Home Hi-Tech Audio / Video / TV / Streaming ,,,,, Among the accessories to be combined with your iPhone, iPad, or any other smartphone or tablet, audio peripherals occupy an exceptional place. The external bluetooth speakers complete the multimedia experience offered by a mobile device, which obviously cannot reach exceptional levels, due to integrated speakers, which cannot compete with external peripherals. Creative is among the longest-running and authoritarian producers in the industry, who really try to get noticed with Creative Halo. It is among the first speakers to be seen, as well as heard, thanks to the front covered in 16.8 million colors.
How it's made
Creative Halo, apparently, is a common speaker, even if to tell the truth the mirrored front already suggests the novelty. It is well designed, in keeping with Creative tradition, particularly solid when held in the hand. You immediately realize that you have in your hands a well-finished product from a constructive point of view, made of excellent materials, certainly resistant over time. The appearance and design, even when switched off, is appreciable, minimal and elegant, it goes well with any environment, even if the magic happens, of course, when switched on.
On the upper part a classic rubber control panel, by means of which you can turn it on, turn it off, adjust the volume and, surprisingly, also the lights. Yes, because the plays of colors emanating from the petty cash represent the real note of novelty. We will be back later. Creative Halo is surrounded by a soft fabric, a rigid plastic, while on the front a mirror reflective surface gives the product a slightly futuristic look.
On the back, in addition to the charging input, also the 3.5mm connector, to listen to music from wired sources, although of course the speaker offers Bluetooth connection, for listening wirelessly. It also has a microphone, allowing the device to act as a speaker for hands-free calls.
Let the show begin
Usually, when we are testing a speaker, we go straight to the point, talking about audio quality. With Creative Halo, not that it fades into the background, but the sound aspect seems to give way to the visual one. On the front, in fact, hidden behind the mirrored part, LED lights capable of restoring a visual spectacle of particular impact. With 16.8 million possible colors to choose from, Creative Halo literally lights up, offering the user modern, vibrant and truly appreciable plays of light. The LEDs can be controlled with the button on the control panel: each click corresponds to a particular effect. The lights pulsate, turn, chase each other, create colored waves, aurora effects, glows, metamorphosis, and so on and so forth.
Not only that, by combining the Creative Xpectra Lightshow application, available for free in the App Store and Google Play, it will be possible to have greater control over the LEDs through the smartphone. For each of the numerous effects it will be possible to decide whether to make the colors light up to the rhythm of the music, or not, also being able to choose the brightness of the LED, and the pulsation speed. For some, if not all, effects, you can choose which color palette to use – in short, there's a lot of fun creating noteworthy lighting effects for such a small and portable speaker.
From a visual point of view, Creative Halo, no doubt about it, amazes. It does not go unnoticed, and in addition to being heard, it can also be appreciated from a visual point of view, creating a tunnel effect thanks to the 16 million colors to combine.
How it sounds
Of course, a speaker test cannot be separated from listening. From this point of view we are faced with a good peripheral, but not at the top of the range. It could not be otherwise, also in consideration of the low cost. It is not an audiophile peripheral, and when compared to what Creative Roar Go offers the differences are quite noticeable. Either way, Halo delivers all-around sound, balanced and well controlled. The volume offered is medium-high, and thanks to the full range driers mounted inside a large reflex camera, it also offers clearly visible bass, however always controlled. Inside, the speaker also contains a passive woofer, to further enhance them.
When listening to any kind of music, we appreciated a good clean sound. Overall Halo sounds good, and manages to charm the listener, also transforming him into a real spectator of the play of light. The singers' voices stand out well against the background instrumentation, and whatever the chosen musical genre, Halo performs well enough.
We reiterate that we are not dealing with an audiophile peripheral, and Creative itself provides more professional listening solutions. In any case, we were captivated by the play of light, combined with a sound quality in the average of the peripherals available on the market in the same price range.
As for the possibility of speakerphone, the loudspeaker suffers from the problems common to all peripherals of this type: the interlocutor's voice is sufficiently appreciated, but our voice reaches the counterpart lightly. You will have to get very close to the speaker's microphone in order to have a sufficient conversation, and it is unthinkable to talk on the phone while wandering around the room 3 or more meters away.
Autonomy also deserves praise. Even with the lights on, the manufacturer guarantees 8 hours of music playback. During our tests we got close to this result, even if playing continuously with colors the autonomy time is slightly lower than the declared one. In any case, in line with all peripherals of the same type and price range.
Conclusions
Creative Halo is a real feast for the eyes. Able to liven up any party, it is among the most original loudspeakers proposed in this period on the market. The quality of the LED is indisputable, and the effects that can be created are almost infinite, thanks to the smartphone app. From the listening point of view it is in the average of products in the same price range, and certainly does not reach the levels of a more expensive peripheral, like the same Roar by Creative. For the amount requested, € 69.99, Halo is a great buy, recommended to amaze friends. It is also a summer gift to give to a friend or family member: not the usual cash register, but a peripheral to see, as well as to listen to!
On the official website you can buy it for 69.99 euros, on Amazon it costs a little more, but we are sure that the e-shop site will soon correct the price.
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