stereoguide.com
  • Home
  • Bluetooth Speakers
    • Home/Indoor
    • Mobile/Outdoor
    • Stereo Speaker Sets
    • Bluetooth Speaker Ranking
  • Headphones
    • In-Ears
    • On-Ear/Over-Ear
    • Noise-Cancelling
    • True Wireless
    • Headphones Ranking
  • Hi-Fi
    • WIFI Onebox
    • WIFI Stereo
    • Soundbars
    • Hi-Fi Ranking
  • Car-Hi-Fi
    • Car Hi-Fi reviews
    • Car-Hi-Fi reports
    • Car Hi-Fi Ranking
  • Guides
    • Buying Guides
    • Technology
    • Acoustics
    • Streaming
  • About us
    • Our approach
    • About us
  • English
stereoguide.com
  • Home
  • Bluetooth Speakers
    • Home/Indoor
    • Mobile/Outdoor
    • Stereo Speaker Sets
    • Bluetooth Speaker Ranking
  • Headphones
    • In-Ears
    • On-Ear/Over-Ear
    • Noise-Cancelling
    • True Wireless
    • Headphones Ranking
  • Hi-Fi
    • WIFI Onebox
    • WIFI Stereo
    • Soundbars
    • Hi-Fi Ranking
  • Car-Hi-Fi
    • Car Hi-Fi reviews
    • Car-Hi-Fi reports
    • Car Hi-Fi Ranking
  • Guides
    • Buying Guides
    • Technology
    • Acoustics
    • Streaming
  • About us
    • Our approach
    • About us
  • English
stereoguide.com
Home » Bluetooth Speakers » Mobile/Outdoor » Tronsmart Halo 100 review
Mobile/Outdoor

Tronsmart Halo 100 review

The smile it takes: maxi bass for a mini price plus facial expressions
Stefan SchickedanzBy Stefan Schickedanz30. January 2023
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Review: Tronsmart Halo 100 Bluetooth-Party-Box.
With its light effects, the Tronsmart Halo 100 is reminiscent of a comic book head. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)

STEREO GUIDE verdict

84%
84%
Best buy

+ naturally balanced sound
+ rich, deep, differentiated bass
+ carry strap
+ well designed and marked controls
- Not everyone agrees with its design
- between tracks you might hear audible noise

buy at Amazon*
  • Sound: tonal balance / transparency
    7.0
  • Sound: Bass / Dynamics
    7.7
  • Ease-of-use / Connectivity
    9.4
  • Price / Performance
    9.7

Tronsmart´s latest Halo 100 offers pretty similar dimensions as its cousin Bang Mini, which appeared to be a mixed bag in our review. But while the latter seems to be kind of a compact boombox, the Halo 100 is more of a portable party speaker on a carry strap combining Bluetooth playback with a more serious lighting console.

Okay, it admittingly looks a bit cute and funny standing upright with its three illuminated rings around woofer and midrange drivers. We felt a bit reminded of a 1990ies´ toy robot. For people who might feel uncomfortable having a “gadget with face expression” staring at them, the Halo 100 may not be the first choice.

On the other hand, the specs are pretty promising: a serious18 hours of battery life, 3-way stereo system, 60 watts of total amp power, compound driver – that´s what is making party people really wanting to check the Halo 100´s capabilities in real life beach sound reinforcement. By the way, a similar version called Halo 110 is available adding karaoke functions.

Three ways but just one tweeter

At 2.7 kilograms, it’s no lightweight, but it’s easy to get from A to P (like party) on the carry strap. The water ingress protection suitable for any purpose at IPX6 rating, but it does neither offer certified dust nor sand protection.

The driver conecpt is somewhat unusual to say the least. The specs show an electronic 3way crossover plus 2-channel circuitry distributing a total of 60 watts to 4 drivers. While a monaural bass offering a whopping 12 centimeters of an active plus 16 centimeters of passive driver, we were quite suprised to find a monaural tweeter as well. So solely the midrange provided by two rather compact 2″ cone drivers forming the ´eye´ of the face could provide a stereo image to a certain degree. We would not expect too much in terms of ambience as both drivers are positioned quite close to each other on the baffle. However, those who want to invest in two Halo 100 unit might be really happy to know that they can form a true stereo pair without even using the app.

Bluetooth and much more

Music playback is offered via latest Bluetooth 5.3, analogue AUX input, flashcard slot (simply micro SD) or USB storage. The USB-A for the latter also provides a powerbank function and runs independently of the USB-C, which is where the power supply should be connected. Consider us impressed: That´s a really versatile concept, especially since it allows multihosting keeping two Bluetooth sources connected at the same time.

