Creative MUVO 2 Bluetooth Speaker Review with MUVO mini comparison

A detailed review of the Creative MUVO 2 portable speaker and a comparison to the previous MUVO mini Bluetooth speaker

Update – I’ve recently acquired a second MUVO 2 to make use of the linking feature. For those who are interested in watching a YouTube demonstration video of them paired together as left and right speakers – here is a link.

Creative MUVO 2 Bluetooth Speaker

A lightweight splashproof portable speaker with multiple connectivity options. The MUVO 2 has the latest Bluetooth 4.2, MicroSD card, Auxiliary and USB playback for PC’s, Macs or Laptops.

Creative’s MUVO 2 can also link up with another unit to provide dual speaker music playback.

Highlights

  • Latest Bluetooth 4.2 technology.
  • Bluetooth, AUX, MicroSD and USB playback.
  • Supports flac, wav, wma and mp3 formats.
  • 10 hours playtime and handsfree calling.
  • Links to a second MUVO 2 for audio boost.
  • Waterproof to IP66 standards.
  • Lightweight and has lanyard attachment.

Pros and Cons

Where to Buy?

MUVO 2 Bluetooth speaker Latest Price Shipping Product Page
Creative.com
$79.99* Free delivery view
Amazon Marketplace
$79.99 $59.99* Free delivery view

Price updated – 13th of July 2017 at 09:30 GMT
*Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.
more ยป

Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

My favourite lightweight Bluetooth speaker this year has been the MUVO mini – Could the MUVO 2 take its place?

1Intro

For this past year, the MUVO mini has been my go-to Bluetooth speaker for travelling and outdoor trips. It strikes the perfect balance between weight and sound quality. The only thing missing from the design is a place to tie a lanyard to secure it to my backpack. So when I first put eyes on the new MUVO 2 my heart skipped a beat “A LANYARD ATTACHMENT YES!

If this was the only improvement over the MUVO mini, I’d be content. However, there’sย  a load more stuff to get excited about, so let’s get stuck in.

2Design and Build Quality

The MUVO 2 come sin a top notch retail display box with a USB charge and data cable.

I’ve said it before guys, Creative do an amazing job with their packaging. The MUVO 2 comes in a top notch display box. The clear outer shell shows off the entire speaker in all its glory. The subtle angled edges and tapered chamfers that featured on the MUVO Mini are still present on the MUVO 2.

There are a couple of obvious design changes. The honeycomb front grill of the MUVO mini has been replaced with a plain pin-hole metal mesh featuring the Creative logo. The branding looks fairly visible in the picture above, but it’s actually quite subtle in natural light. Then there’re those gorgeous lanyard nostrils on the side – and yes, I am possibly a little more excited by them than most would be, but I have my reasons….
The Creative MUVO 2 is available in black, red, blue and grey

Model Colours Size Weight
MUVO 2 Black, Red, Blue and Grey 190 x 38 x 67mm 340g (12.0oz)
MUVO Mini Black, Red, Blue and White 190 x 38 x 59mm 285g (10.1oz)

As you can see from the comparison table above, the MUVO 2 is slightly taller and heavier than the MUVO mini. The core reason I always take the MUVO-Mini on outdoor trips and holidays is how amazingly lightweight it is considering the sound quality it puts out. For the MUVO 2 to take its place in my backpack, those extra 55 grams need to be justified. Let’s take a look at the new features and see what we’re getting.

3Features and Specs

The features and specifications of the MUVO 2 portable speaker from Creative

Before I jump in and tell you all of the new features and improvements on the MUVO 2, I’d first like to mention a couple of areas where it’s taken a small step backwards. Firstly, the battery status indicator on the MUVO 2 is an LED light, activated my double tapping the ‘M’ button. A flashing green light means the battery is 75-100%, yellow is 50-75%, blue is 25-50%, and red when it’s less than 25%. This is fine as long as you’re not visually impaired and able to remember what each colour signifies.

In contrast, the MUVO mini has the best battery notification of any Bluetooth speaker I’ve come across. When you double tap the pairing button on the mini, you get vocal notifications, eg. “Battery is about 50%” – I really don’t understand why Creative haven’t used it on the MUVO 2?

