Pebble V3 Desktop Speakers Review: Elegant, Cheap, and Powerful
Before I became interested in technology, I was a home and design editor. Nothing breaks my heart more than the ugliness of tech devices, especially the ones you’ll stare at all day at home. Is it so hard to make it pretty? I mean really?
Maybe not. Creative’s Pebble V3 desktop speakers manage to check all the boxes on the list. They have clear sound and an eye-catching design, and only cost $35. Are they too good to be true? I asked myself the same question when I ordered them, but they were a delight.
Chrome Heart
These speakers are small, making them easy to fit on any desk or gaming setup without sacrificing volume.
They measure just 4.8 inches tall and have a similar width and depth, thanks to their shape, which is a sort of half-moon – a small cavern cut into an otherwise orb-shaped shape from which the speaker can project sound. The speaker in the center of this cavern is metallic gold and the body is available in white or black.
It’s often difficult to find white speakers, but white and gold? It’s the closest thing to a lightweight college-style setup. Maybe I’m biased. It matches my similar white and gold Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED, and the color palette looks lovely in my office. The speakers tend to fade into the background a bit while still giving the room a welcome golden touch.
The two speakers are connected by a white cord that cannot be removed, so they are forever a pair. It’s only 4.4 feet long, so the two speakers can be placed on opposite ends of a bookshelf or desk, but can’t go much further than that. There’s a built-in white USB-C cord that you can use for power and connect for sound at the same time. If you use the included 3.5mm audio cable for audio input, it stands out as the only black cord in the bunch, but you don’t have to use it as a sound source (more on that below ).
Small shape, loud sound
Photography: Creative
Given their small size, I assumed the sound wouldn’t travel through my house. I was wrong. My husband had to text me, “I can hear your playing through the sound machine,” while he was trying to get our son to take a nap from across our apartment. Oops.
