GravaStar Mars Pro, the speaker we spoke so highly about remains my main speaker of choice when I am working. So far I haven’t charged it often. I use the speaker for a few hours each day. I may have charged it 5-6 times so far. The battery’s pretty impressive, TBH. Then again, I don’t blast it. It was never my intention to bring the house down.
The charging port is on its belly. This means you will have to flip it over to plug the USB-C cable which some may consider a slight inconvenience – as noted in my review. Thankfully, there is an accessory that will eliminate this small hassle. Folks, meet the GravaStar Mars Pro Charging Base.
I have been wanting to get my hands on one ever since the GravaStar Mars Pro review. So when the opportunity presents itself, I immediately jump on it, and boy, am I glad I did! If you are planning to get one, do check out our take first to decide if this is for you (spoiler alert: it probably is!).
I have been using the GravaStar Mars Pro Charging Base for over a week now. I am glad to announce that I am finally free from the act of flipping it over or tilting it to plug the charging cable. But if I can be honest, that isn’t the highlight. The highlight is the product itself. I akin the GravaStar Mars Pro Charging Base to the display base that sometimes comes with collectible figures. In this case, the “collectible figure” is the Mars Pro.
The Aesthetic
The Mars Pro Charging Base is made of ABS and acrylic but thanks to the expertly applied weathered silver, visually it looked like metal. The lack of the coolness when you touch it and the lack of heft gave it away that isn’t. It is not heavy but it isn’t ridiculously light either. Together with the non-slip pads on the bottom, the charging base isn’t going anywhere as long as the surface is flat.
Aesthetically, it has a circular design with concentric circles center makes it look like some kind of portal. The illusion is broken by the 4-pin magnetic connector. The concentric circles are where you find the RGB lights. RGB lights can also be found 120-degrees apart, along the section that leads to the slot for each of the Mars Pro’s legs. One of these sections is where you find a USB-C port. Naturally, that would be the back.
The Setting Up
The base does require some setting up. First, you need to make sure that when the Mars Pro is over the Charging Base, the legs are adjusted to fit into the slot on the Charging Base. Just place it over it and adjust the articulated legs to fit the respective slots. Then, you will want to plug the included USB-C connector into the Mars Pro’s charging port.
After that, you will need to make sure the speaker’s front is facing away from the aforementioned USB-C port of the Charging Base so that the speaker is facing the front. At this point, the USC-C connector under the Mars Pro would have made the connection with the Charging Base’s magnetic connector.
You may need to adjust the legs further to get a good fit. But you will only have to do that once. Once everything is set, all you need to do is to plug the included USB-C cable into an electrical outlet with a USB power adapter (5V/3A, not supplied).
The Function
So whenever you need to juice the Mars Pro, you can just dock it to the plugged-in Charging Base, or you can choose to have it docked there permanently like I did and unplugged the USB-C cable and only replugging it when you need to charge the speaker. However, if you unplugged the cable, you will not be able to enjoy the light show. Speaking of which, the Charging Base has two buttons seamless integrated into the base’s design. One button lets you switch between single color mode and RGB cycle mode, and another button for changing color in single color mode.
Conclusion
For:
- The cool factor (obviously)
- The convenience of charging
- The RGB light show
Against:
- No provision for sync light on speaker and base
- On the pricey side for a charging base
- Magnetic connector is too strong. Tends to unplug the USB-C connector from the speaker when removing the speaker from the base.
GravaStar Mars Pro, together with the Charging Base, is a new breed in audio equipment. Sure, there have been unique and novel speaker designs but mostly, if not all, never stray far from the convention. GravaStar Mars Pro is not just a novel speaker. It is like a cross between a high-end collectible toy and a boom box. The Charging Base further reaffirms this notion.
It not only excels in audio delivery; it is aesthetically pleasing and it is fun. Together with the Mars Pro Charging Base, it felt like a functional collectible. Seriously, this thing could be amongst my toy collection and some people would be clueless that isn’t part of it. If you own a GravaStar Mars Pro, I recommend you consider getting this US$59.99 (NOT affiliated) accessory.
Disclosure: The product is provided by the respective manufacturer/brand for free. However, it has no bearing or influence on our reviews. The opinions in our reviews are solely our take on the product(s). Our review remains unbiased and it will always be. We will never accept paid reviews.
All images by Mike for Mikeshouts.com.
The post GravaStar Mars Pro Charging Base: The Perfect Mars Pro Companion [Review] appeared first on Shouts.
0 Commentaires