‘Cute and cool’ is how GravaStar sell their Venus Bluetooth speaker. Two words that sum up the diminutive but beefy speaker in a heartbeat.
You may never have heard of GravaStar, but this is a company going places, infusing some fun, mechanical sci-fi aesthetics into the audio space. We’ve recently found their Mars Pro Speaker to be a bit of a stunner, well accompanied by a cracking set of earbuds – the Sirius Pro. The Venus sits below that Mars Pro in GravaStar’s range, and whilst it doesn’t have the wow factor of the bigger, larger sibling, it’s still a neat little addition to the market. ‘Cute and cool’? Damn right.
GravaStar speakers are pretty much unlike any other speaker on the market, and that’s the case with the Venus. A much smaller, much more compact design over the floor-filling Mars Pro, if you’re looking for a Bluetooth option that can sit on your work desk, or by your bedside, this is probably the perfect option.
It looks great. Running the same mechanical lines that GravaStar are fast becoming known for, this little cutey is very much a scaled down Mars Pro. Red, black and detailed with chrome in design – at least the Flame Red one we’ve been hands- and ears-on with, there are other colours: Shadow Black, Elektra and Aurora Green – the zinc alloy spherical situation that unfolds is a well detailed, well configured unit.
It’s heavy – much heavier than its small size would have you believe – weighing in at some 415 grams, but that weight comes about thanks to the components found inside.
We’ll get to those in a little while, but front and centre of the Venus are no less than four buttons, which allow the audio magic to come to the fore. Very much hidden away in the aesthetic design, these cover the most basic of options – on/off, Bluetooth connectivity, volume up and volume down. That’s pretty much it and due to each button being super tactile, it’s a cinch to use.
Of course, this is a Bluetooth speaker though and so for the most part you’ll be looking to work with this one via your mobile – much like we’ve been doing as we’ve utilised Game Pass titles, GameSir’s X2 Pro and Xbox Cloud support – or through your laptop and PC.
Do so and you’ll find some seriously deep audio; audio that can easily cover a range of needs from the bass heavy to the more delicate delights. We’ve not found it to have quite the scape that the buyer Mars Pro does, occasionally muffling out at top ends, but on the whole it does what it needs to. Again, whilst that Mars Pro speaker can easily fill a large room, this one is much more set up for a bedroom or office. It’s more than powerful enough to annoy colleagues or family.
You can take the Venus on the go with you too. Power by an undertrayed USB-C port for when the indoor life suits, take it away from the ties of a cable and the Venus will happily find itself powered by a built-in battery. Chargeable in about an hour or so, the 1500mAh battery will keep the Venus going for many a decent hour – ten promised by GravaStar themselves. With the small size making it perfect for travel, there’s really no reason to go without any audio as you get on with your life. Perhaps the Sirius Pro earbuds are better suited for those times, but this is more than portable enough. Â
This is a speaker rich for party action and that is no more true thanks to the now-standard GravaStar lighting system that comes into play. Covering the front surface in a ring, a hold and press of the two volume buttons lets you cycle through a host of coloured hues – Xbox green, purple, pink, aqua, PlayStation blue and red all ensure this speaker can stand out when it needs to.
When you include the little tripod legs that act as not just stabilisation but also to help the travel of the audio and again you can see why anyone would want a GravaStar speaker as their own little pet toy.
If choice came down to it, the Mars Pro is the much more capable unit from the current GravaStar range, but the little brother, the Venus, is a more than acceptable alternative. In fact, if you’re more interested in something you can take on your travels, this is the one to take with you. And that means it’s a neat little accompaniment to the gaming scene too – at least it is if you can handle the Bluetooth lag that is present. That’s not particularly a GravaStar issue though.
Cute and cool? The GravaStar Venus Bluetooth Speaker certainly is that.Â
Huge thanks go out to GravaStar for providing us with their Venus speaker for review. You can get one for yourself by visiting the official GravaStar site. Expect to pay around about $90.
