Review: Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2 Gives More in Small Package

The second version of the Roar speaker comes in a smaller package with more sound power.

Creative makes speakers across all segment, but in recent times they have focused mainly on bringing wireless speakers. Their Creative Roar series first made its debut in 2015 and now they have the Roar version 2.0 which seems to have been slimmed down compared to its predecessor.

But for Rs 16,999 should you rely on the Roar 2 when there’s Bose and Ultimate Ears 2 to think of? The answer might be found below.

Pros:

• Loud and crisp sound
• Lot of connectivity options
• Adds up as a power bank
• Slim and lighter than first variant

Cons:

• Low on battery
• Hands-free calling not convenient
• Priced on the higher side

What’s Good?

We love that the Creative has gone back to the drawing board for the Sound Blaster Roar 2 and made it smaller than before. This helps in making the speaker lighter and easier to carry than its predecessor. This has been done without sacrificing on the size of the sound drivers inside the speaker, and the results are worth revering.

The box-shaped Roar 2 reminds you of the yesteryear’s transistor that was the fad before we got the television and then mobile phones.

When it comes to features and performance, the Roar 2 does not make big compromises and for a speaker at this price, we’d like that to be the case.

You get several connectivity options, along with the built-in power bank feature. You can also use the Roar 2 as an amplifier by connecting it to a microphone, and record the music on the device by using a memory card.

But not only that, you even get varied options to charge the speaker. There is a standard power adapter bundled with the Roar 2, and one can even charge it via micro-USB, albeit the slower process of the two mentioned.

Talking about the sound quality on offer, we’d like to highlight the addition of two sub-woofers on the sides. This makes a big difference to the sound output and clarity of the music.

The Roar 2 can easily fill up mid-sized room with sound, and you will never notice distortion, even at higher volume levels. Music with lower tones were audible, and it’s easy to register the lyrics as well. On the whole, the Roar 2 has enough going its way to leave us impressed.

What’s Bad?

Let’s look at some of the downsides that continue to bother us on the Roar 2. Firstly, Roar 2’s many features doesn’t help its case with the battery life. On an average, we couldn’t muster more than 4 hours on the Sound Blaster Roar 2, especially on Bluetooth.

For a portable speaker costing upwards from 15K, we expect better. The likes of Bose SoundLink Mini and Logitech UE Boom 2 are way better in this respect.

With respect to the ergonomics of the Roar 2, we didn’t like where the Power button has been placed. In most cases, we ended up turning the speaker On, even when we just wanted to pick it up and carry it, which was irritating to say the least.

The company’s Roar feature on this speaker barely manages to make a difference to the audio. Same goes for the Treble feature that is available with the gizmo. For such a small device to pick up nuances like that was always going to be tough and thus it happened in Roar 2’s case as well.

Why Buy It?

The Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2 is aesthetically pleasing when compared to the first iteration. It is lighter, smaller in size, but packs dual sub-woofers on the side that adds to the music quotient and takes it to an upgraded level.

You get a host of features and connectivity options that are hard to find in most speakers at this price point. The sound output on offer is worth the praise, and we love that there are no distortions on the Roar 2 even at a higher volume.

However, too many features and the 6000-mAh battery ruin the battery life available to users.

Would we recommend it over a Bose SoundLink Mini at this price? Only if you want more than a speaker, like a gadget that can serve as an additional sound recording medium as well.