At first we would like to thank Creative for offering us a sample of their MUVO 2 Portable Water-resistant Bluetooth Speaker with Built-in MP3 Player for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Creative:

 

“Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative started with the vision that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs.

 

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, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services enable consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

 

Since launching the phenomenally successful Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been able to leverage on its leading-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million, and strong brand name to expand into the exciting lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market.

 

Creative is now well recognized as a global leader for product innovation in the audio and PDE segments, offering consumers a complete, high quality digital entertainment experience through Creative's hardware, software applications and services. Finding the perfect balance between form and function, Creative strives for every product to be a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

 

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

 

These products and solutions are marketed to consumers and system integrators through a worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the Internet.

 

Moving forward, Creative's mission is to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment. With strong focus on user-friendly interface, multiple features and cool industrial designs, the Creative brand is synonymous with lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment.

 

Creative's global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. It has regional business units in the US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore).

 

Creative is a public listed company on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.”

 

Product Features:

 

Designed for a Life Full of Adventures

 

You don't have to worry about getting your portable speaker wet anymore. The Creative MUVO 2 is designed with water-resistant IP66-rating so you can take your music through your adventures. With a 10-hour battery life, the MUVO 2 keeps the action going, wherever your life takes you. Connecting to the MUVO 2 is effortless. Simply connect via a host of input sources including Bluetooth connectivity. Plus, you can connect two MUVO 2 speakers to enjoy a wider sound stage and bigger audio performance. Available in four colors with cool metallic shades, pick the right one that suits your style.

 

Water-resistant - Great Audio Even When You're Having a Splashing Fun Time!

 

Get ready to take your audio through your life's adventures! The MUVO 2 is designed with IP66-rating, which means it's beach-ready to tackle all the splashes at your pool parties, and combat all dust when you travel off the beaten track.

 

Portability - Big Bass Takes up Less Space

 

The MUVO 2 houses an over-sized passive radiator to ensure great bass performance. With two in-house tuned full-range speaker drivers, you can count on this nifty speaker to deliver a sound of strength and substance.

 

Don't Leave Home Without it

 

The MUVO 2 weighs only 340g (12.0oz) and because of its shape, it's so easy to slip into your bag and take it anywhere you go, wherever you want.

 

The Party Goes on and on

 

With a built-in 2,200mAh Li-ion battery, you can play non-stop music for 10hours. And the best part is, the party doesn't have to stop even when the battery runs flat. You can charge it via the micro USB cable for longer hours of enjoyment.

 

Connectivity - The Joy of Freedom

 

Connecting your smart device to the MUVO 2 is child's play. Pair your smartphone via Bluetooth and let your music run free.

 

Double the Fun with Wider Stereo

 

Featuring the stereo Wireless Link technology, it pairs two MUVO 2 speakers together. Together with your friends, you can enjoy the expansive sound coming from two compact speakers.

 

Play Thousands of Songs Without a Smart Device

 

Not getting enough juice on your smart devices? The MUVO 2 comes with its built-in MP3 player. Upload thousands of songs to a microSD card without jamming the space of your smart devices. With support for high-quality lossless FLAC and WAV, WMA and MP3 formats, your listening needs are well covered.

 

USB Audio: Customize Your Sound the Way You Want it

 

Your USB audio port may surprise you with better sound than you think. Connect the MUVO 2 via USB, and add a personal touch to your listening experience with the Sound Blaster Control Panel. With access to an array of tuning parameters, you can customize your audio profiles the way you like it.

 

For added versatility, it is also a microSD card reader that lets you move your music, video or personal data between your PC and memory card.

 

It's Also a Speakerphone

 

While your smartphone is tethered via Bluetooth, the MUVO 2 acts as a speakerphone that lets you take your calls when you're listening to your music. So you won't have to miss a phone call again!

