From time to time, a Bluetooth speaker makes a splash with a cool feature, sometimes it’s a pocket, egg-alike, design. Another time it gets waterproofed to insanity. Nothing makes a statement like GravaStar speakers. If you came by my headquarters right now, Gravastar Mars Pro & GravaStar Mars Pro Aurochs would be the first thing you’d notice! And you’d have questions!
GravaStar Mars Pro & Gravastar Mars Pro Aurochs
One day, someone from the GravaStar team sat down and decided to take the design to the next level. As a big WH40K fan, the design spoke to me ever since I got to look at the pictures. It gets better, these things are bigger than I expected, heavier than expected and absolutely rock with the level of finish and detail quality.
Just like the incredibly good-looking Gravastar Sirius Pro earbuds I covered earlier, Gravastar speakers are available in 5 designs. Despite an almost identical base, each brings something new and interesting thanks to optional magnetic accessories. I had been sent the Mars Pro (which comes without add-ons) and Aurochs (which comes with devilish horns).
You should have seen my initial excitement when I realised that these speakers are bigger than expected and made of a combination of metal and plastic. They weigh a fair bit (over 2kg) and look absolutely bonkers! Not many people can tell, these are more than just futuristic-looking figurines. The moment I explain that these are Bluetooth TWS speakers, they get on board almost instantly.
Get GravaStar:
Buy your own GravaStar speaker and earbuds and enjoy 15% off!
NET15
(valid for GravaStar Store)
Gravastar Mars Pro
I just finished the Expansion TV show, so anything “Martian” speaks to me! A sleek, clean-cut design of the Gravastar Mars Pro, fits that narrative well. A spherical speaker base is placed on 3 articulated metal legs.
The base is decorated with various paint transfers and integrated RGB LED panels located around the speakers and legs. The front of the speaker (mid-tones + treble) is partially covered by mesh and RGB-enabled grill, while the back of the shell features a bass speaker with an exposed membrane.
The top of the speaker features a touch-sensitive volume section and there are 3 control buttons hidden away at the back. These enable the speaker, to control the playback and light features.
The bottom of the Gravastar Mars Pro brings USB-C charging that doubles as Audio OUT via the included cable. If you feel like splashing out, you can get a very decorative and totally awesome charging platform.
Gravastar Mars Pro Aurochs
Themed red, it comes with everything that Mars Pro brings to the table, plus two magnetic decorative accessories. These evil antlers can be attached to the top of the speaker and rotated around. They are purely decorative and make the speaker look pretty hellish.
If you like stylish design, you can also pick ones that come in darker colours, feature more weathered paint or come with Gatling guns… because – why the hell not!
Light features
A dedicated light button selects the animation mode. Single click selects one of the bunch of basic colours (lack of white is a great oversight) and doubles click cycles through a solid colour, breathing mode and sound-sensitive pulsing that looks pretty cool on both Gravastar Mars Pro and Pro Aurochs speakers.
While all the RGB lights and effects look pretty good, I wish there was more to play with. I know these are not action figures, but I want them to live up to their design expectations.
Bluetooth and TWS
Out of the box, Gravastar Mars Pro speakers got me squealing! Powered on, they play a mechanical sound that is on point with the design, followed by OK voice prompts that explain the functionality of the speaker. Unfortunately, the speaker when disconnected (due to power off timeout) also makes a cool but loud noise. There is no option to turn these off quietly unless you lower the volume down first.
If you have one Gravastar Mars speaker, it will mix 2 channels and play it via integrated speakers. But as I have two of these, I can pair them together and use them as a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) pair.
They sync up nicely, and I had no issues with them in this mode. It’s worth noting that controls will be shifted to the “master” speaker, and you won’t be able to change the volume or control the playback from a sub-device.
Sound
We know that GravaStar Mars Pro speakers look the part, but how do they sound? After all, you are buying a Bluetooth speaker – not an action figure. I found them to be very loud – after all, they are equipped with 20W drivers.
Thanks to a dedicated bass at the back they have all the bass you would ever need. The sound profile skews towards the low end of the spectrum as there is no dedicated tweeter, but with a bit of tweaking on your Bluetooth source device, you will find the balance just for you.
Where this shines is the TWS mode. Having a true stereo brings out the music and creates that extra dimension that single speakers can never provide.
Missed opportunities
I didn’t expect the legs to articulate, but considering the time and money that went into the design, I would like to see a bit more adjustments to the legs and rotatable base of the speaker.
The light effects are a little bit basic. This thing begs for Razer Chroma integration and an app to customise the light zones. As the speakers bring the top of the game aesthetics, it would look awesome synchronised with the gamer’s peripherals. Some would argue that turning these into Xmas trees would cheapen the look, but underbelly grill lights could use FFT audio effects to make the whole thing awesome.
Lastly, having voice packs and custom sounds could bring this thing to the next level. I keep on mentioning it, but it is pretty pointless, from the perspective of the Bluetooth speaker functions, but considering the price – I’d expect an equally premium set of features.
Lastly, I just want them to dance! Just imagine how could it would be to make them bob around to the music they play – ok I’m getting out of control here – who knows, maybe I will see if they can be modded a bit? You can’t say this wouldn’t be cool!
Get GravaStar:
Buy your own GravaStar speaker and earbuds and enjoy 15% off!
NET15
(valid for GravaStar Store)
Final thoughts
There is one thing that I left out – the price. We can all agree that these speakers look exceptional and will turn their heads around – no question asked. A single Gravastar Mars Pro will set you back anywhere from $229 to $349 depending on the design. A TWS pair will cost twice as much and if you want to add a charging base, that’s another $60. At the end of the day, it’s a Bluetooth speaker and something tells me that a lot of you will find it hard to justify draining the wallet for a connected speaker. On the other hand, being cool comes at a premium – we all know that. Any questions? Let me know in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
