Currently the market is flooded with a number of Bluetooth speakers as smartphones are becoming the go to device for playing music. However, smartphones fail to deliver high-quality audio hence there is an increasing demand for Bluetooth speakers. We have got our hands on CATZ Donut Bluetooth Speaker which we have been using for some time. Let’s check out if the speaker offers best audio experience.
Box Contents
- CATZ Donut Speaker
- Micro USB cable
- AUX cable
- User Guide and Manual
Design and Hardware
The speaker is called as Donut speaker as it has a design similar to a donut. At the top you have the speaker grills while the base is made of good quality plastic. The build of the speaker is pretty good and sturdy as well. CATZ branding is present on the circular base.
The speaker measures 111 mm x 30mm and weighs 205 grams. The power on/off button is present on one of the sides followed by a section that comprises of a 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB port and a microSD slot. A microphone and a LED indicator are also present. The LED indicator is very powerful and can be quite distracting especially if you are using it during night-time. It turns red when battery is low and blue when the battery is full.
The 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB port and microSD card slot are covered with a rubber strap.
All the controls of the speaker which are touch enabled are present at the bottom. You have the play/pause and stop button on top and bottom while the volume control and track controls are present on left and right side.
It has rubber pads at the bottom that offers a nice base for the speaker while placing it on a flat surface. The speaker also comes with built-in radio which you can turn on by pressing and holding the play/pause button. Pressing the play/pause button for long will let you switch between different models like radio, AUX, Bluetooth and so on. It is not easy to get used to the touch-enabled buttons as they are very sensitive hence you will need some time to get accustomed to it.
Sound Quality and Performance
The Donut speaker has an output power of 3W which offers clear sound. However it is not loud enough neither does it offer a strong bass output. At the highest volume, the sound gets a bit distorted. We tried songs from different genres ranging from vocal to heavy rock. It performs well in case of music with strong vocals but the sound gets muffled in case of heavy drums and beats. The impedance rating of this is 4 Ohms and frequency range between 120Hz to 18 KHz. When you keep the speaker flat, the sound turns out to be weak even at the loudest volume, however it is clear and better when you put the speaker in a vertical mode. This offers better sound result compared to when it is kept flat.
One of the key issues with the speaker is the placement of the controls. As the controls are at the bottom, you will have to pick up the speaker every time to access volume or seek tracks. This might be cumbersome when the device you have connected the speaker is not placed next to it. Most of the time while picking up the speaker, I accidentally kept touching the buttons and ended up either switching the mode or controlling volumes. This is another reason I kept using the speaker vertically, which is recommended.
The speaker supports calling since it has a microphone, and it works fine. You can answer and end calls by pressing the play/pause button on the speaker. This feature works fine, and we did not face any issues during our testing period. The microSD card mode also works without any hiccups and you can start using it as soon as you insert the microSD card in the speaker and control music using the seek buttons. The speaker connects easily and quickly via Bluetooth to laptops and smartphones. The range of the speaker is about 10 meters. The Donut speaker takes 2 to 3 hours to charge while the battery life is about 4 to 5 hours.
Conclusion
The CATZ Donut speaker has a unique and stylish design but it falls short to impress while offering a decent and well-balanced sound output. One of the shortcomings of the speaker are its sensitive control keys and their placement. The speaker comes in red, blue, green and black colors options. It is priced at Rs. 3799 out of the box, however you can grab it on Amazon.in for Rs. 2025. This is still slightly expensive considering the quality of sound it offers. There are a number of other cheaper options in the market.
Pros
- Good Design and Build
- microSD card option
- Microphone for taking voice calls
- Good battery life
Cons
- Average audio quality
- Very sensitive control keys
- Priced a bit on the higher side
Images by Sandeep Sarma