About Creative

Creative Releases the Sound Blaster® Roar™ Pro: The Sound Blaster Roar with a Personal Public Address System

The Bluetooth® Speaker Retains and Improves All of the Classic Sound Blaster Roar's Critically Acclaimed Room-Filling Audio Signature But Now Supports PA Capability with the Wireless Creative iRoar™ Mic for Professional Use

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - January 5, 2016 - Creative Technology Ltd today announced the Sound Blaster Roar Pro - a powerful compact Bluetooth Speaker made for audio entertainment and professional usage as a wireless personal PA system (public address system) when used with the optional wireless Creative iRoar Mic. The Sound Blaster Roar Pro is the first in the all-new professional series of speakers by Creative and comes in exclusive Matte Black.

Compared to the Sound Blaster Roar Classic, the Sound Blaster Roar Pro features improved drivers for more refined audio performance, a longer battery life of up to 10 hours, and a slide-switch that allows users to select different audio profiles (Warm, Neutral, and Energetic).

The Sound Blaster Roar Pro and the Creative iRoar Wireless Low Latency Microphone

“Creative's all-new Roar Professional Series of speakers are designed to deliver powerful audio for personal entertainment on the go, and at the same time, double up as powerful productivity tools when used to address groups of people at work, in classrooms, or in camps,” said Low Long Chye, General Manager of Audio at Creative.

“The Sound Blaster Roar Pro with the iRoar Mic - and its low latency RapidTalk™ technology - set a new benchmark in voice transmission quality and portability where a portable speaker delivers audio quality on par with bulky public address systems that are far bigger.”

Award-Winning Speaker Architecture
The speaker retains the award-winning audio performance and speaker architecture of the classic Sound Blaster Roar but with improvement in its audio performance. Like the classic Sound Blaster Roar, the new speaker is engineered to deliver huge room-filling audio from a booklet-sized form factor. Although small and compact, this speaker actually features 5 speaker drivers, including a subwoofer: dual lightweight high-frequency 1.5” drivers for projecting far-field high-frequency dispersion, a top-firing subwoofer that pushes bass upwards, plus two side-firing passive radiators to spread the bass out even farther. The Sound Blaster Roar Pro also features 2 high-performance amplifiers - one dedicated to driving lows and mids, another solely for delivering highs - producing clear, spacious, well-balanced audio without compromising on the bass. As a result, the Sound Blaster Roar Pro is able to deliver powerful room-filling audio that is not sweet-spot dependant. The Sound Blaster Roar Pro is also extremely stable when playing back audio at maximum volume as the top-firing bass and mid-level driver is laid horizontally with a low centre of gravity to increase stability, while its rigid monocoque endoskeletal chassis reduces individual vibration of internal components.

Works with the iRoar Mic
The main feature that sets Sound Blaster Roar Pro apart from the classic Sound Blaster Roar is that it works with the all-new wireless iRoar Mic to deliver high-quality low-latency room-filling audio when used as a portable public address system. The iRoar Mic can be held, clipped or hung for versatile and convenient speech delivery and performance. It features RapidTalk - a patent-pending low latency high quality audio wireless technology that enables easy, quick and high performance sound transmission. The iRoar Mic also comes with a line-in jack that allows for music playthrough from a mobile device, giving users low latency Karaoke sessions. A mic-in jack also provides options to connect to an external dynamic mic or electret condenser.

Three User-Selectable Audio Profiles
The Sound Blaster Roar Pro allows users to choose between three audio profiles to suit their listening preferences by simply sliding a switch. The Warm profile is suitable for soothing audio and tube amplifier-like warmth with richness in your instruments, tones and vocals. The Neutral profile delivers a well-balanced audio signature. And the Energetic profile adds brightness, life and width into a music performance.

The Sound Blaster Roar Pro also comes packed with a whole host of useful features:

Integrated microSD WMA and MP3 player
The Sound Blaster Roar Pro features an integrated microSD WMA and MP3 player that allows users to play audio directly from a microSD card, so users do not need to always commit their smartphone to play music. The player even allows users to skip music folders so that they can navigate to their songs faster without having to tediously cycle through all their individual tracks.

