The Creative Pebble Nova first made its appearance at the start of the year, and we briefly got a glimpse of it while at CES 2025. The desktop speaker has been in my lab for a while now and I’ve been using them as my daily driver too.
They are, by far, Creative’s most expensive pair of Pebble speakers at RM1,289. As such, there are elements to love and hate about it.
What Am I Looking At?
What you see here are a pair of desktop speakers, designed to be all-encompassing. That means the Co-Axial Drivers aren’t alone; there’s also built-in woofers that are visible at the back, plus the brand’s symbol.
Out of the box, the Pebble Nova comes with two solid metal stands, giving you the option to either mount them at a height or simply place them on your desktop, like the unfinished balls that they are.
Internally, each speaker of the Pebble Nova are fitted with Coaxial drivers and angled at a 45° elevation, allowing the drivers to fire upwards instead of parallel to a table’s surface. Connectivity-wise, it’s practically got it all: Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.5mm AUX-in, a USB-C audio port, and a PD USB-C port for power, for which you will require an output of 65W to really get the most out of it.
And of course, there’s customisable RGB LEDs built into its base, if you’re a harlot for all that unicorn vomit.
What’s Good About It?
Compared to earlier Pebble speakers I’ve tested, the Pebble Nova certainly deserves praise for its mid-range and vocals, as well as its spatial depths and soundstaging. The Eagles’ 1994 MTV Unplugged version of Hotel California sounds really bright, with Don Henley’s voice really coming through, and you can hear how well-spaced the guitars and percussions are in the background.
It’s the same story when I listen to Florence and the Machine’s rendition of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me. Her voice sounds clear, and the plucking of each chord on the harp can be individually heard. Again, the focus on vocals is exceptional here, and you can hear the raw emotions in the song Lose Control by Teddy Swims.
But you can’t talk about the mids and vocals without also addressing the highs and treble elements which again, the Pebble Nova really puts its best foot forward. Dave Brubeck’s rendition of the classic Take Five jazz piece is one example, with the crash from the cymbals and saxophone sounding and feeling really full. Likewise, the harmonica solo in Digging My Potato By Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts sounds sharp but shows no signs of breaking.
What’s The Catch?
The one major flaw of the Pebble Nova is definitely its bass and low frequencies or lack thereof. Truth be told, I would like to say that it isn’t powerful or lacks the “oomph” but rather, it’s just non-existent. And I’m not just saying that I can’t hear it – You just don’t feel it. The Lullaby of Woe from The Witcher 3 serves as one track in which the trailing bass feels muted, and Who Needs Friends by Royal Blood, which is has a lot deep bass notes and cans, feels equally so.
Another one of my favourites, Venus de Milo by Stacey Kent, a track whose vocals are accompanied by a bass line that walks besides it, is drowned out by the guitar and high-hat beats.
Performance notwithstanding, The Pebble Nova also suffers from a mild case of cable clutter. It only has three wires in total, sure, but with the 3.5mm, laying them on the table can look a little messy. But again, this is a small matter.
Should I Buy It?
As a pair of desktop speakers, the Creative Pebble Nova’s delivery feels and certainly sounds pleasant. The coaxial drivers very clearly adds a lot of meat and punch to songs and tracks with lots of vocals and are treble-friendly but very clearly fall short with low frequencies.
On that note, I applaud Creative’s effort in making the Pebble Nova an all-encompassing speaker set but sadly, the lack of a dedicated woofer makes me think that the brand may have missed the boat here. At its asking price of RM1,289, I can’t help but think that a 2.1 system would have made more sense, especially if you’re trying to sell what would otherwise be considered a full-on audio ensemble for the PC.
The Creative Pebble Nova is being brought in officially via local distributor Sun Cycle.
Photography by John Law.