Music Playtime Charge Time Bluetooth Range Water Resistance
10 Hours
3 Hours 10m (33 feet) IP66 standard

The other missing feature is NFC ‘tap to pair’. This really doesn’t bother me much, as once you’ve paired your Bluetooth device, it reconnects almost instantly anyway.

Now on to the good stuff!

The MUVO 2 portable speaker now features the latest Bluetooth 4.2 version. It has a 250% improvement in transfer speed over Bluetooth 4.0. When using the speaker wirelessly as the audio source for movies or games, there’s going to be barely any audio-visual sync issues.

Accessing the ports and MicroSD slot on the back of the MUVO 2 Bluetooth speakerIf you are intending to use it for movies and gaming and you have some extra cash to spend, it might be worth buying an additional speaker.

The MUVO 2 can be linked with another unit to create left and right speakers. This will provide a better soundstage and a far more expansive audio experience.

Although I’ve only got a single unit, It won’t be long before I’ve convinced my hiking buddy to buy one and bring it along on our next adventure.


Linking the MUVO 2 wirelessly with another unit

Additional Playback modes

The MUVO 2 has a total of four different playback modes. Each mode can be activated by pressing the ‘M’ button and the LED indicator will change colours to identify it’s current state.

Bluetooth Mode SD Card Playback USB Audio (PC/Laptop) AUX-in
Blue Light
Yellow Light Purple Light Green Light

When using the Muvo 2 on a PC or laptop in USB mode, you’ll need to install the driver files from Creative’s website. It’s all pretty simple, once installed the speaker will appear on your audio devices list. You’ll also have the opportunity to customise the audio tuning using the SoundBlaster control panel.

The addition of the MicroSD card slot is a great feature for taking the MUVO 2 on outdoor trips. It’s compatible with lossless FLAC and WAV, WMA and MP3 file formats and will accept cards up to 128gbs in size.

4Sound Performance

The speaker drivers inside the MUVO 2 Bluetooth speaker

Bluetooth speakers are always subject to the weight vs audio performance rule. The Creative MUVO Mini was one of the few speakers that somehow defied it. It’s why I’ve taken it on every single trip I’ve had this year. I’m happy to say that the MUVO 2 performs just as well. The dual drivers deliver a crisp sound with enough weight from the passive bass radiator to easily fill a moderately sized room.

The volume is good and it holds clean throughout its range and with the capacity to link another speaker you can effectively double its output

5Verdict

If you’ve read my review, you’re probably fully aware that I’m about to highly recommend this Bluetooth speaker. The question is, do I prefer it to the MUVO Mini and which one will I be slipping into my backpack next weekend?

The short answer is yes, it’s my new favourite portable speaker for hiking. The addition of the lanyard holes sealed the deal and if I can convince my buddy to get one, the linking of the two speakers will be awesome. The MicroSD slot will allow me to conserve my phone battery meaning I can take a smaller Powerbank. This easily offsets the small amount of extra weight when compared the MUVO mini.

MUVO 2 Bluetooth speaker Latest Price Shipping Product Page
Creative.com
$79.99* Free delivery view
Amazon Marketplace
$79.99 $59.99* Free delivery view

Price updated – 13th of July 2017 at 09:30 GMT
*Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.
more ยป

Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

If the MUVO 2 is a little over your available budget, I highly recommend you check out the MUVO mini.

I hope you found this review useful.ย  If you did, please share is socially or leave a comment below โ€“ Thanks!

6 COMMENTS

  1. Best Creative Muvo 2 review I’ve seen, and thanks for making a demo feeding of the Muvo 2 linked to another speaker.

    • Hi Jamie,
      I’m glad you liked the Review, The MUVO 2 has been growing on me since I got it, so much so that I’ve now got a second one. So I’ll definitely be demonstrating the MUVO 2 linked together. I’ll probably make a YouTube Video, so be sure to sub to my channel, I should have the video up sometime next week ๐Ÿ™‚
      Kind Regards Simon. AKA Gadgetviper.

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