Hmm, i don't think it's fair to draw a conclusion that ALL newer Creative products are of bad/poor quality. Afterall, who's to know for sure?
I have just bought a G500 myself, previously i was using inspire 4.1 on my xfi and i always knew i'm underutilising the card. Anyway, when i finally finished setting up the G500 and tried it out, to sum it up, i was completely blown away.
I'm not a serious audiophile, as in i don't know exactly the difference between low-range/mid-range/high-range or any audio terms etc mentioned by previous posts, and by the term 'blown away' i simply mean i really enjoy being in my room when my speakers are on. Granted, my preference lies with bass (when i chose my earphones i went with the one with more bass as well), but then again i was just thinking with the ongoing discussion, noone has mentioned that these settings can be tweaked on the xfi card (or any other cards for that matter, just whether with more or less tweakable tweaks). Actually, at it's factory default setting of 50% bass and 50% treble, i found the bass a little strong (even for me) and the sound not as defined (when listening to songs with vocal, e.g. lips of an angel by hinder). But, after experimenting a little, i changed it to 35% bass and 60% treble and i have been loving it everytime i play a song. I'm not apt at desribing why, but it does feels as if someone is singing in your room live. I thought i had that with the inspire 4.1, but the G500 really raised the bar. I should add that when i fired up "Children(Dream Version) by Robert Miles" or "Dance of Sarasvati by Kitaro" at about 60% volume on the controller, the whole room trembles and the bass just pushes itself into your ears, the feeling's simply great. All these were impossible with the inspire 4.1. It should be noted that i have never really tried out Z5500 or T40 the way i have with the G500 so i can't draw any comparison, i'm merely describing how i feel towards the G500. The TS don't do gaming so i guess i won't go into it, but by far gaming is the greatest strength of the G500, IMHO. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever in that aspect.
As for the power interuption issue (that's the subwoofer problem), i have read it too with great concern so much so that i actually emailed Creative on this to gain some form of assurance. To put my two cents worth, you see in the forums i visited, some users experienced problem one week after their purchase, some after years, or some even days. And ofcourse, some none. It's not fair to sum all of them up and aggregate that it will fail within 1 or 2 years, like a verdict that it simply will, within this time window.. My G500 has been working really well since it landed in my room, and the heat issues seems to be handled quite well by my system. But then again, it's perception so mine could be flawed.
Besides, the other forums actually nailed the problem, it's the fuse and/or overheating (depending on the symptom). In Creative's reply to me, they quoted the site
http://asia.creative.com/support/kb/article.asp?l=3&sid=27263 to gain some insights. The other forum users also made some comprehensive steps to fix the heat issues. Ofcourse, noone will want to find themselves in this fix, especially with a new product. But just in case we're really suay sometimes, there's still a backup to try on. In anycase, there's a one year warranty so, you'll definitely have at least one year of worryfree listening joy. And again, you'll never know for sure if it will definitely plaque you, eh?
OT for a little, i do think bass matters in listening to music. i mean, for instance when you're at a live band or live performance, the bass is the thing that gives you the enjoyment, no? so i would think a large subwoofer in the case helps. but then again, perceptions.
For what it's worth, rather than shrugging it away completely, i suggest you try experiencing the G500 first or you could be missing out on something great. And for what it's worth again, as long as the product is working, you'll be one happy buyer. I am.
The sound is clear and sharp, but there's little "space" (may be due to that my speakers are not near-range, note this when buying for com usage as well) and lacks punch...