Speakerphone Teleconferencing
With its built-in high quality microphone providing for clear 360° voice pickup, the Sound Blaster Roar Pro is able to take calls when connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

Integrated Voice Recorder
The Sound Blaster Roar Pro features an Integrated Voice Recorder that utilizes the speaker's built-in microphone, allowing for versatile one-touch recording of all kinds of audio − calls, external voices, or streamed music − directly to an insertable microSD card. The feature is ideal for recording voice memos, lectures, interviews, teleconferencing sessions, and business/corporate meetings.

NFC-Enabled Bluetooth with Multipoint and HD Audio Codec Support
The speaker is able to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth, and utilizes the aptX® and AAC codecs for the highest quality audio and lowest possible latency. The sound booklet also features the latest Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing users to quickly and easily connect to Bluetooth devices, requiring only a simple tap from an NFC-enabled smart device to the speaker to pair and establish a connection. Users can also connect two Bluetooth devices to the Sound Blaster Roar Pro simultaneously.

Bedtime Mode
In Bedtime Mode, the Sound Blaster Roar Pro gradually reduces its volume before automatically shutting down. The feature allows users to be gently and gradually lulled to sleep, and at the same time preserves the speaker's battery by turning it off after a predetermined time, instead of leaving it switched on for the whole night. Parents of young children would also appreciate the feature − they can record themselves reading out a bedtime story, and play the recording back to their children as they are falling asleep.

USB Audio with Sound Blaster Enhancement
The Sound Blaster Roar Pro is not just a wireless speaker for smart devices. Users can connect it to their PCs or Macs via USB to enjoy clear digital audio for their desktops or laptops. Connecting the speaker via USB enables advanced PC audio processing via the downloadable software, Sound Blaster Control Panel, and full access to the SBX Pro Studio™ suite of technologies that intelligently enhance audio in real time.

Dual-Purpose Battery
The Sound Blaster Roar Pro also features a Dual-Purpose Battery. The large, built-in 6000 mAh Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery can be used to charge smartphones and tablets, beyond providing up to 10 hours** of audio playback.

SBX Pro Studio Features*:

• SBX Crystalizer™ − Restores the “highs” and “lows” that are compromised during audio compression to create an audio experience as the original artist intended
• SBX Smart Volume − Intelligently minimizes abrupt volume changes by automatically adjusting the loudness of audio playback
• SBX Dialog Plus − Intelligently enhances voices in music and movies for drastically clearer vocal range
• SBX Bass − Dramatically improves the sound experience by expanding the low frequency tones
• SBX Surround − Creates unprecedented levels of audio realism by producing virtual speakers around, above and below the listener

* Sound Blaster Roar Pro functions as an external Sound Blaster sound card when connected to a PC/Mac via USB.
** Actual battery life will vary with use and settings and environmental conditions.

The Sound Blaster Roar Pro will be demonstrated at the Creative Labs, Inc. Booth #30201 in Tech East, LVCC, South Hall 3, Level 2 at the 2016 International CES, which runs January 6 - 9, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pricing and Availability
Sound Blaster Roar Pro is priced at USD249.99. It is now available at the online store at www.creative.com.

Creative iRoar Mic is priced at USD79.99 and is now available at the online store at www.creative.com.

For in-country retail store availability, please refer to authorized dealers. For more information about Sound Blaster Roar Pro, visit www.creative.com.

About Creative
Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions which include premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones, and powerful audiophile-grade amplifiers and digital audio converters. Today, Creative re-invents the Sound Blaster, which has a user base of over 400 million, with its ground-breaking Sound Blaster Roar and Sound Blaster X7 that aim at the new mobile networked generation by bridging the worlds of the computer, smartphones, and tablets. Creative's proprietary technologies, innovative hardware, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

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This announcement relates to products launched in the United States. Availability is subject to change without notice and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements. Creative, the Creative logo, Sound Blaster, the Sound Blaster logo, Sound Blaster Roar, iRoar and SBX Pro Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd in the United States and/or other countries. All rights reserved. aptX is a trademark of CSR plc. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Creative Technology Ltd is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Creative Labs, Inc.
Ryan Schlieper
408-546-6489
ryan_schlieper@creativelabs.com