Before the Inateck MarsBox, I had never really been impressed by a Bluetooth speaker. Now, it’s important to note that I’m notoriously cheap, so there are plenty of Bluetooth speakers on the market that would have impressed me before the Inateck, but nothing I’ve experienced within the price range.
The MarsBox is a high-definition stereo Bluetooth speaker, and it’s obvious the difference, even compared to its own sibling speaker, the MercuryBox. The sounds coming from the MarsBox are deeper, fuller, and more like what I’m accustomed to hearing from wired speakers.
Appearance
The MarsBox is bigger than its little sibling, the MercuryBox. Almost twice as big. Most of the speaker is a matte black with a red grille and buttons. When on, there is a small blue LED inside the grill to let you know. My sole complaint with the appearance of this speaker is that LED. When on, it’s bright enough to be a nuisance in a dark room. When using it for white noise one night of the test, I was forced to turn the speaker away from me to prevent the LED from bothering me.
Unlike the MercuryBox, the power switch is on the back of the MarsBox, causing there to only be 4 buttons on the top of this model. Those are: play/pause, phone, and the dual purpose buttons that either switch tracks (short press) or change volume (long press).
Functionality
This is where the MarsBox really shines. When they claim that it’s dual-channel high-definition audio, they aren’t kidding. Anything I’ve listened to on the MarsBox has sounded the equal of most headphones and speakers I’ve had. I can’t compare it to higher-end names like Bose, due to a lack of experience (remember, I’m cheap), but the sounds quality far surpasses every other Bluetooth speaker I’ve personally listened to.
On top of that, the MarsBox has an impressive battery life. The manufacturer has that number listed as 10-15 hours of play time and, although I didn’t time it, that number seems accurate from my experiences. Like the MercuryBox, it came with fabric-covered cables (red to match) but, likely due to its larger size, did not come with a travel bag.
Conclusion
The MarsBox has, in a very short period of time, become a core part of my home audio system. Whenever I’m making food in the kitchen, or spending time upstairs or in the basement away from my computer and stereo system, the MarsBox has been my companion.
If you’re in the market for a new Bluetooth speaker, I highly suggest and MarsBox, and now is a good time to buy. Until this coming Sunday (9/20), Inateck is offering an additional $14 off the price of the speaker with the promo code M2X85QRZ, bringing it from the current price of $59.99 to $45.99.
Additionally, if you’re in the market for a waterproof speaker, the MercuryBox that I reviewed previously is also on sale for $6 off with the promo code MJVLL7RV, bringing it to $42.99.
