Tronsmart Element Groove — Force Mini bluetooth speaker review

Unboxing

The page of the online store with the Element Groove for sale is not impressive at first: “well, what can a small box with a larger side of only 10 cm offer?”. But no — the box immediately meets with a pleasant heftiness for its dimensions. Here it is worth mentioning that some things, even with the years and the evolution of technology, must remain heavy in order to remain really high quality. Acoustics are among them: volume is needed for high-quality sound, and weight gives the structure reliability and stability, rattling at high volumes is eliminated.

So half a kilo of the weight of a modest box with the necessary minimum of printing was immediately set up in a positive way. In addition to demonstrating the appearance and a small “excursion” into the future, the box reports the power of the device at 10W and the presence of water and dust protection according to the IPX7 standard (tightness and the ability to survive a fall into water at a depth of up to 1 meter for 30 minutes).

We tear the packaging polyethylene, look inside …

Equipment

And inside — a rather concise, but rather pleasant set:

• the column itself in an antistatic bag
• instructions in 6 languages ​​(there is no European there)
• warranty card
• box with two cables (power with Type-C connector and AUX cable) and one cord

For the latter — a small minus to the manufacturer: not everyone knows how to knit beautiful knots, it would be more logical to put a lace with a ready-made carabiner.

Consideration

And if cords-cables are all secondary, then the main thing for which a bluetooth speaker is bought is, of course, for the sake of the speaker itself and its sound. The latter will be reviewed later, for now — to the appearance of the device and its characteristics.

The passport details of Tronsmart Element Groove are as follows:

• bluetooth version 4.2 technology with a range of up to 30 meters (in the line of sight of open space)
• dust and moisture protection according to IPX7 protocol
• power: 10W
• operating time: about 24 hours in medium volume mode
• charging time: about 2.5 hours, charging current 5V 1A
• built-in battery: 3.7V, 2500 mAh
• main speaker size: 58mm
• operating frequencies: 115 Hz — 15 kHz
• dimensions: 103×57×103 mm
• weight: 463 gr.

At the same time, the characteristics do not indicate the presence of TWS technology (pairing two wireless devices to create stereo sound) and a built-in microphone, thanks to which the speaker can well act as a full-fledged “headset” in the open air.

The column is made of rubberized plastic that is very pleasant to the touch: it does not slip in the hand, it is pleasant to hold, it does not collect prints, and dust and other debris can be easily wiped off. On the front panel there is a necessary minimum: a protective mesh bolted through a plastic spacer in front of the front speaker, higher in the center is a hole for the built-in microphone.

The side faces are empty, except for the loops for the lace

Behind — a low-frequency speaker, above which, behind a rubber plug, are located:

• USB Type-C port
• slot for microSD memory cards (according to the passport — up to 64 GB)
• AUX input for connecting a phone, player or any other device equipped with a standard 3.5 mm mini-jack

All control is concentrated on the upper edge of the Tronsmart Element Groove — these are four large + / — buttons, pause and the actual power. Each has its own additional functionality:

• the power button not only turns the device on/off, but also switches between playback sources (via cable, via bluetooth and from a memory card), and also searches for additional speakers for pairing via TWS;
• pause / play, including allows you to pick up / hang up the “hook” (when paired with a phone), reject a call (hold the button for 2 seconds) and dial the last dialed number (press 2 times)
• the “-” button, in addition to reducing the sound, allows you to turn on the previous track (holding the button for 2 seconds)
• the «+» button, respectively, allows you to additionally switch to the next track

In addition, LED indicators are built into the buttons:

• blue in variations of its operation (blinking — waiting for connection, operating mode via bluetooth — constant glow, slow flicker — work from other sound sources)
• yellow — TWS mode
• red — charging (if the indicator is off, then charging is complete)

By the way, only in bluetooth mode you can see the current battery balance in real time. You can view it in the Bluetooth menu of the phone itself.

Sound test

Of course, the sound of a particular acoustic is often a very subjective matter. But in our opinion, for the money, Element Groove is a very pleasant candidate for purchase: thanks to two independent speakers, both high and low frequencies are well realized, without leaving the middle range behind the scenes.

Moreover, in terms of sound, the speaker was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness and elasticity of the bass throughout the entire volume range, confidently “beating” competitors in the face of a regular smartphone (previously good-sounding Xiaomi Mi8 Lite), TV acoustics and even 2.1 acoustics of a home computer.

As a conclusion, the Tronsmart Element Groove is tested for water resistance. As noted above, the IPX7 standard involves immersion of the device to a depth of up to a meter for up to half an hour without loss of performance. Let’s be honest, we didn’t heat it on purpose — however, we checked the column in the bathroom, where it passed the test with honor.

Results

For your money (on Aliexpress, excluding discounts and special conditions — $ 27) Tronsmart Element Groove is a very worthy candidate for purchase.

Not the most obvious disadvantages include:

• a simple drawstring rather than a more fashionable strap
• the lack of synchronization of the sound volume of the phone and the speaker: to get the maximum, you will have to turn the volume up both there and there.

In turn, the advantages are a modest and not flashy no-frills design, high-quality assembly and plastic that is pleasant to the touch. And, of course, juicy bass from such a modest little device. And among waterproof wireless speakers, this is one of the most affordable options.