In article ,
"Pink_isn't_well" wrote:

Who the hell over at Creative thought of cranking the bass way too
high and set that as the zero setting on this system's bass level
control? I won't go into describing what it sounds like listening to
hard rock on this. Especially if you turn the bass up a bit.

It's absolutely insane. You can get an acceptable bass/treble ratio
if you turn the bass level knob all the way down and use the
equalizer of the software you're using to adjust, but it's still a
pain. Watching movies and playing games with these speakers is a good
experience, but why can't I listen to my music without tinkering with
equalizer settings so I don't get blown away by the bass or have the
mids and highs disappear under that BOOM.

I spent only like $50 on them so I can't complain that much. My
primary concern is music (hard rock) though, not movies and games.

Are all cheap 2.1 systems like that? Should I just use my old
speakers and sell those off or is there some cure?

Most "complete systems" do sound like crap. Typical is massive amounts
of highly resonant midbass, screechy treble, and nothing else. Try
buying a used AM/FM tuner/amp and adding a pair of bookshelf speakers.