WhatGear

View Original

Gravastar SuperNova - An Out Of This WORLD Bluetooth Speaker!

So if you like to party all night and some of the day, then you need a perfect dance partner. And it could be this futuristic bit of kit, the Gravastar Supernova.  It's got a 3" full-range driver & half-inch tweeter with 25 watts of power, Bluetooth 5.3 & three unique light patterns, which turn the Gravastar Supernova into a space-aged musical Lantern.

So the question is. If your wallet feels light like mine, is it worth the money? 

Well, at the end of this review, It would be fantastic if you could tell me what you think. I do read all the comments.


What's Gravastar SuperNova Comes With 

At launch, the Gravastar retails at 179 dollars, and if you preorder, you may get the most futuristic Disney Pixar-looking power bricks I've ever seen. It's a 65-watt GAN charger with additional charging ports. 

In the box are the manual, the charging cable and an auxiliary cable for more retro audio tech and HiFi DAC. And an attachable carry handle which doubles up as a sturdy hook. So if you want to defy gravity, hang it up somewhere.


Look & feel 

Now the design speaks for itself. I think it's fair to say if you turn up to a park, the beach, or a galaxy far, far away with the Supernova in hand, you'll turn a few heads. And when you turn it up and start the light show, you might open a few eyes.

Most of the frame of this arachnid audio device is constructed of a strong zinc alloy, which makes it light and sturdy. The casing around the base and the legs is ABS plastic, designed to have a Sci-Fi mechanical look.

This one is the Dawn white there is also a Matt black version available. The legs are adjustable and have three fixed positions. Folded in, half un-folded and all the way out. This means it can be adjusted to stand firmly even on uneven surfaces.

And these legs are essential because the 3" full-range woofer is at its base. And the legs help provide the necessary clearance for those low frequencies to travel further. And the tweeter can be found on the front, just below the Gravastar logo. It's easy to miss as it's well hidden within The SuperNova's stormtrooper casing. 

The USB C charging port and the analogue input are opposite. And there is some print to remind you of the name and to be cool. And this casing around the built-in LED lights has a smokey glass look; however, it is durable plastic. If it were glass, it would make it too fragile. It does look fantastic, and when it's playing, if you touch it, it feels like it helps radiate the sound.

And at the top, you'll find four buttons. Power at the centre, volume up and down and a LED light button to toggle through the 7 available light patterns. And while we are talking about power, the Gravastar SuperNova has a 3350mAh battery built-in which can power the device and the LEDs for 9 at 60% volume. But now is not the time to save power. 

Now it's time for the sound test. Throw on your headphones and tune at 05:00 in the video above.


Sound quality

Ok, so listen here carefully. Regarding maximum volume, the Supernova is loud enough for most people. Whilst listening to the Supernova from around 2 meters away, the maximum comfortable volume level for me was around 65 percent. 

So it overperforms in the loudness department & there is room to step it up.

I did take this outside to test at full volume to see how the sound travels & honestly, it pleasantly surprised me. Even maxed out, the sound is clean, and it carries nicely.

One thing to note is that due to the cylindrical shape of Gravastar Supernova, you could easily mistake it for a 360 speaker; however, the clarity is obviously so much better when the tweeter is facing you. And when it is, the details in the music are crisp and not too overly sharp. Vocals stand out and are not muddied by the mid-range frequencies.

Bass performance is also good, given the size of the Supernova. You hear thuds, and it adds enough enjoyable depth to the music. 

The DSP onboard has been nicely tuned by Gravastar, and it makes good use of the 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response, and it sounds excellent across all Genres, but it's definitely geared more towards more modern types of music.

The codecs supported here are AAC and SBC, which are perfectly suited to the frequency response here.


Charger Promo

Now something to consider with the SuperNova is that whilst it does ship with the 1 meter USB C cable. There isn't a power brick in the box. That's why if you like what you see here. You should grab one quickly using the link below this video because you'll get one of these, the Gravastar Alpha 65W GaN fast charger. 

Not only does it look like a mechanical bunny ornament when not in use. When you pull out the pins and plug it in, it has LED lights for EYEs. And three power delivery ports A USB C with 65Watts, another USB C 20Watts and a USB A 18Watts. And it does have adjustable ears and legs.


Personal opinion 

Here's what I think if you want to make a sound investment in a portable speaker. You could go for something more traditional...or you could stand out from the crowd and get yourself a Sci-Fi robotic nuclear spider with a portable speaker. And it sounds great for the money. And check this out if you convince a friend of yours to also buy one. You can pair up for stereo separation and double the power.