REVIEW – I believe that you can never own enough portable Bluetooth speakers. There are so many kinds out there to handle various situations. Don’t get me wrong, I do not wish to annoy my neighbors with loud music from my backyard. I am looking for a great-sounding speaker who can cover my backyard with sound and maintain good music quality. It needs to be at least water-resistant and handle high temperatures. So when the Tronsmart Halo 100 portable party speaker came up for review, I jumped on the chance to see how well it performs.
What is it?
The Tronsmart Halo 100 is a portable speaker that accepts multiple input methods, including Bluetooth. It has lighting effects for that party atmosphere and can be paired with other Tronsmart speakers.
What’s in the box?
- 1 x Halo 100 speaker
- 1 x Aux-in Cable
- 1 x Type-C Cable
- 1 x SoundPulse® Card
- 1 x User Manual
- 1 x Warranty Card
Hardware specs
| Bluetooth Version | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth Profile | HSP / HFP / A2DP /AVRCP |
| Audio Codec | SBC |
| Bluetooth Range | Up to 15m/49ft (open area) |
| IP Rating | IPX6 |
| Output Power | 60W |
| Input Power | 5V/2A, via Type-C port |
| Frequency Range | 40Hz – 20kHz |
| Battery | 7,4V/6000mAh |
| Playtime(Varied by Volume Level & Audio Content) | Up to 18 Hours(LED Off) |
| Charging Time | 5.5 Hours |
| Dimension | 287 x 198x 150mm/11.3 x 7.8 x 5.9inch |
| Weight | 2.72kg/6.0lbs |
Design and features
The Tronsmart Halo 100 is a substantial feeling speaker weighing in at six pounds. It comes with a nice rubber carrying handle. In the front of the speaker, you can see the single tweeter at the top, two mid-range speakers in the middle, and the large base at the bottom.
The back of the speaker has an area for the various inputs into the speaker behind the rubber flap at the bottom.
The bottom of the Tronsmart Halo 100 speaker has four rubber feet that will keep the speaker from moving around on wet surfaces. It also protects the speaker nicely when placing it down on a hard surface.
The rubber-coated control panel is at the top of the speaker. The power button is on the far left side. Working clockwise, you will find:
- Low battery, charging LED light. It glows red when the battery is low and charging.
- SoundPulse EQ button
- Mode Button – press once to switch between inputs – Bluetooth, TF/SD card, USB flash, Aux-in
- Stereo Pairing button
- Light switch – press one time up to 6 times for five light modes plus no lights
- Volume +/ Next Track – hold for two seconds to get the next track
- Play/Pause – press once to play/pause, and press twice to activate voice assistant. When the phone rings, press once to answer/end the call, hold for two seconds to reject a call, and three seconds to disconnect Bluetooth.
- Volume -/Previous Track – hold for two seconds to get the previous track
Behind the rubber flap in the back, you can find the various input ports.
- USB
- USB-C charging port
- Reset hole
- AUX port
- TF/SD card slot
The Tronsmart Halo 100 speaker has five different lighting modes, including no lights at all. The lights will pulse with your music, which is very cool looking. I tried to take pictures of the various colors the lights would show. Note that the tweeter at the very top does not have any light ring around it.
I did take a very short video of the speaker with me cycling through the lights as the music played. The only thing that changes with each light setting is the colors the Tronsmart Halo 100 party speaker will show. All five settings did a good job of highlighting the beat of the music. I had to remove the music due to copyrights, but hopefully, you will get the idea.
Setup
Plugging the USB-C cable to the back of the Tronsmart Halo 100 party speaker and the USB-A side into an adapter let me charge up the speaker. The led light glows red while it is charging. The speaker came with some charge as the speaker was fully charged, and the led light turned off within a couple of hours.
Performance
I freely admit that I am no audiophile. My husband’s job is in music, and he has a very good ear. He thought the Tronsmart Halo 100 party speaker sounded pretty good. It was not as sharp and clear as some Bose speakers we have, but it sounded pretty good for a speaker that should cost around $100. I played everything from 80’s pop, to country, rap, bluegrass, and Audible books. I did find the base a bit intense for Audible books. The speaker was able to get very loud and easily covered the entire pool area in our backyard. I could easily annoy the neighbors should I choose to do so. This speaker has not been released to the US yet, so I don’t have an exact price.
I did a blind test with my husband, and he could not tell the difference in sound when I pressed the SoundPulse EQ button on and off. We tried multiple songs and could not tell the difference. A reviewer I found who reviewed this speaker on YouTube mentioned that you could connect this speaker to the Tronsmart app and adjust the equalizer there. Maybe once you have done that, pressing the EQ button would produce a different sound. I was disappointed to note that there was no mention of using the app in the user manual.
What I like
- Easy setup
- Light display
- Great sound for party music
- Easy to carry handle and IPX7
What I’d change
- If an app supports equalizer settings, please put it in the manual.
- It was a bit ‘bassy’ for audiobooks.
Final thoughts
If you are looking for a good party speaker to handle a small crowd in your home or backyard, the Tronsmart Halo 100 party speaker will do a good job. It has a nice light display that lights up the room in low-light situations. It should be released in the U.S.A. sometime on January 23.
Price: $109.69
Where to buy: Tronsmart and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tronsmart.
