Groov-e Wave Spark Review

Design

• The reduced party speaker looks
• Solid feel and construction
• The ports and controls on the bottom feel confusing

Between this Wave Spark and the beefier Wave Glow models offered by Groov-e, there isn’t much to choose between them in terms of looks. This is a small, dark, Bluetooth speaker that sounds like someone dropped off a party speaker, like the Tribit Stormbox Lava.

The brand says it’s about the same size as a regular 330ml can of Coke, and I’d say that’s about right. It’s definitely small enough to carry easily between your parties, and it even comes with a rubber carry handle to make life that much easier.

The general build quality of the Wave Spark is excellent, and there’s a nice heft to it when picked up. And I don’t mind the red accents on the edges of its cylindrical shape to give it a pop of color.

There is a rubberised base on the bottom to keep it stable so it doesn’t move too much when in use. Oddly, though, it’s in this rubberized area where you’ll find the on-board controls for the speakers’ power, volume, music playback and Bluetooth pairing, meaning you have to turn the speaker around every time you want to adjust. This sounds like a simple oversight.

No doubt due to its IPX6 water resistance, the ports on the Wave Spark are hidden behind a rubberized port door.

To be fair to the Groov-e, it’s a great choice for a cheap speaker, with USB-C for charging, 3.5mm for wired use, and USB-A and a TF card for connecting a drive with music stored locally. The size limit is 64GB, but it’s still optional if you don’t want to faff with Bluetooth for whatever reason.

Features

• Simple Bluetooth connection
• It is water resistant
• Disappointing battery life

For wireless connectivity, the Wave Spark uses Bluetooth 5.3, and I had little trouble pairing and stability. Connecting it to my Honor Magic V3 for streaming via Tidal or Plexamp was no problem, as the speaker appeared in my pairing menu and connected on tap.

The IPX6 water resistance here means that this Groov-e speaker can handle water well, which means it should be fine with splashes. The lack of high quality, as found in rival speakers, means it won’t be fun to submerge for a while.

Codec support is pretty basic with AAC and SBC, though I wouldn’t expect much more at the cheap end of the scale. You will have to pay more to get any kind of aptX or LDAC.

The Wave Spark supports TWS pairing, so you can grab another speaker and have a stereo pairing for more sound for parties, outdoor gatherings and the like. This speaker doesn’t have multi-point connectivity, however, so if you want to pair a different device, you’ll need to turn off this speaker and reconnect every time.

In addition to being more innovative than the original, this speaker also has LED lights that can light up in sync with the music you’re listening to, for an added mood. It works as well as you can imagine, with its synchronization based on simple musical elements.

The Wave Spark has a 1200mAh battery inside, which Groov-e claims will give the speaker up to six hours of use. Against competitors from Tribit and others, this feels very lacking as you will get a few times the runtime from the opponents. A full charge will take several hours.

Sound Quality

• Flat sound profile
• Bare bass
• It can be very small sometimes

As much as the Wave Spark is an affordable speaker, there should still be some expectations for the sound quality, especially when competitors can offer an enjoyable listening experience that suits the party atmosphere well.

Unfortunately, this Groov-e speaker didn’t leave me feeling like its name. When flipping through the classic Sledgehammer from Peter Gabriel, I found this speaker to sound hollow, the bass lacking much in the way of punch or power. In addition, I found that the backing vocals of the song sounded muffled when I pushed the volume too high.

Moving on to October Road from James Taylor, Wave Spark’s sound feels smaller, with warm vocals, guitar work and percussion all seeming to fit into a tight space. As a result, the general detail and clarity of the vocals and the mids of the song sounded muddy.

The limited sound of the Wave Spark was also demonstrated when I browsed George Benson’s Give Me The Night, which felt that the song’s bright and rich vocal sound behind it sounded limited by the size of the speaker itself. Clarity here was better, but I was left disappointed with the flat sound signature.

On Steely Dan’s Do It Again, the strumming of the song’s intro lacks precision and a stinging sensation to my ears, I feel comfortable. The bass also sounded like an afterthought rather than part of the song.

As for Nosedive from Wolf Alice, the rolling drums in the song’s intro didn’t have the energy I was expecting, and felt really laid back in the mix. In some areas, the stiffness of the cymbals also contributed to the Wave Spark sounding too thin.

The problem is that without an app or any kind of EQ adjustment, you’re stuck with this sound. Some cheap Bluetooth speakers may come with an app where you can try to improve the EQ as much as possible for better sound.

Should you buy it?