INTRODUCTION

   A couple of weeks ago we uploaded a review of the latest portable Bluetooth speaker by Ultimate Ears called the BOOM which although very good still was far from perfect and thus our quest for the best portable speaker didn't stop there. What followed however had little to do with the review and much to do with our readers since many of you asked about what we're looking for in a portable wireless speaker that all the models we've tested so far were obviously unable to deliver. Well the answer is really easy so aside a very good build quality we're also looking for a well-designed portable wireless speaker with excellent audio reproduction, powerful volume levels and plenty of features. Unfortunately with the exception of just a couple of models such as the TDK A73 Boombox and the Creative Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200 (both very good but still not flawless) all others fell short in at least one of the above categories. With the brand new Sound Blaster ROAR SR20A Bluetooth Portable Speaker Creative seeks to win the hearts of audiophiles and regular consumers alike but is it capable of doing so?

   Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones and portable media devices. Today, Creative re-invents the Sound Blaster, which has a user base of over 400 million, with its ground-breaking Sound BlasterAxx that aims at the new mobile networked generation by bridging the worlds of the computer, smartphones, and tablets. Creative’s proprietary technologies, innovative hardware, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

   The Sound Blaster ROAR SR20A is very much similar to the Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200 which we had the chance to review a while back so once again under the hood we find the SB-Axx1 audio processor, support for HFP/aptX/AAC (although this time over Bluetooth V3.0 was used) and several identical features including voice recording capability, built-in rechargeable battery which can also be used to recharge compatible portable devices, NFC (Near Field Communication) sensor, microSD card slot, integrated WMA/MP3/WAV player, SBX Pro Studio technology (intelligently enhances audio in real-time) and external USB sound card functionality. The ROAR SR20A however is quite improved compared to the AXX 200 since aside Bluetooth V3.0 connectivity (and its extras compared to v2.1) it also has a 6000mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery that gives the speaker up to 8 hours of music playback (the AXX 200 came with a 5200mAh one), siren function which you can use whenever you need to grab the attention of those around you, Tera Bass technology for improved bass levels at low volume levels, ROAR technology which instantly boosts the loudness, depth and spaciousness of the audio, Link Security Mode which basically allows you to setup the security setting of the speaker (open to all, open to only devices that have been paired with it in the past, open to just 2 devices), bedtime mode which gradually reduces the volume levels and shuts down by the time you're asleep, MegaStereo technology that allows you to connect two ROAR SR20A portable speakers via cable for a larger soundstage and finally it also features dual amplifiers (bi-amped) used to power the two 1.5" high frequency drivers made out of durable biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate material (AKA Mylar), one 2.5" active subwoofer and two passive radiators (the AXX 200 only featured two stereo drivers). Sounds impressive right? Well time to find out if it really is.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The white box in which the ROAR arrived has a large product picture at the top (taken from the top) along with the company logo and reddot 2014 award.

Four more product pictures are placed at the front, left, right and rear showcasing exactly how the device looks from all sides.

Moving at the bottom of the box we find the product features, specifications and bundle contents lists.

Several pieces of cardboard are in place inside the box to secure the ROAR.

With the ROAR S20A you will also get a wall charger with two different tips (EU/UK), USB to microUSB cable, quick start guide, in-depth handy guide, warranty information paper and a piece of paper describing the MegaStereo feature.

THE ROAR SR20A

The 1105g heavy ROAR is primarily made out of high quality aluminum and measures 202mm in length, 115mm in depth and 57mm in height. On the 2^nd picture you can see how the 3 drivers and 2 passive bass radiators are positioned inside the speaker (marketing material).

Creative has placed their logo at the front and although it's something I’ve been seeing for over 2 decades i still like it.

Here you can see how the size of the ROAR compares to those of the largest and smallest Bluetooth portable speakers we've ever tested (Jabra Solemate MAX - RockDoc Memory).

The rear top section of the ROAR is rubberized and located beneath it are the NFC spot, battery level indicator LEDs, recording indicator, Bluetooth/answer/end call button with activity LED, volume control buttons, ROAR button with its white LED and the power on/off button.

Just like with the AXX 200 model the rear of the ROAR is where all the fun is.

