Gadgets
Review: GravaStar Venus – a small Bluetooth speaker with big sound
This thing looks like some sort of advanced alien technology.
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
[letsreview postid=”195214″]
The days of simple, boring-shaped Bluetooth speakers are over. GravaStar has entered the building with a sci-fi-themed line of speakers. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the GravaStar Venus, the entry-level speaker from the creative minds at GravaStar.
The GravaStar Venus is a relatively small Bluetooth speaker, standing at about four inches in height and weighing just a little over one pound. It features a futuristic, spaceship-like design and packs in a 1.75-inch 10W speaker.
As a sci-fi fan, I absolutely love the design of this speaker. You can snag your own GravaStar Venus from the company’s website starting at $89.95.
I’ve been listening to music through the GravaStar Venus for a little over a week now and I’ve been pretty impressed by the speaker’s sound. So let’s see what the Venus is all about.
Unboxing and design
READ MORE: Save 20% on GravaStar’s crazy cool speakers in this limited time offer
Unboxing the GravaStar Venus was as nice as you would expect from a premium tech product like this one. The speaker comes in a high-quality magnetic foldout cardboard box.
Inside, the Venus greets you like a futuristic piece of tech from a highly advanced civilization. It resembles some sort of cross between a Borg space station from Star Trek and an exotic ship from No Man’s Sky. Immediately, I loved the design of the GravaStar Venus.
For sci-fi fans, you won’t be disappointed by the design of the Venus. It features rubberized “landing” feet to stand upright and has spaceship thrusters jutting out of the back.
READ MORE: Review: The TronSmart Element T6 Plus Bluetooth speaker
Every curve and crease of the speaker seems almost alien, really driving home that sci-fi feel. There’s a circular LED that offers six different RGB color settings to set the mood while you’re jamming out.
The Venus’s design is more subtle than the upgrade Mars Pro speaker that GravaStar offers, but it’s still fantastic. Everything about the design of the speaker is a win for its sci-fi theme in my book.
What kind of features and performance can you expect?
To kick things off, connecting the speaker was as simple as any other Bluetooth connection. Just turn the speaker on and press the pairing button, and the speaker will hook up to your phone or other media player easily.
There’s even a notification that sounds like a spaceship powering up to let you know when the speaker is powered up. Once you hear “Bluetooth connected,” you’re good to go.
When it comes to battery life, the GravaStar Venus is rated for up to 10 hours of playback, and that estimate doesn’t seem too far off.
I generally got around 7 to 8 hours of battery life on a single charge, but that was while playing at almost full volume outside. And it charged back to full in less than two hours.
If I had to have one complaint, it would be the positioning of the USB-C charging port. It’s located at the bottom of the body of the speaker, so you have to slide a cord underneath to charge.
The speaker comes with an angled USB-C cord that slides nicely underneath, so it’s not a huge deal. But it would be nice to be able to utilize this pile of USB-C cords that continues to grow with every new gadget I get.
And what about the Gravastar Venus’s sound?
But at the end of the day, the design doesn’t really matter much if your speaker can’t perform. Fortunately, the GravaStar Venus performs exceptionally well.
The speaker is surprisingly loud for its size. Sitting at just a few inches tall, it’s definitely an unassumingly loud option. Cranking the volume all the way up gives you plenty of sound to listen to the speaker, even outside. And bringing it inside with the volume maxed out will quickly surprise you.
The GravaStar Venus delivers solid, clear bass, even at lower volumes. And turning the volume way up doesn’t kill the sound quality, even in more distorted, rock and roll-type songs.
You can also link two GravaStar Venus’s together for higher-quality stereo sound, though I haven’t had the chance to try that.
Overall, I’ve been very happy with the sound quality of the GravaStar Venus. All kinds of different music sound great from this speaker, whether you’re listening inside at lower volumes or outdoors with the volume cranked to the max.
Should you buy the GravaStar Venus?
And now on to the most important question: Should you buy the GravaStar Venus. You will be paying around $90 for a relatively small speaker, so you want to make sure you get your money’s worth.
When I first got approached about reviewing this speaker, I would not have been surprised if the company cheaped out on speaker quality in favor of the unique design. But to my pleasure, that is definitely not the case.
The sound quality and performance of the GravaStar Venus are right up there with similar options. JBL offers a similar-sized speaker for a little less, but it only features a 5W speaker, so the GravaStar likely sounds much better. And a similarly sized option from Bose will run you an extra $30.
And none of these compatible options even come close to the design of the GravaStar Venus. GravaStar really won big with its sci-fi, spaceship design on this speaker. It really looks cool anywhere and will be a great accessory to add just about anywhere.
If you’re interested in the GravaStar Venus, head over to the GravaStar website to check out the options. The speaker comes in a few different colors and designs starting at $89.95. But if you keep your eyes open, it seems to go on sale for a decent discount pretty often.
Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- Review: Withings Body Cardio smart scale
- The ROCCAT Kone XP is a versatile gaming mouse with tons of customization options
- Review: Tribit XSound Mega – a hefty Bluetooth speaker with powerful sound
- Review: Cooler Master CK721 – a gorgeous, satisfying gaming keyboard
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more. A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.