Zebronics ZEB-S320 review

Bought this for Rs. 750 from ebay. This is the worst pair of speakers I have ever tried. Not because of its size or the restricted frequency range.. It just sounds terrible. I have cheaper ones sounding better !

The best sounding songs sound bad on this. Waste of money. Don't buy this folks. End of story.

Rating:2/5

The tiny android model speaker

Convenience and usability with a not so bad sound quality is what makes this a decent portable speaker.

This tiny thing costs approximately Rs.450 on ebay. 

Sound: This is the first time I got myself a speaker of this kind I was quite surprised at its volume . Its loud enough for a small room or in a car.  The sound disorts at high volume.  There is a frequency bump in the low mids in an effort to get a thicker sound. A bit muddy though.  You can crank it up quite a bit without much harshness. 

Sound quality is not as good as some other similar prized ones

Other features: Radio. Can play mp3 from your usb. max 8gb usb . 16gb might not be supported.

Both these features are very handy indeed

Convenience:  Good !

Usb chargeable .. The battery life is quite long, atleast 2 to 3 hours of listening.

The cable to connect to the laptop is quite which is a negative.

You will have to keep it close to the laptop. 

Its recommended not to put the speakers straight up on the table. It wil affect the sound in a bad way. Lay it down horizontally on the table or bed and you will get better sound.

Rating: 3/5

How to get the best out of your iBall Tarang speakers

Are the songs sounding dull? You might be feeling the effects of improper satellite positioning. This is a little tweak which can noticeably improve the sound from your iBall tarang 2.1 speakers(or possibly other budget 2.1 sets)

By Design their satellite speakers sit flat on the surface and there is no tilt. The problem with this is that as you usually sit at your computer desk, your head will be positioned above the satallites and hence it will not be facing you. This results in a not-so-good listening field in a common room increasing the effects of phase cancellation. Also iball is best listened closeup with the satellites between 2 to 2.5 feet away from you 

The key is to tilt the speakers upwards facing your ears like this with something.

Keep the speakers spaced apart on the desk so that your head is at an equal distance of 2 to 2.5 feet  away from both the satellites. This doesnt have to be very accurate.

You will immediately feel a difference in the stereo image and the overall clarity because the effects of phase cancellation are less now. You may try this with other 2.1 sets also if they are not tilted up by design. 

I have felt that whenever you move away from this sweet spot the sound from iball substantially changes in a bad way. Yes its there for all speakers but Ive felt more so with iBall.

Also keep the highs and bass knob just a little to the right, highs more to the centre than bass.

In this position the sound is pretty good :) Also use lossless audio formats like flac or wav

Im listening to it right now. Tycho's album Awake sounds pretty sweet :)

Hope this has helped you.

Why you shouldn't trust the reviews on speakers on Flipkart and snapdeal

Not all the reviews on speakers you find on these sites are trustworthy.

Most people who buy the 2.1 budget speakers dont know shit about speaker quality. If a bass is boomy they like it even if it might not be punchy or clear. Same with highs and mids and with the balance. I'd suggest not to rely entirely on the reviews you find there. Ive seen reviews saying iBall speakers are awesome and the best. Definitely not. 

Here is a few tips on how to judge the reviews:

-Good reviews most certainly will have more details than just "BOOMBASTIC" or "Powerbass".

If the reviews are just about bass , then be cautious. The mids and highs probably werent good enough to catch their attention. 

- Always look for comments on the balance between the woofer and the satellites. On many budget 2.1 speakers this balance is not good. Doesnt have to be perfect  , but atleast 'OK'

-If the rating is 5/5  beware. No budget speaker is flawless. Even mid priced speakers have some flaws.

-If the reviews say the speaker has decent bass ,decent' balance between the satellite and woofer, and smooth high and mid , then its possibly a decent speaker. Dont go for speakers with large subwoofer and small satellites. The balance will mostly be off. 

- When buying new brands which you havent heard directly , there is always a greater risk. Prefer to hear the speakers yourself from a friends house before you buy .

iBall Tarang 2.1 vs Creative SBS A120 speakers

If you've reached this blog , you are probably searching online for a cheap budget speaker. Here are reviews of 2 very cheap speakers I currently use

-Creative SBS A120 -Rs.1450

-iBall Tarang - Rs.1800 approx

The song I played to A/B them are 

TYCHO - Awake 

TYCHO - A WALK (FULL ALBUM)

Pink Floyd - High Hopes ,Wish you were here and Goodbye bluesky

A psytrance track
Boards of Canada

Creative SBS A120

Price - around Rs.1450

Frequency response : 50hz - 20000 hz

Maximum Output RMS Subwoofer - 4W

Maximum Output RMS per satellite - 2.5W

I've been using this speakers for quite some months and I've been pretty happy with it for the most part. Lets see the pros and cons of this one :

Pros:

Everything is OK for the prize you pay. All creative speakers are decent in their respective price range.

Mid range is forward as is typical with small speakers and focus is on the high mids.
Satellite is tilted upwards by design so it faces directly at your ears.

Affordable.

Cons:

-Weak bass. If you spend just Rs.200 more , forget this speaker totally and buy Creative A335 which I have used and it has a fuller sound with more thump. I haven't included them here because I don't use them now and cant give a detailed review. But you will be much happier with them.

-Not much depth or soundstage for the stereo image freaks .
-Not loud

iBall Tarang

Prize - On average Rs.1800

Frequency Reponse : Around 35 Hz-20000 Hz 

Maximum Output RMS Subwoofer - 20W

Maximum Output RMS per satellite - 10W

Bought these speakers because I was missing the bass. When I plugged it in and played I was not much impressed. May be I was expecting quite a lot after reading it's reviews and was expecting it to blow me away. None of that happened.  I've used a few high end speakers and headphones as well and that could be another reason. The sound improved a bit after burn in time but there something in the sound I didn't like. But then I found a way to make the sound substantially better which I'll post in my next post. Its a very simple step , check my next few posts for that. I A/B'ed it with Creative A120 and felt the following which I'll state as pros and cons:

Pros:

- Slightly more bass
-It sounds best in close up listening and in the sweet spot. To make it even better check my next post.

-Its louder. 

-Soundstage is better and elements have more depth . Soundstage is best at nearfield listening and at low to medium volume

Cons:

- Sound quality is not as good .

-The high mids seems a bit scooped . I can clearly hear a hole between mids and 5khz .This makes everything more dull. Really wierd at times. But  for rock and hard music it is ok.  For Jazz/orchestra lovers,this is not the right speaker.

-A feeling of ear fatigue after listening for an hour .Big turn off.
-Soundstage is good when you are in the sweet spot but when you move away from it sound changes a lot. I noticed it less on Creative a120.
-Some wierd distortion is definitely there unlike what I read in many reviews.  Im not liking it.

-Weak highs in comparison to the woofer.  

-Short cables. Might be a problem if you want to keep your laptop far away from the speaker .

Verdict:

Which one would I get if I had to pick one ? The creative SBS . It has the more tighter sound of the two although with less bass.