Tronsmart Element Force Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker Review

Where to Buy

Intro

Before I get into the nuts’n’bolts of the product review, take a moment to watch Tronsmart’s promo video of the Force Element Bluetooth speaker. The guy in the leather jacket with a 70’s tash throws some serious shapes! – It’s hard to look that cool from a seated position, so kudos to him for pulling it off.

Tronsmart Element Force – Full Review

The Element Force comes inside a good quality retail box along with a user manual, an auxiliary lead for wired connections and a Type-C charging cable.

You’d think that by now that all Bluetooth speakers would have Type-C charging, but unfortunately, that’s just not the case. So, congratulations to Tronsmart for switching over from the outdated micro USB port. – Let’s hope 2019 is finally the year that Type-C finally becomes the norm.

Design and Build Quality

The Tronsmart Element Force measures 10x5x3 inches (20×6.5×8 cm) and weighs 0.6lbs (1kgs) – about the same size and shape as a house brick. The front and back look very similar. Both sides have a recessed black metal mesh with the ‘Tronsmart’ printed on its face.

The port cover on the rear is designed to provide IPX7 protection, yet still manages to be fairly easy to access. Underneath, there’s the sexy Type-C input, 3.5mm auxiliary output, and a MicroSD slot.

Inserting the SD card is a little fiddly, but I guess you won’t have to do it that often. I put a 64gb card in, loaded up with FLAC music files and it worked perfectly.

On the side of the speaker is a large metal loop, allowing you to clip it to a karabiner or easily attach a lanyard. This makes it ideal for backpacking trips or for dangling it while you’re in the shower.

The Tronsmart Element Force has a total of six buttons. All of which are well protected underneath a rubber surface that wraps around the entire speaker.  Each button has an embossed symbol to identify its function. They’re tactile and responsive when pressed, but are a little difficult to see in low light conditions.

While I do like the rubbery surface I must say it’s a bit of a dust and fluff magnet. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to freshen up by running it under the tap – so no worries there.

During the testing phase, I’ve had the Tronsmart Element force in the shower, I’ve run it under a tap, and fully submerged it in the sink.

For those unfamiliar with IPX-ratings, this speaker will survive for at least 30 minutes fully submerged in water.

Features

• 3 Playback modes – Bluetooth/MicroSD/Auxilary – By pressing the ‘M’ button, you can switch from the default Bluetooth mode to the MicroSD playback. It will also play directly through a 3.5mm auxiliary cable automatically when connected.
• True Stereo Linking – The Tronsmart Element force will link to a second speaker (of the same model) by holding the ‘EQ’ button for 2 seconds. This will give you a left/right channel. While in this mode, the handsfree will only work from the right-side speaker.
• 3 Equaliser settings – By default (LED off) the Element Force will play in ‘Extra Bass’ mode. When you press the ‘EQ’ button it will cycle through ‘standard’ (white) and ‘3D sound mode’ (blue).
• Auto-Off – The Tronsmart Element Force will conveniently switch itself off after 15 minutes of inactivity.
• Handsfree calling –  When a call comes in, the Element Force will switch to call mode. The manual buttons will then allow you to answer or reject the call. It will also read out the number that’s calling.

Tronsmart Force Element Specs

Audio Quality and Performance

The Tronsmart Element force features two 20W ‘SoundPulse’ speaker drivers and dual passive radiators. The volume achieved for its size is impressive and the 3 different equaliser modes offer a good variation to the soundstage. The default equaliser setting (extra bass) sounds rich without being too bass heavy. 3D mode is very spacious and definitely my favourite setting especially when using the speaker outdoors. In contrast, the standard mode sounds a little lacklustre, but I guess it would be ok if you’re looking for some background music while getting on with your work.

The speaker will remember you’re previous sound setting when you turn it back on. – A nice touch that often gets overlooked on other Bluetooth speakers with sounds modes.

I have very little in the way of complaints regarding the overall sound quality of this Bluetooth speaker. The addition of aptX low-latency codecs would have been nice to enhance the sound further and reduce latency delay when watching videos. The audio/video synch is not too bad, but there’s enough of a delay to potentially annoy some.

Verdict

I’m happy to give the Tronsmart Element Force a big thumbs up. It’s durable, fully waterproof, packed with features and offers a good sound quality for its size and price. It’s great to see a Type-C charging port on a Bluetooth speaker along with a robust karabiner attachment point. I’m very tempted to buy a second speaker for the true stereo linking. If I do, I’ll be sure to update this review with details on how they perform as a duo.