TechGamingGaming AccessoriesCreative Sound Blaster GS3 review: a fantastic value speaker for gamersAn audio boost for your gaming – and for your music and moviesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Creative)T3 VerdictWith its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputsReasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choiceWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechGamingGaming AccessoriesCreative Sound Blaster GS3 review: a fantastic value speaker for gamersAn audio boost for your gaming – and for your music and moviesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Creative)T3 VerdictWith its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputsReasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choiceWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
An audio boost for your gaming – and for your music and movies
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Creative)T3 VerdictWith its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputsReasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choice
(Image credit: Creative)
(Image credit: Creative)
T3 VerdictWith its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputsReasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choice
T3 VerdictWith its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.
T3 Verdict
With its multiple inputs, its built-in lighting effects, and its very capable audio performance, the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is very much worth its low price – and then some. A recommended upgrade for the cost-conscious, especially for desk-based gaming setups.
Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputsReasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choice
Reasons to buy+Solid design and lighting+Very reasonable price+Choice of inputs
Solid design and lighting
Very reasonable price
Choice of inputs
Reasons to avoid-More customisation please-Sound has its limitations-Only one colour choice
More customisation please
Sound has its limitations
Only one colour choice
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is trying to be both one of the bestcomputer speakersand one of thebest soundbarson the market at the same time – and it’s also trying to do this while coming in at a seriously appealing low price.
It’s also clearly a speaker aimed at gamers. Get this set up as one part of your gaming hardware collection, and you can expect a level of sound quality that’s a level or two higher than what you get from the speakers that are built into your monitor or laptop.
Speaking of which, we’ve also got guides to thebest gaming monitorsandthe best gaming laptopsfor you to check out when you’ve finished reading this Creative Sound Blaster GS3 review, which will tell you everything you need to know about whether it’s the small soundbar audio upgrade for you!
Creative Sound Blaster GS3: price and availability
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3 dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3 dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3 deals
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price information
No price information
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The Creative Sound Blaster GS3 is out and available to buy now for a recommended retail price of £49.99 / $49.99.
The widget embedded above on this page will direct you straight to the best deals for this soundbar-speaker currently available online. If you’re in the UK, you can pick it up fromAmazonor directly fromCreative.
Creative Sound Blaster GS3 review: design and setup
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The Creative Sound Blaster GS3 certainly doesn’t take long to set up – find something to plug the supplied USB-C-to-USB-A cable into (like a laptop or a charger) and away you go. The USB-C port on the back of the unit can be used to supply audio and to supply power, so there’s no other power connection required – which is great.
On the right-hand side of the speaker (facing), there’s a dial for controlling volume – and we’re very much in favour of physical controls – as well as buttons for switching between the three audio input options (USB-C, Bluetooth, AUX), putting the speaker into Bluetooth pairing mode, and enabling the Super Wide audio mode.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The volume dial doubles up as a power button and brightness control, and the final button on the right lets you cycle through various lighting modes, varying from the subtle to the spectacular. You don’t get a whole lot of control over them, however, but there are at least quite a few to choose from, which adds to the visual appeal of this speaker.
Overall, it’s a speaker design that’s tidy and well done – though it does tend to attract fingerprints. It measures 410 x 92.7 x 73.7mm (16.1 x 3.6 x 2.9in), so is well suited to putting under a monitor. The final design detail we should mention is the 3.5mm headphone jack, if your listening needs to be more private.
Creative Sound Blaster GS3 review: performance and features
With 24W of peak power from the two speakers embedded in this soundbar, its maximum volume is easily enough to fill a decent-sized space – and you’ll hear it all around the house at full blast, to varying degrees. For a gaming room, it’s certainly powerful enough, though you can occasionally hear the limitations of its form factor when it gets louder.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Overall, the sound quality is superb, and certainly better than you would expect from this price. The screeching tyres ofGTA V, the pounding hooves ofRed Dead Redemption 2, a variety of music and other audio – whatever we tested the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 with, it sounded really good. The bass response is rich and full, and quieter sounds are handled delicately too.
That said, this is still a budget speaker: it doesn’t have the richness of, say, a Sonos soundbar (which is far bigger and pricier), and clarity is occasionally lost with busier soundscapes. Nothing soundsbadwhen it’s coming through the Creative Sound Blaster GS3, but you can sometimes tell it’s a device that’s positioned towards the lower-end of the market.
Creative Sound Blaster GS3 review: verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Creative is a veteran when it comes to making speakers, and the build quality and the sound quality on show here are a testament to that. Fair enough, the audio coming from the Sound Blaster GS3 can’t match up with speakers that cost 10 times the amount, but it’s still a fine-sounding speaker that will enhance your gaming experience – and work great for music and movies too.
Also consider
There aren’t a huge number of speakers we can directly compare the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 to at the moment – it’s a fairly niche product. TheRazer Leviathan V2 Prois a good alternative in terms of its looks and its functionality: it offers superior sound and more features, though it isa lotmore expensive than the Creative.
If you want tosubstantiallyupgrade your sound, then theSonos Era 300is one of the best speakers we’ve heard audio pumped through in recent times. It’s not specifically a gaming speaker, of course, but it’s still going to hook up to all of your gaming gear, and it’s hard to beat in terms of the quality of the sound it can produce. The Era 100 will do a decent job if you want something smaller too.
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3, Razer Leviathan V2 Pro, Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 dealsRazer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3, Razer Leviathan V2 Pro, Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 dealsRazer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3, Razer Leviathan V2 Pro, Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 dealsRazer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Creative Sound Blaster GS3, Razer Leviathan V2 Pro, Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Era 100 deals
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all pricesSonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all prices
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all prices
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro$499.99ViewSee all prices
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro
$499.99View
$499.99
$499.99
See all prices
Sonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all prices
Sonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker$428.99ViewSee all prices
Sonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker
Sonos Era 300 Wireless Speaker
$428.99View
$428.99
$428.99
See all prices
Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all prices
Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker$239.99ViewSee all prices
Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker
Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker
$239.99View
$239.99
$239.99
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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