Years ago my first experience with a Bluetooth speaker felt a bit like magic.
Music was playing wirelessly from my phone to a small cylindrical speaker, about half the height of a soda can.
I can remember being in a meeting at work and showing everyone how it played music, but its real use was going to be in the conference room as a hands-free speaker for phone calls.
Now, more than a decade later, Bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed lately have improved, both with music playback and taking phone calls.
I’ve been testing the Tronsmart Bang Outdoor Party Speaker ($108.65 from AliExpress), which is one of the larger speakers I’ve come across.
Big Bang?
The Tronsmart Bang’s size is on the large side at 14.2 by 7.2 by 5.9 inches, and its weight is substantial at 6.8 pounds.
It has a built-in handle to make it easy to carry, but this isn’t a speaker you are going to throw in a backpack and carry around in case you need it.
It is large enough to provide music for your backyard barbecue or a pool party or even a trip to the beach. The Bang is IPX6 water resistant, so you can get it wet as long as you have the rubber cover installed over the ports on the back. You don’t want to submerge it.
The integrated handle and heft remind me of a boombox I owned back in high school.
Speakers and controls
The Bang has four speakers inside — two woofers and two tweeters, along with two passive radiators to enhance the bass.
The speakers are all on the front side of the Bang (the side with the control buttons).
The controls are all in a row, and they are covered with black rubber. One gripe: The buttons are labeled with symbols that are molded into the black rubber, which makes them very hard to read unless you shine a bright light on them from just the right angle.
There are buttons for power, music playback, volume, playback source and SoundPulse EQ settings. Most of the buttons have different functions if you press and release or if you press and hold for a few seconds.
Tronsmart app
The Bang has an internal equalizer that can be set for different sound profiles depending on the type of music you are playing.
There are eight equalizer settings, but to change the setting you’ll need to use the free Tronsmart app for iOS or Android.
The app is easy to use. Once you pair the Bang to your phone or tablet, there is a button in the app to connect to the speaker.
Besides changing the equalizer presets, the app shows battery level and the input mode, and it lets you change the color of the Bang’s LED light.
Battery
The Bang has a 10,800 milliamp-hour battery that can play for up to 15 hours at 50% volume with the LED turned off.
The battery recharges in 4.5 hours with an included USB-C cable, but you’ll need to provide your own USB charger.
On the back of the speaker is a USB-A port that can be used to charge your phone or tablet using the Bang’s battery.
Connectivity
There are four ways to play music through the Bang — Bluetooth, aux-in port (3.5mm patch cable included), using a USB flash drive or a microSD card slot.
You change the connection mode using a button on the speaker or through the app.
The Bluetooth range is about 60 feet.
There is also a button on the Bang to invoke Siri, Cortana or Google voice assistants, as long as the speaker is connected to your phone.
Light show
There is an LED light inside the Bang. The light runs the length of the speaker along the bottom and around the ends.
The light has three modes — breathing (the light slowly cycles through seven colors), beats (the lights change with the beat of the music) and off. You can change the mode with a button on the speaker or through the app.
You can also use the app to set the color if you’d like it not to change.
The Bang is a good standalone speaker, but it has a mode called TrueConn that lets the user wirelessly connect up to 100 Bang speakers to all play the same music at the same time.
I only had one Bang to review, so I didn’t get to test this feature.
Conclusions
The Tronsmart Bang sounds really good. I’ve been listening to it all week. The sound is clear and plenty loud, if that’s what you’re after.
I did find it a bit hard to adjust the lowest volume levels. It tends to be either too soft to hear or just a bit too loud with just one press of the volume button. I had to place it across the room to not be overpowered.
This is certainly a speaker that can fill your party — inside or outside — with plenty of sound, and the ability to link multiple Bangs together means you can really crank the sound up, if you need it.
And a note about shipping: If you’re uncomfortable ordering from AliExpress (direct from China), Tronsmart says the speaker should be available on Amazon in April.
Pros: Loud, clear sound. Good app equalizer settings. Big battery. Lots of input options.
Cons: Hard to keep the volume low, and the button labels are hard to read.
Bottom line: This is a perfect speaker for the pool or the backyard.
