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Roar even louder: A first-hand look at Creative's new Sound Blaster Roar Pro and iRoar speakers

By Marcus Wong - 24 Nov 2015

What's new in the Creative iRoar

Creative iRoar - New-found intelligence

The new iRoar features a monocoque Endoskeletal chassis.

Next up was the new iRoar - deemed by Creative to be the “most intelligent speaker on the planet”. How is this so? Because the iRoar actually gets the same SB AXX1 digital audio processor that’s found in the Creative SBX family of speakers, allowing the speaker to handle advanced processing. This allows the speaker to do things like adaptive and real time adjustments to the audio, letting it provide good bass energy even at lower volumes, and even things like dynamic range expansion, where some of the audio lost by compression is restored.

The iRoar gets a brand new set of drivers.

The iRoar features a whole new set of drivers, with a new monocoque Endoskeletal chassis, improved 2” high and mid-range drivers, a new 2.75” subwoofer driver and matching passive radiators. Neodymium technology is used this time round along with more efficient magnets to allow for a footprint that's still relatively small, and the typical NFC spot has been replaced with a fairly large ring in the center of the speaker to allow for frustration-free pairing.

The entire ring is an NFC spot, so you can't go wrong with pairing!

Instead of a single microphone, you now get an array on each side.

The intelligent microphone has now been replaced by a microphone array like what’s found in the Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200, and the microphones perform active environmental analysis to intelligently adjust the level of noise reduction. Also, the speaker now features about 20 hours of playback time thanks to the inclusion of an additional battery cell and the improved efficiency of the new amplifier.

 

New updates

The iRoar features a High-res optical jack and a USB Audio jack for 24-bit asynchronous audio support.

According to Creative, the iRoar is designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the newer technologies that have now become available, and as a result of this the speaker now goes two times louder with twice the battery life. There’s now also a High-res 24-bit/96kHz optical input jack for TV connections, USB 24-bit asynchronous audio support for jitter-free playback, and of course aptX low latency support for optimal wireless streaming, so you’re guaranteed quality transmission of your audio source no matter the connection.

The new touch controls change their labels and functions depending on the mode you're in.

Gone are the buttons that line the top of the previous Sound Blaster Roars. These are now replaced by adaptive, context-sensitive touch controls that change to match the mode you’re in. An icon at the top left of the speaker shows you exactly which mode that is, and there are already a number of features you can add to the speaker by downloading them through the app. Creative says that’s the power of having an on-board processor, and it means that you can potentially add or remove features as required.

 

The audio experience

We were treated to a recording of Just like Me by Betty Who, and were impressed by how punchy the bass from the iRoar was. It certainly was louder than any other Roar we’ve heard to date, and what was more impressive was that we hardly noticed any break-up in the audio. There was good body in the bass, and very good dynamics overall. Jazz at the Pawnshop by 3 Good Vibes was played next, and this fast moving instrumental piece was rendered expertly by the speaker. We did feel it might have been a little on the bright side, but overall the speaker was more than capable of handling the pace and the capturing the details both in the louder tones as well as the softer ones.

The iRoar docked on the iRoar Rock.

When placed on the iRoar Rock, an external subwoofer dock that’s one of the first accessories for the iRoar, the system produced a much larger sound that easily filled the meeting room we were in. In fact, when pushed to maximum volume we’d say the volume levels were almost to the limits of comfort! The good thing though, was the fact that the audio didn’t show any signs of cracking at all.

We were played the sandstorm chase screen from Mission Impossible: 4, and it was evident that the iRoar Rock added significant body to the already rich sound of the iRoar. Sound effects and vocals remained crisp and clear, while the soundstage was definitely improved. While we personally think you’ll still get better surround effects from a full surround speaker setup, we must say what this two piece combination is able to achieve should be more than enough for today’s living rooms.

Connection to the iRoar Rock is via the Docking expansion port at the bottom of the iRoar.

The iRoar Rock also acts as a charging dock for the iRoar, so you can bring the iRoar out with you for listening on the go, then come home and plug it in to use with your television as your entertainment system while recharging the battery so it’s ready to go the next day.

 

Welcoming the new generation

So there you have it, the newest additions to the Creative Sound Blaster Roar family, and already you can see how they are moving forward. To us, the iRoar is a really intriguing product, as adding the ability to handle real-time processing of audio should certainly lead to better sound, and when you add in the potential expandability of a dock system, who knows what can come next? Maybe a future 5.1 system with an iRoar as the main control system that you control through an app on your phone? Whatever it is, it’ll definitely be most interesting to see.

The Sound Blaster Roar Pro will commence sales at this week’s Sitex 2015 for S$249 (after the S$100 Sitex voucher), and resume sales at all authorized Creative resellers later for S$349. The Creative iRoar will also be sold at Sitex in very limited quantities at S$349 (after the S$100 Sitex voucher), and official sales will start early next year. The RRP for the Creative iRoar is expected to be S$528.

All purchases above S$99 at the Creative booth during Sitex 2015 will entitle you to a free pair of headphones worth S$89 (while stocks last), so we’d certainly recommend heading down to check both speakers out in person. No release date or pricing has been announced for the iRoar Rock.

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