Here we see the DC in, 3.5mm aux audio input, USB charging port, microUSB host port, microSD card slot, microphone mute switch, record button, play/pause recording button, shuffle/repeat tracks switch, previous/next track buttons, link security mode switch, alarm/terrabass button and the ARM on/off switch (when armed you can use the alarm button to sound the siren).

The electrical requirements, serial number and country of manufacture are placed at the bottom.

Creative also sells a carry bag for the ROAR SR20/20A models.

The quality of the bag is quite good and makes it very easy to carry the speaker around although it doesn't really offer any kind of protection.

USING THE ROAR SR20A

As mentioned earlier the ROAR SR20A can be used as an external sound card just by plugging it to your system (PC or MAC) via the microUSB port. Of course to do so you also need the latest drivers which you can grab from the official support page by Creative as seen above.

Once the drivers are installed you can adjust the SBX profile as seen above according to the things you want to use the ROAR with (music, gaming, movies).

Each of the profiles comes with different numbers for the crystallizer, bass, smart volume and dialog plus bars (you can of course adjust those).

You can also adjust the equalizer of each profile according to your liking or choose one of the 10 available presets.

We mostly used the movie presets during our tests.

CONCLUSION

   The Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200 left us with very good impressions largely thanks to its features and very good audio quality but we did feel that something was missing especially in terms of soundstage coverage and bass levels. Creative obviously felt the same way so along with the 2.5" active sub they also placed two passive radiators in the ROAR SR20A. The result is quite impressive since bass is not something you will miss while listening to your favorite tunes or even when watching movies with your laptop. Just like with the AXX200 mids and highs were also excellent although we did happen to notice some distortion when the volume was turned all the way to the max (especially when using the ROAR as a USB sound card). Unfortunately with forward and top firing by the 3 available speakers you still won't get the same 360 experience like we did with the UE BOOM but if you position the ROAR as low as possible improves on that. We also did try the Tera Bass and ROAR features but i can't say that the sound changes that much, at least not in normal volume levels. You do hear a difference so audio does get more "lively/rich" but not to a point that you will want these features all at all times. Bedtime mode is an interesting feature if you enjoy listening to music while in bed waiting for fall asleep but i never did like that so i wouldn't really have much use for it (on the other hand many people i know fall asleep while listening to music). The integrated MP3/WMA/WAV player is perhaps my favorite feature found both in the ROAR and the AXX 200 since i do enjoy carrying all of my music collection inside a microSD card and not having to rely on my smartphone or tablet for playback. Of course I’d like it even more had Creative linked a normal USB port which could be used with USB flash drives but the microSD card port will have to do. As for battery life although the ROAR has a larger li-ion battery compared to the AXX 200 still according to Creative it can only last for 8 hours (16 for the AXX 200) something which obviously has to do with the two amplifiers inside the enclosure. Unfortunately during testing we never managed to go over 6 hours and 20 minutes but as you all know companies test their portable speakers at much lower volume levels than the ones we use during testing. We also didn't have the chance to test the Mega Stereo feature since obviously Creative didn't send two ROAR speakers our way but it seems like an interesting feature although if i was Creative I’d use a wireless connection between the speakers rather than a wired one.

   Although you can find the ROAR SR20A by Creative for USD149.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 149Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) you can also order it directly from the Creative online store for the same price. With that in mind we think that Creative may have the best portable speaker in the market currently solely based on a price/features/performance ratio. It may not be perfect (thus our quest doesn't end here) since we would had all liked a 360 speaker design and i personally think that the buttons at the rear would be better off at the top of the speaker since that would make using them a lot easier but the ROAR SR20A offers so much that we can't consider these as serious drawbacks. Excellent performance, many innovative and useful features and a killer price tag make the ROAR SR20A by Creative the jack of all portable speakers as we speak and that's why it gets our Platinum award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- 3 Speakers & 2 Passive Bass Radiators
- Excellent Mids/Highs/Vocals (SBX Pro Studio Suite)
- Volume Levels (SBX Pro Studio Suite)
- External USB Sound Card Feature
- Battery Life (Up To 8 Hours)
- MicroSD Port With Integrated WMA/WAV/MP3 Player
- Voice Recording (Onto The MicroSD Card)
- Tera Bass & ROAR Audio Enhancements
- Bed Time & Siren Features
- Price Tag (For Some)

CONS

- Rear Button Placement
- No iOS/Android App