Sound quality: Creative's iRoarGo had good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact but is somewhat boomy and doesn't go deep. Midrange is fairly even but is somewhat hazy and soft. Treble is extended but a bit smeared and lacks treble air. Does a so so job of recovering room ambience and lacks fine detail. Midrange sounds somewhat congested and treble air is lacking. No significant difference between Bluetooth, wired, USB and MicroSD sound quality and PC connected. When the ROAR feature is turned on overall sound gets louder and Bass and Treble is more pronounced and midrange is less even and sounds thinner but has more clarity. EQ mode default out of box - is louder, nasal, echoey and treble is prominent. However, ROAR when used at higher volumes can sound harsh and EQ mode is Harsh and piercing with some program material. The PC Sound Blaster Connect software provides many options to further tweak audio preference plus a multiband EQ. If EQ mode preset is changed while connected to PC once USB is unplugged the EQ mode set whilst connected to PC is remembered. Provides a decent volume level in a small to medium sized room.
Ease of use: We found the Creative iRoarGo ease of use to be very good overall. The Creative Sound Blaster iRoarGo Bluetooth pairing was very easy which requires a press of a well marked multifunction button and then the selection of unit from Bluetooth selection list on the source device; the unit provides an obvious indication that the unit is in pairing mode as well as when pairing has actually occurred. It also is NFC capable. Volume controls are adequately marked and works with Line-in, USB and Bluetooth sources. Switching between Bluetooth, Line-in and USB sources requires the press of a well marked button with persistent indicators of source selected. The line-in input jack is clearly labeled.
