Skip to main content

Think $50 can’t buy great sound from a Bluetooth speaker? Think again.

A lot of new companies have entered the consumer tech market in recent years with the ever increasing popularity of wearable and mobile technology. While Inateck’s a relative newcomer on the scene, this German based company already has quite an extensive line of mobile products, including audio accessories like headphones and Bluetooth speakers, in its portfolio. Inateck released several models of compact dual-driver Bluetooth speakers in 2015 including the MarsBox: a retro-style, rectangular block shaped speaker with a minimalist design and affordable price tag that has audio quality that’s actually pretty good. The speaker comes bundled with braided nylon microUSB and 3.5mm audio cables that follow the speaker’s black and red color scheme. Not only do the cables feel more durable than your typical black rubber ones, but they also demonstrate the company’s attention to aesthetic and quality.

The speaker has two 40mm, 5-watt drivers that get pretty loud and put out enough sound to fill a room: perfect for parties and outdoor gatherings. The plastic body is wrapped in a matte rubber that’s soft and silky to the touch but scratch-resistant, although it also tends to pick up fingerprints pretty readily. Overall, the unit feels durable, is lightweight, and travels well.

Related Videos

The speaker has standard features like a 3.5mm Aux input, microphone for hands-free phone calls, and rechargeable battery that’ll last you 9-15 hours of playback time thanks to its use of the power efficient Bluetooth 4.0 protocol. As a nice bonus feature, it also has a built-in FM receiver, so even if you don’t have another device handy, you can still listen to your favorite music stations or tune into a game. Since the speaker doesn’t have an antenna, you’ll need to be in an area with good reception for a clear FM signal, and unfortunately there isn’t an LCD display to show you what channel you’re on. However, the radio mode has an auto-scan function that will pick up any stations around you and save them to memory, so you can quickly cycle through them later using the skip track keys.

The sound on this speaker is accurate and leans towards the brighter side with a bit of extension in the upper midrange which helps provide better clarity and finer detail than what you’d expect find with a speaker in the $50 price range. The bass is present but not particularly heavy which may not suit some listeners. If you want fuller sound, it helps to sit the speaker on a hard, flat surface for better resonance. As technology continues to improve, we’ll likely see a lot more speakers like this one delivering good sound quality at affordable prices in the future. For now, though, if you want to carry your party music around with you for a very reasonable price, the MarsBox might just be what you’re looking for.

Buy on Amazon

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kicker’s new outdoor speakers bring 360 sound and great battery life
Kicker Bullfrog speakers

At last week's Outdoor Retailer gear convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, car and home audio manufacturer Kicker took the wraps off a pair of new Bluetooth speakers designed specifically for use in the outdoors. The two new devices join the company's existing Bullfrog BF400 speaker, delivering smaller, more portable versions of that rugged product, while still managing to offer the same level of high-quality sound and impressive performance.

The two new speakers include the BF100 -- the smallest in the Bullfrog line -- and the BF200, which fits squarely between its two siblings in terms of size and features. Both units are built to be rugged enough to survive in the outdoors, offering plenty of protection from dust, sand, and water. In fact, Kicker says the BF100 can be submerged in up to one meter of water for as long as 30 minutes and still continue to work just fine. The speaker will even float in a pool, lake, or stream, making it easy to retrieve should it fall into the water.

Read more
This Bluetooth speaker can stand on its own three feet
mellow speaker bluetooth mellowspeakerfeat

This is one speaker that can really hold its own. Quite literally.

Meet Mellow, a speaker that is also a table, and a very attractive one at that. This unique Bluetooth speaker gives you seven hours of uninterrupted playing time, and also boasts a range of 10 meters, so you can have it play your favorite tunes even if you're not sitting at the table. So whether you want to jazz up your next party or just add another speaker to the mix for your movie night, Mellow can probably help.

Read more
Monster’s Ravebox isn’t just a Bluetooth speaker, it’s a party in a box
monster ravebox boombox style bluetooth speaker 1

Unless you’ve got a serious stereo setup and you’re partying at your own home, Bluetooth speakers have become the default source of tunes for any last-minute shindig. While any adequately large Bluetooth speaker can provide your tunes, Monster’s Ravebox – part of its Blaster line of boombox-style speakers – can provide a colorful light show at the same time.

“When we introduced our original Monster Blaster last year, our goal was to reimagine the classic '80s boombox for the modern era, with high-wattage bidirectional sound for a new level of portable party audio," head monster Noel Lee said in a statement.

Read more