Creative
Stage V2
Creative Stage V2 (2020): 2.1 soundbar with wired subwoofer, HDMI ARC, optical, USB audio, AUX, Bluetooth 5.0, Clear Dialog and Surround.
Released 2020
MSRP $109.99
Check price on AmazonShop prices can differ.
- 2.1 speaker setup
- HDMI ARC
Overview
The Creative Stage V2 is a 2020 soundbar from Creative for a TV or a desktop monitor. The bar is 680 mm wide, 78 mm high and 100 mm deep, comes in black and can be wall-mounted. A separate subwoofer is tethered to the bar with a cable of about 2 m.
Creative lists two 2.25-inch drivers in the bar and a 5.25-inch subwoofer driver, rated at 2 x 20 W RMS plus 40 W RMS for the subwoofer (up to 80 W RMS, 160 W peak).
The TV connects over HDMI ARC (Creative labels it "TV (ARC)") or optical. A computer or game console can play audio over USB, and phones connect over Bluetooth 5.0 or the 3.5 mm AUX-in.
Creative's Clear Dialog feature extracts and enhances voices, and its Surround feature widens the soundstage for two-channel and multichannel sources; both come from Creative's Sound Blaster audio processing. The included remote control switches the input, adjusts treble and bass, and turns Clear Dialog and Surround on or off. The bar also has touch controls. The box contains the subwoofer, the remote control, a 3.5 mm AUX cable, the power cable and the manuals.
What the specs mean
- 2.1 speaker setup: two main channels plus a subwoofer channel. The ".1" is the wired subwoofer. There are no centre, surround or height channels, and the system cannot be expanded with extra speakers.
- HDMI ARC: the Audio Return Channel sends the TV's sound to the soundbar over an HDMI cable. The newer eARC is needed for high-bitrate formats such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, which the Stage V2 does not support.
- Audio formats: Creative does not list Dolby or DTS decoding for the Stage V2.
- No HDMI passthrough: the bar has no HDMI input, so a console or streaming box connects to the TV, and the TV sends the sound back over HDMI ARC.
Which soundbar is right for you?
| CreativeStage V2 (current soundbar)MSRP $109.99Check price on Amazon | JBLCinema SB160MSRP $129.99Check price on Amazon | TCLAlto 6+MSRP $129.99Check price on Amazon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall value A rough features-for-the-price score, compared with every soundbar listed. Bars gain points for things like Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi and room tuning, and lose points without them. Dolby Atmos with up-firing speakers earns more than virtual Atmos. Cheaper bars lose fewer points, or none, for missing premium extras (Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC, up-firing speakers). 100 is the best deal listed. Based on specs only, not on how it sounds. | 22 | 31 | 31 |
| Price-band value Like Overall value, but each soundbar is compared only with soundbars in its own price band: up to $300, $300–500, $500–800, $800–1,200 or over $1,200. 100 is the best deal in that band. Based on specs only, not on how it sounds. | 30up to $300 | 41up to $300 | 41up to $300 |
| Speaker setup | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No | No |
| Form factor | Bar + sub | Bar + sub | Bar + sub |
| Audio support | None |
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| Available inputs |
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| HDMI inputs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Streaming support | None | None | None |
| Virtual assistants | None | None | None |
| Soundbar dimensions | 680 × 78 × 100 mm | 900 × 67 × 63 mm | 800 × 62 × 107 mm |
Specifications
Overview
- Overall value
- 22
- Price-band value
- 30up to $300
- Speaker setup
- 2.1
- Dolby Atmos
- No
- Form factor
- Bar + sub
Expandability
- Is extendable
- None
- Has wireless surrounds
- No
- Has wireless subwoofer
- No
Connectivity
- Available inputs
- Aux
- Bluetooth
- HDMI Arc
- Optical
- USB
- Streaming support
- None
- Virtual assistants
- None
- Controllers
- On Device
- Remote Control
- App required
- Not stated
- Same-brand TV features
- Not stated
Audio & video
- Audio support
- None
- Room correction
- No
- Dialogue enhancement
- Clear Dialog
- Night mode
- Not stated
- Passthrough
- No
- HDMI inputs
- 0
Design
- Soundbar dimensions
- 680 × 78 × 100 mm
- Wall mountable
- Yes
- Colors
- Black
- What's in the box
- Aux Cable
- Booklets
- Power Cable
- Remote control
- Subwoofer