Creative Muvo 2: an ode to versatility

Ergonomics

Entirely dressed in plastic, the enclosure shows a very satisfactory manufacturing quality. Fairly soft to the touch, very slightly shiny, the said plastic gives the speaker a completely pleasant look. IP66 certified, the Muvo 2 is therefore not protected against immersion, but it will still be able to resist any type of splash, even violent.

The speaker is Bluetooth 4.2 compatible and has a microphone allowing its use as a hands-free kit - microphone, which we will come back to below. At the rear is the connector, hidden (as expected on a "splash-proof" enclosure) behind a rubbery plastic cover. There is an auxiliary input on 3.5 mm mini-jack, a micro-USB port, as well as the famous microSD port.

And when we start the list of all the uses made possible by this connection, a kind of dizziness takes us. Because the Muvo 2, model candidate in terms of functionality, is capable of operating in a multitude of uses, some perfectly unsuspected. Let's start with the microSD port: it allows you to read files stored in MP3, WMA, WAV or Flac formats, in alphabetical order of file name. If the navigation between the files is obviously a little laborious because of the absence of a screen, it is still possible by long presses on the track change buttons. As for the management of the contents of the card, it suffices to connect the extinct speaker to a computer via USB, so that the contents of the memory card become accessible in the file explorer.

Connect the powered speaker to the same computer, and you have another option: to use the speaker as an external audio device. Working in plug & play on both macOS and Windows, the speaker is also able to unify its volume control with that of the computer, thus avoiding us very advantageously having to juggle between two separate settings. This same connection also makes it possible also to use the microphone of the hands-free kit of the speaker; a point all the more interesting since the capture of the voice by said microphone proves to be very satisfactory, intelligible and clear - albeit not very powerful. Better yet, the speaker is even capable of direct USB connection, still plug & play, on a PlayStation 4 (see the box at the end of this test)!

! [.] (recording on PC via USB, signal amplified at +20 dB)

The icing on the cake, the switch between the different audio inputs of the Muvo 2 is made particularly easy by the multiple colors that its indicator light can take. Depending on whether it is lit in blue, purple, green or yellow, you will therefore know that your speaker gives you to hear the Bluetooth source, USB, auxiliary, or the contents of the microSD card.

Still not satisfied? Already capable of reproducing a stereophonic sound by itself, a Muvo 2 can be associated with one of its fellows in an authentic stereo pair. Such a pair can then only be used with a Bluetooth source, but it's already not bad.

We almost feel guilty for concluding such an enumeration with a disappointing point: we measured a fairly modest autonomy, not exceeding 8 hours at around two thirds of the maximum volume of the speaker - 2 hours less than what the manufacturer promised us, and less than what we are now used to seeing on portable speakers of this size.

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Audio

We would of course have liked the audio performance of the Muvo 2 to rise to the same level as its ergonomics. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

We could summarize the thing by a somewhat cruel sentence: the Muvo 2 is a portable speaker whose sound evokes an ultra-portable. In particular, a very short bass rendering: the fall in the frequency response initiated from 300 Hz results in a sound that lacks too much seating, much more than what we are entitled to expect being given the size of the enclosure. However, we recognize that the speaker is capable of a fairly high sound volume which is not at all that of an ultra-portable; however, it should be avoided to exceed two-thirds of the maximum volume available, on pain of seeing a limitation of the dynamics and a rather unpleasant pumping effect.

In the second half of the spectrum, the highlighting of the treble would probably have gone unnoticed if only it had not been combined with this light bass. As it stands, it unfortunately contributes to the impression of an unbalanced, fairly aggressive and rough sound.

An impression which can undoubtedly also be explained by the small confusion in the low mids of which the Muvo 2 is sometimes guilty; in question, several resonances of the chassis of the enclosure, which is illustrated by the measurement of harmonic distortion above. The famous box effect, which we always dread with miniature speakers, is not avoided here.

Above 500 Hz, on the other hand, the rendering is very clean, and in particular ensures a very natural and pleasant reproduction of human voices - especially female. The size of the speaker is also used to render the stereophony, certainly not spectacular, but still significantly larger than what usually produce portable speakers. When you are located in front of the enclosure, no need to stick to the grid to grasp the separation of the channels: up to about 80 cm away, it remains quite noticeable.

Latency in Bluetooth is set to a very high value of 325 ms. Unless you can compensate for the sound / image lag, such a delay does not allow you to comfortably watch a video.

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Conclusion

The Muvo 2 could have been a real bomb if only it had benefited from a slightly fuller sound reproduction - for those who focus above all on the quality of sound reproduction, the Anker SoundCore Boost remains our benchmark in value for money. But in addition to its very reasonable price, the Creative speaker is a true marvel of ergonomics: its versatility (microSD reader, direct connection in USB ...) and its hands-free kit of an astonishing quality could alone motivate a purchase.

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