GravaStar Mars Pro Bluetooth Speaker Review

GravaStar is a niche company that specialises in “cool Sci-Fi speakers with immersive sound”.

They have the most unique designs I have seen from any Bluetooth speaker brand on the market, but do the speakers sound good?

Specification

• 2.5″ full-range speaker, and 1″ high-frequency tweeter provide crystal clear & distortion-free sound
• Light up your space beautifully, create the perfect ambience with 6 RGB Lights
• The triangular support structure absorbs shock & ensures the stability of the speaker
• Highly sensitive touch volume control makes volume adjustments simple & fun
• TWS Bluetooth 5.0 tech allows two GravaStar speakers to work together at the same time
• 15-hour battery life, take your party anywhere and play music everywhere
• Materials: Zinc Alloy
• Product dimensions: 7.5″H x 7.1″L x 7.9″W
• Weight: 4.63 lbs
• Full-range subwoofer drivers
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Triangular support structure
• 6 RGB Lights
• Touch volume control

Design

The overall aesthetic of GravaStar products is not to my personal taste, but they are undeniably impressive, and they are surprisingly well built. I assumed it would be all lightweight, cheap plastic that is easy to break, but everything about this speaker feels well made.

I was sent the relatively boring black colour but is the war-damaged yellow, plus several special additions which bolt on various design elements such as guns or horns. All the more elaborate designs cost quite a bit more.

You then have 6 dynamic RGB lights that can be controlled by the left button on the front of the speaker.

Younger people and gamers will no doubt love the overall aesthetic of this speaker.

My biggest gripe about this speaker is that there is a lack of a 3.5mm/Aux port. It does support wired connections, but you need to use the included USB-C to 3.5mm cable. This, therefore, means you can't charge your speaker and listen at the same time.

I would have thought this is likely to end up living on a table or shelf of a gamer, and having this wired up to a PC or console while charging would be preferable.

Sound Quality

The specification states this is a dual speaker system with a passive bass radiator (1 woofer, 1 passive radiator) with a total power output of 20W.

20W is not very powerful. You are not going to have a party with room-filling audio with this speaker.

However, factoring in its 20W power, it does sound good. I used it on my office table, so it was in close proximity to me, and it works best in the scenario. I was able to keep the volume down which avoided any distortion.

I had expected that the claw-like feet would cause vibration and distortion issues, but they have little rubber tips, and the overall weight on the unit keeps everything stabilised.

You get a good level of bass, audiophiles may say it is excessive, but this is clearly not made for those people. At higher volumes, it does distort, like all Bluetooth speakers.

Mids and treble are somewhat recessed, but I didn't find that there was too much harshness to the sound either.

 In general, at close range without the volume cranked all the way up, this sounds quite good.

Battery

The battery is rated for 15 hours, and this should be roughly doable at moderate volumes. It is slightly on the low end compared to other Bluetooth speakers, but you are still going to get a full day's worth of use out of it, which I think is enough.

Price and Alternative Options

The GravaStar Mars Pro is £200 on Amazon or £190.28 direct from GravaStar. There are then several special editions which add about £80 to the price.

There is also a separate charging base which is available for £52. It is a bit expensive, but it does look quite good.

There are so many Bluetooth speakers on the market, and it has been so long since I have reviewed one, it is hard to recommend alternatives. What I can say is that there are not really any options that offer this kind of aesthetic.

If you don't care about the way your Bluetooth speaker looks, then there are plenty of better value options, including:

• Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus: Cheaper, 4x the power, better battery, AUX input, IP67 rated.
• Bose SoundLink Revolve: Probably better sound, speakerphone, Siri/Google
• Sony SRS-XB43: A lot cheaper, better sound, AUX in, IP67, better battery
• Marshall Stockwell II: Attractive design (not gamer-ey, though), cheaper, better battery, AUX input, similar power output.

Overall

I was unsure about GravaStar when I was first approached by them. I was fairly confident it would be low-quality products wrapped up in a cheap, pretty shell that would appeal to gamers.

While the overall aesthetic isn't for my liking, I am impressed with the effort that has gone into the design and the overall build quality of both the Mars Pro and Sirius Pro.

I am not convinced of the need to have an attractive charging case for a pair of earbuds. So, for me, I don't really see the appeal of the Sirius Pro.

Things are different with the GravaStar Mars Pro. It literally sits on your table or shelf and is visible all the time, therefore, I can completely understand why someone may find this appealing. It absolutely suits the whole battlestation/PCMR aesthetic many people are fond of.

Similar to the Sirius Pro, I think you pay a premium for this design. There are plenty of speakers under £200 that I am convinced will sound a lot better than this, but they are all ugly black boxes or tubes.

However, the overall sound quality of this is fine and will work well for most people.

Last update on 2023-03-31 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API