connect to the aux-in port. There’s also a headphone port and a microphone port on the side of the right speaker.

You can connect the speakers to any desktop computer or laptop. The Creative Pebble X is also compatible with gaming consoles like the PS5.

The audio controls are found on the front of the right speaker. They’re very minimalist, taking the form of a volume knob and two tiny buttons. One button is for Bluetooth pairing and the other is to change the RGB lighting effects. I would have liked to see larger buttons here as it’s hard to see what they are without being up close.

The companion apps for Android and iOS are quite limited and only allow you to upgrade the firmware and change the lighting effects, but the software app for Windows PCs is a lot better. It has a built-in equalizer and allows you to utilize a bunch of different presets. There’s also a Crystal Voice mode that supposedly improves the sound of your voice when you connect to a microphone.

Creative Pebble X: Sound

To test out the speakers, I played U2’s Beautiful Day, followed by Opportunity by Pete Murray and then All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor. I then played the soundtrack from the Lord of the Rings.

First things first, the Pebble X has a strong sound that can really project for such a small device. The sound is also very clear. In Beautiful Day, the instruments sounded very defined. It was possible to pick out the instruments from a cacophony of sound. In Opportunity, the guitar was bright and zingy and the vocals warm and light. While in All About That Bass, the bass part of the track popped noticeably and hit some decent lows.

As good as the bass was in the Pebble X, the bass is better in the Pebble X Plus, which is essentially the Pebble X with a subwoofer. You can’t buy the subwoofer as an add-on to the Pebble X, you have to buy the Pebble X Plus as a single bundle so the Pebble X Plus is worth some consideration for an extra $30 if you really want to increase the bass response.

The speakers did a great job bringing to life the tracks from Lord of the Rings. The tracks from the Elves were delivered with an etherealness that was overall very stirring. These are surely speakers that can be used to enjoy a movie too.

The Pebble X speakers are connected by a 5.9-inch cord, which means I could have them a fair distance apart on my desk and enjoy sound from different angles. That made listening more enjoyable than if they were bunched up together.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by the sound from the speakers, which easily filled my home office. There was a good amount of detail in the soundscape, and the speakers could hit treble and bass notes without any distortion. For the price point these speakers hit the nail on the head, offering great sound and good value for money.

Creative Pebble X: Conclusion

The Creative Pebble X has a strong and clear sound that’s very impressive for a speaker of this size. It’s compact and can easily be moved from place to place. It also looks great thanks to its attractive RGB accents that really add flair. It features excellent connectivity with both wired and wireless options. Overall, this is a great choice for a desktop PC speaker.