Creative Stage Bluetooth Sound Bar with Subwoofer

A Closer Look at the Creative Stage

The Stage measures 70 x 550 x 78 mm (2.75 x 21.6 x 3 inches). The Stage soundbar is slightly shorter in length than the size of a 27″ monitor. The Stage weighs in a 1.2 kg (2.64 lbs). There is a remote control included with the Stage. This is one of my favorite features of the Stage. The Stage soundbar comes packed with a 3.5 mm AUX cable that can be used with the soundbar. Internally, there are two mid-range speakers in the Stage that are paired with the external subwoofer for a total of 160 peak watts of power.

The Creative Stage is a 2.1 channel soundbar designed to fit under your monitor. The Creative logo is set off to the left of the soundbar. In the center, there is an LED display that indicates what mode the soundbar is in. The modes are AU for the auxiliary mode. This uses the 3.5mm cable. Next is BT for Bluetooth mode. Hd is for the HDMI port. This is also the TV ARC port. Last is the OP for the optical port. The soundbar itself is made predominantly out of plastic, with a metal mesh front that covers the speakers and display.

The back of the Stage soundbar has mounting brackets to wall mount the Stage, or to attach it to a desk. On the bottom of the Stage, there are rubber feet on either side of the soundbar. If you decide to not mount the Stage, these feet are anti-slip rubber that will keep the Stage in place on your desk or entertainment center.

There is a sticker on the back of the Stage with information such as model and serial numbers and certifications. Looking at the back, to the right there is the port for the 4Ω subwoofer, as well as the power cord. To the left, there is the AUX port, Optical port and the TV ARC port which is also an HDMI port. The many ports on the back of the stage allow you to connect more than one device to the Stage at one time. You can have your TV hooked up through the ARC, your PC hooked up through the Optical port, a tablet through the AUX port and your phone through Bluetooth. The USB port on the side also works as an input. You can then use the remote to scroll through the different inputs of the Stage.

On the right side of the Stage soundbar, there is a power button, volume up, and down controls and a USB port. The USB port is very handy to have. The Stage allows you to charge your phone through this USB port. So, you can hook your phone up through either Bluetooth or Auxilary, and also charge is at the same time. However, you can also play music from a device through the USB port while your device charges. The Stage also allows you to plug a USB MP3 player or mass storage device directly into the USB port and play your music through the Stage. The mass storage device can be no more than 32 GB of storage and must be formatted in the FAT32 format. So, you can load up a USB drive with music, plug and play using the Stage soundbar.

The subwoofer is a bit heavier than the soundbar. More than twice the weight. The subwoofer weighs in at 3.07 kg (6.8 lbs)and the subwoofer measures 420 x 115 x 250 mm (16.5 x 4.5 x 9.8 inches). The power cord on the Stage is 1 meter long and the cord on the subwoofer is 2 meters long. The power cord inputs 100-240 volts and 50/60 Hz.

As mentioned earlier, the Creative Stage soundbar comes with a remote control. However, it does more than just power the Stage on and off, and turn the volume up and down. The remote allows you to scroll through the four inputs of the Stage. These being HDMI or TV ARC, Bluetooth, Auxilary, and Optical. There are also bass and treble controls on the remote for the Stage soundbar. There are four presets for the equalizer. The presets are Music, Cinema, Concert, and Gaming. There is a Bluetooth pair button on the remote. But my favorite feature on the remote and of the Stage as a whole are the Bluetooth and USB controls. The remote has controls that allow you to stop, pause and play videos and songs. You can also skip forward to the next video or song, or go back to the previous video or song.

The Stage soundbar is running Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, or Enhanced Date Rate. The bit rate of EDR is up to 3 Mbit/s but the actual data transfer rate is 2.1 Mbit/s. The Bluetooth operating frequency is between 2402 and 2480MHz. The operating range of the Bluetooth built into the Stage is up to 10 meters or 33 feet. However, this is tested within an open space. Walls, bookshelves and other obstructions may affect the actual range.