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

Not long ago, we have tried out the palm-sized water-resistant Bluetooth speaker from Creative, which was named MUVO 2c; for a such small speaker, we were impressed with its loudness, and clarity, the downside being that the bass was quite non-existent. The company has developed a larger version sporting the same water-resistant (IP66) capabilities but this time incorporating two in-house tuned full-range speaker drivers, with a central passive radiator, in order to enhance the low frequencies output. The product is shipped inside a compact, transparent plastic casing, which allows the potential customers to take a look at the speaker without even unsealing the box:

 

 

 

Plenty of information about the MUVO 2 capabilities are available on the sides and here we will learn that if we also pair two MUVO 2 speakers, we can obtain a wider Stereo effect:

 

 

 

 

The top plastic cover is held onto the chassis with two lateral plastic clips:

 

 

 

On the bottom area of the enclosure, we will get to see several stickers, which do include the package contents, the product serial number, the manufacturing date and more:

 

 

 

After removing the top cover, we will get to see that besides the actual MUVO 2 speaker, we do also receive some bundle components:

 

 

 

To be more exact, we are receiving a Worldwide Warranty leaflet, the Quick Start Guide, the Safety and Regulatory Information but also an USB cable:

 

 

 

Inside the Quick Start Guide, we get a description of the product main interfaces, instructions on how to select the sound source, but also the procedure of installation depending on the chosen source:

 

 

 

MUVO 2 comes in Metallic Blue, Black, Metallic Red or Metallic Grey colors, does weight only 340 grams and incorporates a Li-ion 2200mAh battery. What we do need to take into account is that the MUVO 2 is splash-proof but should be not submersed into water (as the manufacturer clearly instructs inside the manual):

 

 

 

On the top area of the unit, we’ve got a smooth textured plastic surface, with two LEDs (one for the battery status and the other for the mode we are currently in), a microphone port but also no less than six rubber hardware buttons (Power, Bluetooth pairing, Mode selection, Volume -/+, Play/Pause). Several other functions can be obtained depending on the mode we are in:

 

 

 

The frontal area of the speaker is covered by a metallic mesh, which does sport the same color as the rest of the MUVO 2 chassis. A subtle Creative logo can be spotted in the middle, but also here we have the two in-house tuned drivers, along with a larger, central passive radiator:

 

 

 

 

The left side of the MUVO 2 does come with orifices in order to fit a lanyard:

 

 

 

The right side does not contain any additional interfaces:

 

 

 

On the bottom layer, we can find details regarding the product serial number, the power rating but also two small rubber lateral feet, which do have the same color as the unit:

 

 

 

 

In the back side, we will get to see the product name right in the middle, but also the rubber cover of the MUVO 2 I/Os:

 

 

 

After removing the said cover, we will find the analog jack for connecting other audio sources to the speaker, one USB port for charging purposes but also for using the speaker with our PC and also one microSDHC card slot for uploading and playing audio files independently. The integrated audio player does support MP3 and WMA formats up to 320kbps, but also lossless formats such as FLAC and WAV:

 

 

 

Let’s take a run-down of the available modes: first we do have Bluetooth -> initially, the product does boot up in Bluetooth mode and waits to be paired with other devices. The pairing procedure is quite simple and the MUVO 2 will start playing music right away:

 

 

 

The secondary operation mode is AUX-In, which can be used when a device is connected to the analog jack in the back; this mode is also very easy to work with because it does not imply any extra configurations:

 

 

 

The third operation mode is SD Card, which implies using a microSDHC/SDXC card in the designated slot, in order to play music files. We can use the -/+ buttons to adjust the volume, Play/Pause but also a combination between the Mode button and -/+ for browsing between tracks. The player does remember the track and the playback position it remained in, so next time we power on the device, the player will resume from the exact same position we left it:

 

 

 

 

 

The purple LED color does indicate the USB Audio functionality; the MUVO 2 can be connected via the provided cable to PCs or MACs and playback music on the digital USB interface, since it does come with an internal sound card. In order to enhance the functionality of the product, we can always install the MUVO series drivers/application and fine-tune the audio content output:

 

 

 

