Creative Sound Blaster FRee review: Literal bang for your buck

Bluetooth speakers are a popular trend these days, and why not? They’re portable, wireless (so no hassle with cables) and have an innate cool factor that’s hard to ignore. But while it’s simple enough to build a bluetooth speaker that looks great, it’s a little harder to strike that balance with sound quality as well. The Sound Blaster FRee comes pretty close, but it doesn’t quite make that cut.

Creative has been building audio hardware for years and doing a damned good job of it. I remember my very first computer around 1996, a DOS-booting system, and the Creative speakers we got with it almosted outlasted the desktop itself.

The Sound Blaster FRee gets the portability spot on. At about 8-inches long and around 2.8-inches in both width and height, the speaker can fit into the bottle carrier on your bicycle (if you have one). Not that you’re likely to be toting a speaker around on bike rides (that’s what headphones are for) but it gives you a general idea of how compact it is. Shove it into your bag for an impromptu party and you’ve still got plenty of space.

As for connectivity, the Sound Blaster FRee uses Bluetooth 4.0 and supports up to two simultaneously connected devices. The range is pretty good too, capping at about 24 feet with line of sight. Set it by the pool and cross to the other side with your phone, and you’ll still hear your favourite tracks belting out.

Speaking of which, you definitely want to try this at a pool party, but with a little care; the device has an IPX4 rating. If you drop the FRee into the deep end, you’re likely not getting it back in working condition, but a few splashes here and there are fine.

But if you prefer some hands-on control the Sound Blaster FRee has a 3.5mm AUX in, as well as a microUSB to USB 3.0 cable. You can use this to charge the device,or even set it up as a digital speaker with your laptop (supports both Windows 7 upward and Mac OS X 10.7.5 or higher). You even have the freedom to download the Sound Blaster Control Panel here for some added fine tuning to your sound. But if that much detail isn’t your thing, connecting the FRee via USB is a simple plug-and-play affair, and it works like a charm.

One the flip side, there’s also a microSD card reader for playback, so you can gather a playlist and just let it roll. Of course, there are the standard buttons on the back panel to let you bump up the volume, switch tracks, pause, repeat or shuffle songs, and even turn on the microphone. That last bit is for when your phone is connected to the speaker, letting you take calls using its built-in mic.

Coming to the sound, the FRee has two neodymium drivers and twin passive radiators. It’s definitely got some “oomph” in the trunk, though maybe not in comparison to their more powerful Sound Blaster Roar. But while the volume is promising, the speaker suffers a bit where quality is concerned. Trebles are fine all the way through, but pump up the volume close to max and the base loses considerable clarity. Not particularly promising for rock enthusiasts (or dubstep fans), but everything else sounds great. Indoors, the FRee effortlessly fills a couple of rooms with music; outdoors would have to be, for example, in the general space around a pool. There is a “Loud” mode button on the back of the device, but it doesn’t seem to change the volume or quality of the sound enough to bother mentioning.

But the kicker for the Sound Blaster FRee is supposed to be its variable audio feedback. Place it on one end, and you get 360-degree sound. That’s definitely true; it doesn’t matter if you’re a few feet away behind the device, you’re still going to hear the same thing someone dead center is. The other mode is when you lay the speaker flat, and it supposedly gives you accurate wide stereo sound. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case. You’ll be hard-pressed to point out the difference in the two modes; perhaps that’s where the extended software for the speaker comes in, but I highly doubt.

The Sound Blaster FRee is sold with 10-hour battery life claims, and it certainly holds up to that end. Combine that with the ultra-portability and the above average sound on this device and you’ve got a speaker definitely worth buying. And for just Rs 5,999, this baby is a steal.