Creative Iroar Go Intelligent Splash-Proof Portable 5-Driver Bluetooth Speaker with Superwide Technology

After several years years listening to my JBL Charge 2+, and bemoaning its lack of upper mids and anything resembling a treble range I decided I needed to do better. Much Better. I was to the point where I was no longer enjoying listening to the Charge 2+. After months of going through the myriad of reviews, and listening to others at Bestbuy and other retailers, I decided to purchase, unheard, a bluetooth speaker by Creative Labs, the iRoar Go. It's previous bluetooth speakers had gotten very good reviews and held up quite well on YouTube videos when compared to others.I still wanted good sound in a small package, portability, lasting battery, and balance. Well, I seem to have found that in the Creative Labs iRoar Go. I am mighty impressed with this solid little performer. In just 2 days, I have retired the Charge 2+ forever.It took 5 hours or so before ithe iRoar Go started to sounds it's best. So yeah you will want it to burn in some before you really test it out, but the waut will be worth it. I can hear all of the music that I sorely missed listening the the JBL. While the Charge2 + excelled in lower end grunt, it was overly so at the expense of everything else. It sounded like a wet washcloth was over it. The iRorar Go, not so much. Sound was open, clear and detailed, AND had bass. There was balance there, except perhaps when listening to certain voice settings that emphasized the upper range frequency's. There are several options for tailoring the sound and it didn't take long to find what I liked. Again, for the $150 I spent, I am extremely satisfied already.Another feature I found useful and necessary is the app that allows me to alter the sound to my liking. It is very helpful in the initial stages of locating the sound that appeals to you. All of the main voice settings, along with EQ options are done from the app. My only regret is that Creative did not give me the ability to change speaker settings when using my laptop via Bluetooth. For some inexplicable reason the app will only work when the iRoar Go is connected via USB, not bluetooth. That was a mistake that I hope gets corrected. I also would have liked to see more EQ options directly on the unit itself to allow toggling between at least to voice options in case I didn't want the "superwide" voice to be my only choice.I love this little perfectly sized speaker for its sound above all, but there are many many other features that you will enjoy should you need them, so yeah, put this one on your list of under $200 Bluetooth speakers to audition. Especially if you own a JBL Charge of any generation. It just blows it away. At $150 you can't go wrong. For me at least , it rocks!

I've been an audiophile for a very long time. I bought my first high-end audio system at age 18, and have owned many since. Back then it was a science. He talked about signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range and total harmonic distortion. We anxiously awaited innovative products. Every once in a while something would come out of left field and the entire industry would be astounded. I place this little speaker into that category......innovation out of left field. I never imagined a small, two pound speaker system with bi-amplification. Until now, this has been reserved for very high-powered and very expensive audio systems. That's why I bought this little speaker.....curiosity. And this from Creative Labs?! Don't they make computer parts? Hmmm.......worth a look....and a listen.I was looking for something with decent sound quality (for a small speaker) to replace my current travel speaker, which sounds good, but weighs almost five pounds. Reading through the other reviews it seems that people expect concert hall volume and clarity out of the smallest of sound systems. That just isn't going to happen. This takes mass and lots of power. I wasn't expecting this at all. I want a speaker that can serve as background music while I'm working away in a hotel room on any of the four continents I travel to regularly (and....the write-up didn't say anything about this speaker coming with a power supply with interchangeable plugs for the US, Europe and the UK!!....but it does, and auto select voltage too).So, this little speaker arrives from Amazon. I plug it in to charge the battery and play some low volume music through it for five hours (you can ruin a speaker by hitting it hard when its brand new....the glue has to give a little on the drivers). After the break-in, I went straight to the song that I always use to audition an audio system.....True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. It did a very good job with this song. I was impressed. Yes, if you push it very far past the RMS power level (.707 of peak power) it will distort...especially with a severely limited dynamic range source such as Bluetooth. That's to be expected. It's math. I'm an electrical engineer. I do math. I know the limitations the designers face. If you take into consideration the physical size of this speaker, it does an amazing job. A speaker has to move air. The smaller it is, the less air it can move. The designers came up with a passive radiator system on each end that visibly moves!! I wasn't expecting that. I'm impressed, and I'm not easily impressed. To the designers from a colleague.....and I hope you see this.....BRAVO!! This is an overall top quality product.

I use a sound system in the operating room - beneath much cement, so streaming is not feasible, and as I am in/out of the room, connecting to my phone (kept with me) is not feasible either. I have a memory stick with 1200 songs. My small MP3 player, which has shuffle, has a near dead battery; separate speaker. I thought it made sense to have a single device with speaker and memory card (micro SD). It should be readily available - but no. No it is not. One can find portable speakers with micro SD, but no shuffle feature - the songs play in order as on the card = boring, repetitive, predictable.Finally, I found a unit with real shuffle on it. YES the shuffle button works for micro SD MP3 files. Some reviews stated the shuffle does not work - I assure you that it does with micro SD card - I have not tried froma thumb drive yet.The impressive issue is the quality of the sound. Very clear, and it can get very loud. Blew me away (ba-dum-tchss). I obviously hoped for good sound quality, but the crytal clarity actually surprised me.Two draw backs: the charger is propietary. I'd prefer a standard USB-C cable to charge it.Also, no case is immediately visible. I will use the measurements and search for a compatible 3rd party case (curved corners on cases, with a rectangular speaker, makes measuring/predicting difficult...)