• Sound: 24W dynamic HD (dual drivers with bass radiators), microphone for karaoke
• Connections: USB, AUX, BT and FM
• Price: Rs 2,999 (Rs 2,199 on Amazon.in)

With smartphones strewn around the house — especially with people working from home — one still wonders why can’t the audio quality improve in leaps and bounds. Yes, most flagship devices have reputable sound quality but these devices don’t come cheap. Just like most smart television sets need soundbars, smartphones get a little bit smarter with a Bluetooth speaker. With speakers of all shapes and sizes available in the market, we recently came across Zoook Rocker Thunder Stone, which, at a glance, looks to have a rock-like finish. The rugged look may even be a few degrees more than some may like. But that’s more of a quibble because there’s more to the product.

Design and functionality

Going beyond the chunky look, the 24W output device is light to carry around. Don’t look at the product as something meant for the backpack. It’s a poolside party option but at the same time, it’s easy to lug around.

In the middle is a funky red volume knob (also acts as power button), with two rubber hubs on each side. The left one has the controls — skip tracks, mode and so on. The rubber casing on the right hub can be lifted to reveal different ports — aux, charging, mic and USB. That’s pretty much it. The screen is a tiny one which shows whether you are in Bluetooth mode or radio, besides showing battery life (which lasts around 10 hours on a full charge). The rubber flap didn’t become wobbly — or worse, fall off! — even after 10 days of heavy usage.

The sound

The first song that roared from the speaker is Chemical Brothers’s Galvanize. There is clarity while the bass is enough for the price that one needs to pay. Soon we switched to something totally different — Glen Campbell singing If This is Love and Wichita Lineman. The remastered version of the former was pitch-perfect while the latter — an old recording — required one to turn it all the way up.

We took it a notch higher with Bob Marley singing Turn Your Lights Down Low. Here’s a spacious recording, filled with intensity. The follow-up? Bruno Mars singing The Lazy Song. Though the Marley track plays out well indoors, on the roof there is a bit of flatness while Mars comes through well.

What Zoook Rocker Thunder Stone asks is one to consider three aspects — who will buy the device, where it would be played and what kind of music would blare out. Like we said, it’s clearly for youngsters and it would be used during weekend getaways when boom-boom notes are in demand. And it delivers. Needless to say, it comes with a microphone for karaoke, which once again proves that this is a party machine.

Is it worth having? Zoook Rocker Thunder Stone is a room and roof filler that comes at a down-to-earth price.