Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker review: 'Aunty Police Bula Legi' - this fine work of writing by Sahil Kaushal that was given music by now-forgotten Yo Yo Honey Singh for Akshay Kumar's memorable venture 'Boss' - turns real when you switch on Philips SPA9120B tower speaker and start raising the volume. The wireless multimedia speakers from Philips are extremely loud, clear and pleasing to your ears, unlike the above mentioned song that you would want to erase from your memory. But, can't!

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Tower Speakers have a lot of potential to do well in the Indian market as they solve multiple purposes but somehow remain not-so-popular when compared to other Bluetooth audio devices. Probably, it has to do with the portability. You can obviously not carry these around in a backpack as the smaller Bluetooth speakers. Yet, they come with several advantages and are not a bad bet for music enthusiasts and party lovers. Also, they allow you to create perfect mood for a Manchester derby, a gaming night or a movie marathon. 

Priced at Rs 19,990, Philips SPA9120B come from the same family of multimedia tower speakers that offer Bluetooth connectivity, built-in FM tuner, powerful bass and a wireless microphone. Yes, add Karaoke nights to the list. We got a unit delivered a few weeks back and spent some time with it. So, let's have a look at all the good, the bad and the ugly of Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker in this review.

Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker: Design and Built

They Philips SPA9120B is a combination of two tower speakers that are tall and will occupy some space in your house. You should space them out to get better audio output. The product comes in an extensive packaging which isn't suprising at all. There are several cables inside the box and while the setup is fairly easy if you follow the manual, better leave it to the product person. We had the Philips team setup the speakers for us as we thought of the best possible songs to test the device. Before eventually playing Arijit Singh. We will come back to that later. 

The device comes in the standard black colour and looks elegant. The wooden panels adds an extra dimension to the design and feel. There is a digital screen that allows you to change audio sources or stations with ease. It is actually very useful as these speakers have several connectivity options. Philips has also included a remote inside the box that can be used to control the device. Honestly, we didn't use it much because the speakers were largely connected to a smartphone which itself allows you to control everything. 

On top of one of the towers, you get a few buttons to manually change settings. These are basic controls including a volume regulator, power button and a button to change source of the device, among others. There is a 3.5mm stereo connector, microphone socket and USB 2.0 option at the back. 

Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker: Performance 

The speakers claim to offer an audio output of whopping 120W. And, test it only at your own risk because they are actually loud. Keep the volume at maximum for 10 minutes and chances are that you might be asked to vacate the flat (especially if you are a bachelor, living alone or with friends). The audio system has frequency range of 40Hz-20kHz and Signal/Noise ratio of >60dB. Since you can control the bass with the help of one of the regulators, switching between genres ins't a problem either. 

WATCH Zee Business TV LIVE Streaming Online -

To test the device, we connected it with Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ and as I confessed earlier, started with Arijit Singh's 'Ve Maahi' from Kesari and 'Qaafirana' from Kedarnath using Spotify. The sound quality was satisfactory with these melodies. Then, I moved on to some Punjabi numbers like 'Ik Tera' by Maninder Buttar and 'Prada' by Jass Manak. These are still the life of every party in India and the speakers did justice to all the peppy numbers. 

In fact, it would be a shame even own them and don't host frequent house parties. 

Moving on, I played some rock songs like 'Believer' from Imagine Dragons, 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses and 'Citadel' by The Rolling Stones. The experience was quite good. You will be best served with volume levels from low to slightly above average. The audio starts losing clarity as you move towards the higher levels. 

The Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker also comes with built-in USB Direct that offers you complete file transferability and allows you to acccess more digital music. There is also India's favourite FM tuner that lets you enjoy your favourite songs or news from your radio station. Unfortunately, these speakers still need a separate RCA adapter cable to connect with your television set. This is slightly disappointing as Philips could have provided the cable with the unit.

Philips SPA9120B Tower Speaker: Verdict

Tower speakers have always been an exciting product, primarily because they allow you to do so much that any other speaker won't. Philips SPA9120B is a good-looking, powerful audio device that has everything you would demand from a speaker at this price point. The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to plat music from smartphones, tablets or even laptops. There is a wireless microphone, built-in USB Direct and built-in FM tuner. At Rs 19,990 it is a complete package for a music enthusiast.

The audio is loud and while this is one of the highlights of these speakers, it is also a challenge. Not too many neighbourhoods allow you to play music at 120W. So, chances are you will never be able to use these speakers at their full potential. There are many wireless speakers in the market that will come for cheaper instead. 

Buy these for making your house parties better and a theatre-like experience at home.