Few music-centric brands have managed to carve out a niche in the audio equipment space as much as Saregama, which has several factors working in its favour, from nostalgia to brand value. The company’s Carvaan line-up of portable music players has found a place in umpteenth households around the country, thanks to the rich music portfolio these devices come preloaded with. Plus, there is the retro design which cannot be ignored. The company’s decision to opt for a soundbar appears a logical step forward since we all need this device to compensate for the tiny sound cans on our smart TV sets, which continue to get bigger and slimmer.
Frankly, I was excited to review the Carvaan Musicbar with subwoofer because of the songs that come preloaded, besides the excellent packaging comprising pictures of many of our favourite musicians. Before diving further, a confession: I use a soundbar which offers more punches, surround sound and is costlier, so it took me a couple of days to temper my expectations.
Coming in at slightly under Rs 7,000 the Musicbar’s sound profile can best be described as rounded and wholesome for most households. If somebody is spending Rs 35,000 on a TV set, I don’t see any reason why he or she should spend Rs 25,000 on a soundbar. The Musicbar makes absolute sense: Affordable but the sound is not all over the place.
Before buying the Musicbar, you need to ask yourself two questions. First, how big a sound are you looking at? Second, do you need a soundbar at all? For those answering ‘yes’ to the latter, please visit a shop to experience the soundbar before purchasing it. My reasoning is that you shouldn’t go by the audio quality of the pre-loaded music because that doesn’t tell the entire story. Why? These are compressed tracks and Saregama had to fit in 500 songs. The soundbar actually delivers far better sound than what you hear on the preloaded songs, which, by the way, were recorded long ago. In case you play these same songs via Bluetooth using YouTube or YouTube Music, you will get a far richer sound. That doesn’t mean, you can’t enjoy the preloaded track. Far from it, for those who just want to leave the selection of music to the soundbar, go ahead. It’s good enough to mellow monsoon evenings.
The 2.1 channel soundbar (has four speakers of 50W and 70W wired subwoofer) started shining as soon as I connected it to the TV and added the subwoofer (6.5-inch speaker driver) which comes in the box. The subwoofer is slightly on the chunky side but it comes with a longish wire, ensuring you can keep the box somewhere not-too-close to your media entertainment centre. Second, the remote control has some good controls to offer, like easy access of the preloaded tracks or controlling bass and treble. Third, it was a joy to find a HDMI cable packed in the box, which is generally not the case; meaning extra cost for consumers of most other brands.
A lot of time was spent channelling film soundtracks and playing music over Bluetooth. In way of connectivity, I have zero complains, especially because this is under 7K. There is HDMI (ARC) to connect to the TV, a coaxial port, 3.5 aux in and USB port. And it helps that the soundbar is well-designed and given the price point, it doesn’t look cheap or flimsy. It has slightly rounded sides to blend in with most TV sets and media console units.
While channelling music or dialogues, I gauged the output according to the volume level. Keep it at 40-50 per cent to delivers the best sound. When listening to a dialogue-heavy show like Seinfeld or Yes, Prime Minister, every joke comes through clearly while the background music is quite good. For most room sizes, this volume level will be fine. Once between 65-75 per cent, I think peak sound quality is reached. Dialogues and music are still clear but the balance dances on the fence. Beyond 80 per cent, there is some shrillness if you are streaming Bolly films that come with a lot of music. Thus, the question, how big is the room size and what purpose will a soundbar serve you. In case you are unsure of the mode you want to listen to movies on, try 3D profile.
Working in Saregama’s favour is the control panel on the soundbar, which has all the options — play, pause, skip, Bluetooth connectivity and so on. But a quibble: 500 songs come preloaded and I want to see the name of the song that’s being played on the soundbar. So next time the company can think of adding a small screen.
Saregama has as competition several brands, from JBL to a local brand like Calcutta-based Mulo, which too is fantastic. Winning the war for the company is its brand name and the concept of preloaded music. Good build, up to scratch audio and dollops of nostalgia should win Saregama Carvaan Musicbar a place in your living room.
