The Creative SoundBlaster Roar 2 is a Bluetooth speaker that gets pretty loud for its size. When you first see how diminutive it is, you'd imagine it was a lightweight. But no, it's a heavy and solid thing and has the innards to give it the roar it's named for.

There are just so many Bluetooth speakers crowding the market. They're getting to be more and more bizarrely designed, but in the end, give you basic controls — pair, play, volume, forward and back tracks, and a 3.5mm socket.

Pop in a card

But the Roar 2 goes a few steps further. You have a number of source options. It features an integrated MicroSD WMA and MP3 player that allows you to play audio directly from a MicroSD card, just in case you don't want to use up your phone battery for music just then. The player allows you to move across music folders so that you can navigate songs faster without having to tediously cycle through individual tracks.

Record something

Then, there's a built-in microphone for 360° voice pickup, because the Roar 2 is able to take calls when connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. There's also a build-in voice recorder that uses the speaker's microphone to one-touch record calls, general voices, or streamed music − saved to an insertable MicroSD card. With this, you can voice memos, lectures, interviews, teleconferencing sessions, and business meetings.

But of course, a speaker is ultimately all about its sound. For its size, the Roar 2 sounds great. It does however have a whole lot of competition including several models from Bose's wireless speakers range like the SoundLink Mini. While Bose has a more balanced sound, the Roar 2 is for those who love bass without it ruining the music. Built for bass: The Roar 2 has a trick to deepen its bass.It has a TerraBass mode which you turn on with a dedicated button. It's also the same button that turns on the Roar feature, opening up the music and making it louder. Often, the difference can barely be detected, but apparently the change is done intelligently, making up for what the music lacks. It's meant to make it possible to hear that bass even at very low volumes -- and it does exactly that. What you get is not just a loud thump but a pleasant bass that while not the best, is really good, specially for the price, ₹16,999. This small speaker wears a classic radio-like look.

When you set it down you can choose between placing the speaker horizontally to send the sound up and around or vertically for louder and more directed audio. On the sides, you can see the passive radiators pulsing and vibrating with the sound and bass.

The device has 5 drivers and a 6,000mAh battery that lasts for about hours, but you can always connect it to power, use a PC. You can even use the speaker to charge a phone.

Love: Surprising sound for size, more than the usual features

Hate: That it isn't bigger and better

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