1. Introduction2. Wavemaster Stax 2.13. Testing and Performance4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

With audio, as with most things in life, you generally get what you pay for.

Wavemaster isn't positioning the Stax 2.1 speaker set at the top end, in fact these are almost the cheapest speakers that Wavemaster makes. Their real focus, when it comes to audio quality, is on speakers in the £150-£250 range.

So what does the Wavemaster Stax 2.1 offer you?

The comparison to Creative's extremely popular 2.1 solution is fair and valid. We have all owned/lowed a Creative product at some time and the company's popularity has been built on releasing decent product at a decent price.

Across the full range of our testing, the final score was 5-1 in favour of the Wavemaster Stax 2.1 speakers – and you have to remember that Creative's point was actually two halves from draws. Those draws came from Creative's choice to point its subwoofer directly at the floor. Not a bad tactic when you're trying to achieve a low frequency rumble, but we feel that this prevented it from delivering clarity below the mid-range.

You're NOT going to be filling a living room with sound from these speakers, but if you added them to a large screen HD TV where you were only using the in-built speakers, then the Wavemaster Stax 2.1's would change your world.

In terms of styling and audio performance, the Wavemaster Stax 2.1 speakers are in a different class to Creative's 2.1 solution. Sure, they cost around £20 more – but the increase is definitely worth while. Like we said at the start, it's worth looking at the price of products like these in comparison to everyday purchases that we make. For example, with petrol across much of the country nudging £1.40 a litre – and even smaller cars needing 40 litres to fill up – you can say that both of these speakers should cost you less than a tank of petrol, but last you a lot longer and be more environmentally sound.

So it boils down to this – if you’re a gamer, love scary movies and need to save £20 badly, then something like a Creative 2.1 speaker set is a fine choice. But if you can stretch to the additional £20 and you love music, then the choice is clear.

Right now, these Wavemaster Stax 2.1 speakers are showing as £59 on Amazon in the UK.

Pros:

• Solid amplification.
• Great styling.
• Decent reproduction across a range of music and games.
• Relatively low cost.
• Neat desktop control unit with headphone socket.

Cons:

• Availability – low stock levels in the UK.

KitGuru says: Ideal first set of speakers that you're not likely to want to change for a while. Makes other budget speakers sound muffled and awkward.

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