Tronsmart Trip Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker Review

Bluetooth speakers come in all manner of shapes, sizes and prices. There’s a very good reason for this: Bluetooth speakers have effectively replaced every kind of music player, and in the 21st Century, they are all you will ever need to play music and radio.

Shopping for the right one is the problem. The question you have to bear in mind when buying speakers is “What are you going to use it for?” And more importantly, “Where?” The answer to this question defines your choice, as speakers are custom-made for different uses. This review takes the Tronsmart Trip, a Bluetooth speaker that is very specific.

The Tronsmart Trip is a Bluetooth travel speaker. It’s designed to be light and portable yet powerful. It’s made to take a few knocks: it’s waterproof and dust-proof up to the IPX7 standard. While it is out of the box a mono speaker, it can team wirelessly with compatible Tronsmart speakers to provide stereo using its SoundPulse technology.

The case is covered in a tough fabric with grey silicone rubber ends, behind one of which there are ports for charging and inputs for external devices that don’t use Bluetooth. On the other end is a very sturdy loop running into the body of the case that is suitable for latching the speaker securely to a rucksack, for example.

The rubber symbols on the top of the unit are the control buttons for volume, Bluetooth, and off and on. On the underside of the unit are two sturdy rubber feet which allow the unit to stand up securely while playing, but it can also be played while lying on its back if you are out in the wild and forgot to bring any tables with you.

The look and feel of this speaker is really robust. It looks like what you’d expect a travel speaker to look like, as it looks tough. The fabric covering of the case has the feel of that sort of ballistic nylon that you get with gun holsters and knives. Everything that’s not tough nylon fabric is rubber. It looks durable and waterproof.

So how waterproof is it? You can submerge IPX7 devices in water fully for 30 minutes without leaks. I would say that’s fully waterproof. The strap out the side just begs to have a carabiner looped through it so you can attach it to your luggage. Obviously, that’s the first thing I did, so although the carabiner looks cool, it’s not part of the package.

But what about the sound? There is one key word that gives you a clue to the sound quality in my description and that is “light.” The unit weighs in at just 328g (0.72 lbs.) and is not in any way something you can describe as heavy. It feels light and good quality in the hand but is lightweight. Travel-wise, that’s good.

The compromise here is bass. While the sound is good quality and the highs and sibilants coming out of the speaker are well defined, the bass is not as fulsome as it would be in a much heavier unit. The bass is there, fully represented, but is not rendered viscerally – not as much whomp as much weightier speakers. “Weight gives bass,” and that never changes.

You have to bear in mind this is an inexpensive speaker, and one meant for travel. Yet the sound is rich and involving, and for the price, really nicely detailed. Also, I have to say it’s very good for a waterproof speaker, as those are generally very poor.

Being waterproof, of course, means it’s an ideal speaker for the bathroom. If you like listening to music in the shower or bath, take this along. Put your phone somewhere dry, or outside the bathroom, and take the speaker in and prop it on the side of the basin if you like. I wouldn’t recommend hanging it under the shower head (which it slightly begs you to do), as I imagine water would clog the speaker holes and impair the sound. But you can have it safely inside a wet room with you, and that’s a good thing.

All things considered, this is one of the best all-weather/terrain speakers I’ve seen so far. While there might be alternatives with more oomph, for the price, I haven’t seen anything better. In fact, the only downside I can come up with is the minor lack of bass, but for the usage, this really shouldn’t deter you. This is a terrific little travel speaker.

The Tronsmart Trip is a marvelous waterproof speaker, which retails for a mere $21.99, at the time of writing. This represents truly excellent value for a waterproof speaker of this quality. It is highly recommended.

Phil South has been writing about tech subjects for over 30 years. Starting out with Your Sinclair magazine in the 80s, and then MacUser and Computer Shopper. He's designed user interfaces for groundbreaking music software, been the technical editor on film making and visual effects books for Elsevier, and helped create the MTE YouTube Channel. He lives and works in South Wales, UK.

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