At a glance
Few music-centric brands have managed to carve out a niche in the audio equipment space as much as Saregama, which has several factors working in its favour, from nostalgia to brand value. The company’s Carvaan line-up of portable music players has found a place in umpteenth households around the country, thanks to the rich music portfolio these devices come preloaded with. Plus, there is the retro design which cannot be ignored. The company’s decision to opt for a soundbar appears a logical step forward since we all need this device to compensate for the tiny sound cans on our smart TV sets, which continue to get bigger and slimmer. Frankly, I was excited to review the Carvaan Musicbar with subwoofer because of the songs that come preloaded, besides the excellent packaging comprising pictures of many of our favourite musicians. Before diving further, a confession: I use a soundbar which offers more punches, surround sound and is costlier, so it took me a couple of days to temper my expectations. Coming in at slightly under Rs 7,000 the Musicbar’s sound profile can best be described as rounded and wholesome for most households. If somebody is spending Rs 35,000 on a TV set, I don’t see any reason why he or she should spend Rs 25,000 on a soundbar. The Musicbar makes absolute sense: Affordable but the sound is not all over the place. Before buying the Musicbar, you need to ask yourself two questions. First, how big a sound are you looking at? Second, do you need a soundbar at all? For those answering ‘yes’ to the latter, please visit a shop to experience the soundbar before purchasing it. My reasoning is that you shouldn’t go by the audio quality of the pre-loaded music because that doesn’t tell the entire story. Why? These are compressed tracks and Saregama had to fit in 500 songs. The soundbar actually delivers far better sound than what you hear on the preloaded songs, which, by the way, were recorded long ago. In case you play these same songs via Bluetooth using YouTube or YouTube Music, you will get a far richer sound. That doesn’t mean, you can’t enjoy the preloaded track. Far from it, for those who just want to leave the selection of music to the soundbar, go ahead. It’s good enough to mellow monsoon evenings. The 2.1 channel soundbar (has four speakers of 50W and 70W wired subwoofer) started shining as soon as I connected it to the TV and added the subwoofer (6.5-inch speaker driver) which comes in the box. The subwoofer is slightly on the chunky side but it comes with a longish wire, ensuring you can keep the box somewhere not-too-close to your media entertainment centre. Second, the remote control has some good controls to offer, like easy access of the preloaded tracks or controlling bass and treble. Third, it was a joy to find a HDMI cable packed in the box, which is generally not the case; meaning extra cost for consumers of most other brands. A lot of time was spent channelling film soundtracks and playing music over Bluetooth. In way of connectivity, I have zero complains, especially because this is under 7K. There is HDMI (ARC) to connect to the TV, a coaxial port, 3.5 aux in and USB port. And it helps that the soundbar is well-designed and given the price point, it doesn’t look cheap or flimsy. It has slightly rounded sides to blend in with most TV sets and media console units. While channelling music or dialogues, I gauged the output according to the volume level. Keep it at 40-50 per cent to delivers the best sound. When listening to a dialogue-heavy show like Seinfeld or Yes, Prime Minister, every joke comes through clearly while the background music is quite good. For most room sizes, this volume level will be fine. Once between 65-75 per cent, I think peak sound quality is reached. Dialogues and music are still clear but the balance dances on the fence. Beyond 80 per cent, there is some shrillness if you are streaming Bolly films that come with a lot of music. Thus, the question, how big is the room size and what purpose will a soundbar serve you. In case you are unsure of the mode you want to listen to movies on, try 3D profile. Working in Saregama’s favour is the control panel on the soundbar, which has all the options — play, pause, skip, Bluetooth connectivity and so on. But a quibble: 500 songs come preloaded and I want to see the name of the song that’s being played on the soundbar. So next time the company can think of adding a small screen. Saregama has as competition several brands, from JBL to a local brand like Calcutta-based Mulo, which too is fantastic. Winning the war for the company is its brand name and the concept of preloaded music. Good build, up to scratch audio and dollops of nostalgia should win Saregama Carvaan Musicbar a place in your living room.
Device: Saregama Carvaan Musicbar
Price: Rs 6,990
High notes
• Comes preloaded with 500 songs
• Decent sound profile
• Good build
• Enough connectivity options
• HDMI cable in the box
Muffled notes
• The compression on the 500 songs can be improved
• More colour options will help
