Boult Bassbox X120 review

Lower Bar

₹ 4,999

We are not quite sure if there’s a market as diverse as India, where everything boils down to the price, and the lower end gets as much traction as the premium segment. And in this lower end, the main drivers are wearables and audio with brands like Boat, Boult, and Noise fighting for a significant piece of the pie. But does value for money always mean cheap, as both words are often used interchangeably? Boult has offered us an opportunity to find out with their Bassbox X120 soundbar. The soundbar was launched alongside the more powerful Bassbox X180.

Design

Soundbars are one of those devices that become part of your living room decor, and the Bassbox X120 blends in pretty well with a glossy black finish complete with a convex perforated mesh front grille. The design looks premium with a smooth surface and rounded edges. A Boult logo appears on the left-hand side, while the right houses the status LED. The right lateral face includes the control panel with power and volume buttons along with a USB-A port. The rear features a full line-up of ports including AUX, USB, Optical, HDMI (ARC) and RCA (for subwoofer). The unit can be wall-mounted with the included brackets and there are rubber feet if you choose to set it up on a table. The included wired subwoofer has a compact design with a matte black exterior. Both the soundbar and subwoofer are lightweight and can be easily shifted.

Features and Performance

The Bassbox X120 is designed to satiate the aural demands of most Indian customers looking for a decent soundbar that doesn’t burn a hole through their middle-class pockets. The soundbar includes two full-range drivers and delivers 120 Watts of peak output according to the review guide the brand shared with us (although various marketing literature label it RMS output). The device has an integrated DSP performing real-time audio upscaling for true-to-life reproduction. The soundbar is capable of reproducing 48KHz high-res audio. The device is made for deep bass similar to most mass-market speakers at this price segment. Mid frequencies and vocals in the higher mid-range are quite enjoyable, though lacking in width with the lows overpowering the sound stage. Higher frequencies are mostly flat even from budget soundbar standards. The subwoofer offers deep bass, which gets to a perceptible level after you pump up the volume above 20 (32 being the maximum volume).

Conclusion

The Boult Bassbox X120 does the job well as an entry-level soundbar. It delivers an overall satisfactory performance with an emphasis on bass response. The device offers ample connectivity options. However, it joins an extremely crowded market space with multiple brands vying for a piece of the pie, and it’s not quite easy to differentiate itself.

Stuff Says

A decent entry-level soundbar made for high-res audio

Good stuff	Bad stuff
Good design Decent output Full complement of input choices	Lower range lacks definition Glossy body is a dust magnet Subwoofer’s output at lower volumes

Good stuff

Bad stuff

Good design

Decent output

Full complement of input choices

Lower range lacks definition

Glossy body is a dust magnet

Subwoofer’s output at lower volumes