Unique Bluetooth Speaker You Can Hang Anywhere

Gravastar Supernova

If you want a unique-looking speaker, the Gravastar Supernova is what you're looking for. It combines Gravastar's trademark sci-fi style with good battery life, and a decent audio package, and makes for a tidy all-around Bluetooth speaker option.

• Bluetooth Connectivity?: 5.3
• Input Type: Bluetooth, 3.5mm jack
• Brand: Gravastar
• Power: 30W
• Colors: Black, white
• Buttons: Power, volume, lights, Bluetooth
• Battery: Up to nine hours

• Awesome, unique style
• Good sound quality
• Good battery life
• Excellent Bluetooth connection

• Takes long time to charge
• Design can affect sound
• Light could be brighter

Whenever new Gravastar hardware hits the market, it's worth seeing what they've been up to. Gravastar's sci-fi designs always bring something unique and outlandish to the table, and its newest Bluetooth speaker, the Gravastar Supernova, is no different.

Standing proudly on its trio of robotic-spider-like legs, the Gravastar Supernova combines the company's audio expertise with an RGB lamp to create another eye-catching Bluetooth speaker.

Gravastar Supernova Style

Gravastar's products follow a strong design principle. You can instantly spot a Gravastar speaker (or earbuds!), which is no small feat in a world filled with Bluetooth speakers in every shape and size.

The Gravastar Supernova stands on three spider-robot legs, whose feet you can fold in to reduce its height (or keep them out of the way when you hang the speaker—more on this in a moment). Sitting above the legs is the speaker housing, which projects audio straight down onto any surface you stand the Supernova on.

Then, above that is the integrated LED lamp, housed in a plastic cylinder that allows the three light modes to shine through. It's an exciting design and one that you won't find elsewhere. The housing is roughly 88mm in diameter, and the entire unit stands 285mm tall.

The package is protected with a zinc alloy that should protect it from some drops and shocks, though the plastic housing of the speaker, the feet, and the LED's casing might not be as shock absorbent as the metal. However, dropping the Supernova from height wasn't something I was prepared to do.

I found the LED light somewhat akin to the brain of the Gravastar Supernova, pulsating and changing while your music plays. There are three light modes: dynamic, single color (with eight options), and a camping light mode that attempts to imitate the crackling colors of a campfire.

The pulsating dynamic mode is the best of the three, ebbing and flowing through the Supernova's colors, including the LED strip on each foot. The campfire lighting mode is okay, but the main issue with all of the lighting modes is a lack of overall brightness. In a darkened room, the Supernova's lights shine bright, but even on a gloomy, grey day in the UK, the lights don't make a huge amount of difference.

You Can Hang the Gravastar Supernova

Now, on the rear metal column of the Supernova are two small screw holes. These are for the included hanging kit, which allows you to turn the Supernova into a hanging speaker. The hanger looks similar to a claw and easily attaches to the Supernova frame using the supplied screws. Hanging up a speaker of this weight and style does feel a little strange, though on reflection, 1kg isn't all that much for a well-made Bluetooth speaker, and the hanger itself is well-made.

Gravastar Supernova Battery Life

The Gravastar Supernova packs a decent 3,350mAh battery, which Gravastar says will deliver up to nine hours of playback while listening at 60% volume. During testing, when the Gravastar Supernova was sitting in my kitchen as the go-to family Bluetooth speaker, it lasted a little longer than that as the volume regularly remained low. Switch the lighting effect off, and you'll squueze even more battery out of the Supernova.

One issue with the Supernova is the charge time. The Gravastar Supernova takes around three hours to reach a full charge and doesn't have a fast charge function as far as I could discern. I like how the speaker turns red while charging, then switches back to your last light mode when you hit full capacity, but the three hours to reach a full battery is time-consuming.

There is the option to buy Gravastar's Alpha65 GaN charger (65W), which should boost your charging time, but it's $60 extra on the price of the Supernova.

Gravastar Supernova Connectivity

You can connect to the Gravastar Supernova using Bluetooth or a 3.5mm jack, the latter of which is always nice to see on a predominately wireless-focused speaker.

The Supernova uses Bluetooth 5.3, the latest version of Bluetooth at the time of review, and connects to your device fast and easily. It also easily reconnects your last connected device, too, the Supernova declaring "Bluetooth connected" in a booming voice.

You have a choice between the SBC and AAC Bluetooth audio codecs, but no high-resolution audio is on offer. But it's also not a speaker built for high-res audio, so you won't miss the extra options.

You can also connect two Gravastar Supernova speakers together to create a stereo sound, which is a neat trick. I didn't receive two review units (understandably!), so haven't had the chance to try this feature.

Gravastar Supernova Sound Quality

My previous experiences with Gravastar Bluetooth speakers have been great. The similarly dystopian Mars Pro delivered excellent sound, while the smaller Gravastar Venus packs a considerable punch.

However, the Gravastar Supernova doesn't quite hit the same heights as the Gravastar Mars Pro, despite pushing out 30W versus the Mars Pro's 20W. The additional power contributes to a wonderfully loud speaker that will fill any space you put it in (within reason, of course), but the additional power hasn't been spent refining the sound definition of the Supernova.

Once you begin to crank the volume up, the considerable noise begins to muddy the low end. The further you push the volume dial, the more definition you lose.

When operating at a more reasonable volume, the Gravastar Supernova sounds good. Not brilliant, mind, but still decent enough that it'll do a grand job for a backyard BBQ, out on the beach for an afternoon, or in your garage while getting on with some DIY.

Part of the issue facing the Supernova is its design. The futuristic spider-robot is cool, and I love Gravastar's aesthetic, but as the Supernova projects its audio straight down, the audio bounces straight off of whatever surface you set the speaker on. At times, that gives you more bass and a fuller sound; at others, it just makes it sound overwhelming and muddied, the audio reflecting straight back to where it is broadcast from.

Hanging the Gravastar Supernova gives the downward-facing drivers more space to breathe and changes the audio profile. It seems a little cleaner and crisper without bouncing off of a surface.

With all of that said, the Gravastar Supernova works well with most music genres. Our family listening taste is fairly eclectic, and its position in the kitchen meant the Supernova got a good workout with almost everything you can imagine. If you keep the volume reasonable, you'll enjoy the Supernova just as I have.

Should You Buy the Gravastar Supernova?

The Gravastar Supernova retails for $179.95, which does put it into the pricier range of Bluetooth speakers.

If you want a unique speaker, the Gravastar Supernova is just what you're looking for. It looks like no other Bluetooth speaker on the market (bar Gravastar's own designs), and the addition of a color-changing light to bring the speaker to life helps kick it up a notch.

I'd like to see a slightly longer battery life and definitely faster charging time in a future model, but the overall Gravastar Supernova package delivers enough quality and style to make it worth your while.

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