Creative was nice and also provided a secondary, black MUVO 2 unit for testing out the wireless Stereo pairing functionality. Here are also some photos of the black version:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to activate the Wireless Stereo function, we must turn on a speaker and after it has entered Bluetooth pairing mode, we have to continue to keep pressing on the Mode button for three seconds. In this separate mode, the first speaker will start searching for the Stereo Link pair; during this mode, we must have the connection between the speaker and the smartphone disabled! The second stage is to power on the next speaker and get it in the same Wireless Stereo Link mode. After some time, the two MUVO 2 speakers will connect to each other and the speaker that will go back to Bluetooth pairing mode will accept connections from a smartphone or any other Bluetooth audio source:

 

 

 

MUVO 2 is accompanied by extra software and drivers, which can be downloaded from the Creative website. The GUI does allow us to adjust the volume to the desired levels, but also work with SBX profiles. Several pre-programmed profiles are preloaded: Music, Movies, Gaming:

 

 

 

By pressing the Edit button, we can get into more detail, by accessing the usual SBX Pro Studio effects such as Surround, Crystalizer, Bass levels, Smart Volume or Dialog Plus, as we can actually perform with a dedicated sound card:

 

 

 

A test video clip is also available on the top, in order to try out the effects of the enabled functions:

 

 

 

Creative does put to our disposal a 10-band EQ too:

 

 

 

Several profiles can be also accessed right away:

 

 

 

The MUVO 2 speaker from Creative water resistant capabilities is able to tackle all the splashes from rain or at the pool, can combat dust during travel and is available in multiple colors in order to match your style. Versus the smaller 2c variant, we now get two full-range speakers which have been fine-tuned from the factory along with a central passive radiator, which can deliver decent bass for an unit as small as this one (67 x 190 x 380 – H x W x D). The 2200mAh built-in Li-ion battery can deliver up to 10 hours of music (depending on the volume levels) and the speaker does accept inputs from various sources such as USB, analog jack, Bluetooth or microSDHC/SDXC cards. In case we need to take a phone call, MUVO 2 does still have us covered, because it can be used as a speakerphone for smartphones that do support hands-free profiles (HFP).

 

We have tried the MUVO 2 with a 64GB Toshiba microSDXC card filled with MP3 files, directly connected to our computer with the MUVO software suite installed but also via Bluetooth. The unit is able to deliver clear high frequencies, good mids but considering that the speaker does not come with a dedicated subwoofer and only a central passive radiator, the bass levels are nowhere as high as we could see with the high-end iRoar Go or the Roar 2 portable speakers. The speaker does not distort at high volumes, while the sound signature can be altered thanks to the included software application.

 

Let’s discuss a bit about the Bluetooth audio quality and also the Wireless Stereo Link capabilities: we have connected the MUVO 2 to our desktop PC via a HAMA Bluetooth 4 dongle, to our Samsung Galaxy S7 but also to our Lenovo Ideapad 700 laptop. We have spotted a small issue when playing YouTube clips with voice, meaning that a small lag can be spotted between the video and the rendered sound though the speakers; this is not an isolated event, but we could also spot it with the Razer Leviathan Mini Speaker and several other people got delays on some Bluetooth headsets too. When connecting the second speaker for a wide stereo experience, the audio lag did not increase and we haven’t seen any delays between the left and the right speaker channels. With the Razer Leviathan Mini we were getting plenty of interruptions in this mode and the speakers needed to be kept close together in order to function property in Stereo mode, so we can consider the technology used by Creative as clearly superior! When using the MUVO 2 on the USB interface or via the analog jack connection, the lag was non existant so it would be great if future firmware updates for this product would allow having this Wide Stereo mode available for the USB, MP3 Player and Analog modes too.

 

The Creative MUVO 2 can be found online for about 60 Euros, which is pretty affordable given the fact that we are talking about a feature-packed product!

Creative MUVO 2 Portable Water-resistant Bluetooth Speaker with Built-in MP3 Player is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Creative for making this review possible!