Review Specifications Creative is well known for their different audio products, and today, we will take a look at their newest bluetooth speaker dubbed Roar 2.

Introduction

Review Specifications Creative is well known for their different audio products, and today, we will take a look at their newest bluetooth speaker dubbed Roar 2. The new Roar is quite small and comes with all the features of the SoundBlaster 200Axx we tested a while back. Creative has taken the serious approach with its design as the Roar 2 is a black thing with very few details. We put it to the test to see how this no-fuss design performs in comparison to UE's more flamboyant-looking offerings.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 51.0 x 188.0 x 109.0 mm
• Play-time: 8 hours
• Charge time: 2.5 hours (with included adapter)
• Integrated MP3 and ACC playback capability via MicroSDHC
• Speaker-phone capability
• USB powerpack functionality

The Package

Creative kept the Roar 2's packaging simple. You get a small box that is stuffed with goodies.

Unlike many other portable speakers out there, Creative kept the option for quick-charging via a dedicated charger. This is semi-relevant for those on the go because such people are almost always in a hurry to get going again. The device can also be charged via USB, but at a far slower rate. 

You get a short USB cable with the Roar 2; it can be used to both charge the device and play music, which is a neat trick. This allows you to use the Roar 3 with your laptop, but without a bluetooth connection. The speaker's form factor is a little strange as it is basically a brick with round corners. This means you need a rather large flat surface for it to sit right despite its long and slim rubber feet. 

Closer Examination

The Roar 2 in all its glory is actually a pretty low-key looking device despite its loud name.

 
Creative's design department for wireless speakers has a thing for buttons as their products always feature a myriad of them. There is, of course, a reason for having all these buttons as Creative has always adhered to the philosophy of having one all-inclusive device. The Roar 2 can be fed via a multitude of things, including bluetooth, aux mini-jack in, USB in, and MicroSDHC. Beyond that, it can also record to the MicroSDHC card. As if that were not enough, Creative also included a USB 5V out should you want to charge your cellphone. This Swiss army-knife of a speaker also plays music well, but we will cover its sound-specific capabilities in more detail in a bit.


Creative added a handy little indicator on top, so you can instantly tell whether it is charged.

The Roar 2's driver setup is pretty special, with two rectangular passive-slave elements on its side. These make putting it on a crooked surface pretty hard, which also effects its sound quality.

Performance

1. Creative's design department is definitely more mature than UE's, which becomes clear once you put the two side by side. While the MEGABOOM's design is a more fresh take, the Roar 2's is by no means a dud; it is just slightly less flashy. In terms of sound quality, the two are quite close to each other when on top of a flat desk. The UE MEGABOOM does come out on top when it comes to projection and midrange fidelity, but the Roar 2 gets points for bass power. The Roar 2 is also severely lacking in battery life - don't expect more than around 8-10 hours at normal volume levels.
   
2. The new Roar's bass feature puts that part of the music above anything else, which severely compromises the sound quality in most environments. However, its bass qualities can come in handy when trying to get the party started outdoors because bass there is usually drowned out by ambient noise.
   
3. The two solutions are pretty close to each other in terms of volume throughput, but the MEGABOOM's form factor makes it look a lot larger. In terms of ruggedness, the MEGABOOM wins hands down as there are many things that can break on the Roar 2. You definitely have to make up your mind about whether you value durability or functionality more before deciding between these two, and whether you need the additional features Creative puts into their portable speaker devices. The MicroSDHC slot and its associated playback features are something I can see a use for in a device you lug around with you as it does not drain your phone. The microphone and voice-recording features are perhaps of interest if you plan on using it as a conference speaker.
   
4. Such core-performance aspects as the sound quality under ideal indoor conditions are better on the MEGABOOM on every parameter, and the MEGABOOM's battery lasts much longer as the Roar 2's with around 8-10 hours play time can perhaps even be described as somewhat marginal.

Value and Conclusion

The Creative Roar 2 sells for around $145.

• Solid build
• Loads of options
• Good bass
• Charger included
• Competitive price
• Aesthetics
• Exposed ports, and plenty of them
• Heavy

8.1 The Creative Roar 2 is quite the conundrum in terms of features. Its primary function is to be a portable Bluetooth speaker, and to our minds, the design should, as such, emphasize ease-of-use and simplicity. But the Roar 2 is anything but that with its wealth of buttons, jacks, and plugs all pretty exposed to the environment.

The recording feature is not really necessary, and the fact that it can be used as a conference call device is perhaps useful to some, but I would rather have dedicated devices for each of those tasks as it is not really something I would do on the go.

It is very competitively priced in comparison to the UE BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM, but the sound quality also isn't quite there. With that said, the Roar 2 still sounds very good for its price, especially if you need the extra features it boasts!