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