Getting used to all the options takes a bit of time as there are quite many. The ´M´ key does not represent a short cut to murder, but means source selection, keeping in mind that AUX is a prioritized input as soon as there is such a signal. Lighting console and EQ can be activated using the unmistakable keys. For playback control, voice assistant and answering phone calls, however, you have to memorize quite a variety of double-clicks, long-clicks and short-clicks until you really master the Halo 100.

Tronsmart Halo 100 Bluetooth party box review. Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Exemplary large, perfectly placed and unmistakable buttons for volume, playback control, EQ preset and lighting console. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart Halo 100 Bluetooth party box review. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
The Tronsmart Halo 100 has a foldable carry strap, making it easy to bring it to its party location. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)

Lighting console and app

The battery life is 18 hours. Theoretically, with all lighting effects turned off. If you want some fancy shmancy disco feeling from one of the 5 patters, battery life is eaten up considerably quicker. We did not find any official specs about how quick. But we noticed that it is pretty heavily decreasing the battery life.

The Tronsmart app for iOS and Android comes free of charge offering some personalization of the EQ. Furthermore, you can use it to pair two Halo 100s or do it without. Not a bad idea as you shouldn’t expect anything like ambience or imaging from a single unit despite a significant number of drivers. When launching it for the first time, we were requested to upload firmware version 1.2.2 showing a satisfying maturity of the software.

Tronsmart App with Tronsmart Halo 100 reviewed. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart app in the field test. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart App with Tronsmart Halo 100 reviewed. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart App with Tronsmart Halo 100 in practice test. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart app in the field test. (Photo: Tronsmart app in the field test. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
Tronsmart app in the field test. (Photo: Tronsmart app in the field test. (Photo: Stefan Schickedanz)
The Tronsmart app allows you to install latest firmware and control key functions including recalling numerous EQ presets. (Photos: Stefan Schickedanz)

The moment of truth: Tronsmart Halo 100´s sound quality

Even if traditional audiophiles might start listening to the Tronsmart with a certain degree of skepticism due to its rather toyish look: it is a pretty natural and decent speaker. We found voices being reproduced with clarity and distinct, sounding unexpectedly natural at the same time. That said, offering some shiny treble revealing just a hint of harshness when being compared to more expensive competitors,it is already a pretty strong performance in this class, nothing more to ask for. Even more surprising: Even SPL close to the call did not reveal any hint of strained or aggressive tonality. The icing on the cake in this price range is surely its tight, rich bass punch. It is surely reaching deeper than most of tiny portable speakers even taking the big names like Bose, Sony or JBL into consideration.

Cheap thrill

With this rich, clean punch we found it to be satisfying for any genre of music, not just hip hop. If you are into classic rock you might find the acoustic drum solo in “Africa” (Toto XX) surprisingly energetic given the price range. Okay, there is a natural limit from an audiophile perspective when focussing on the background choir, sounding somewhat strained here. So if you are simply looking for fun listening you might find the Tronsmart Halo 100 punching not just one but rather two or three classes above its weight.

Want even more bass and drive? Check the Sound Pulse mode or select “Deep Bass” as an EQ preset in the app. Bass will become even richer and at the same time might milden up a bit of the slight treble harshness.

Conclusion and alternatives

As a clear alternative to the well-known brands, Tronsmart Halo 100´ is likely to appear on many wish lists. The sound quality it delivers should put the fear of God into its direct competitors. After all, the Bose Soundlink Micro offers a typical tiny Bluetooth speakers for a similiar amount of bucks. And it is pretty limited by the laws of physics.

In contrary to Tronsmart´s Bang Mini , which was meant for party people as well but did not deliver a convincing performance in terms of sound quality, Tronsmart has hit the bull’s eye (or the gadget´s eyes) this tim. If your budget is a bit higher, you might want to consider the Dockin D Fine 2: It comes with its own power supply..

Technical data Tronsmart Halo 100

check at Amazon*
  • Retail price: approx. 110 dollars/pounds/euros
  • Dimensions (W x H x D ): 20 x 28,5 x 15 cm
  • Weight: 2.7 kg
  • Battery life up to 18 hours (with lighting console deactivated)
  • Features: AUX input, IPX6 water protection, stereo pairing, multi-coloured LED lighting console.
  • More at: www.tronsmart.com
  • Tronsmart T7 Mini review
  • Tronsmart T7 review
  • Ikea Vappeby review

For links on this page STEREO GUIDE may receive a commission from the dealer – for example for the links marked with *.

Stefan Schickedanz, STEREO GUIDE
Stefan Schickedanz

The founder of STEREO GUIDE has been testing for over three decades as a hi-fi expert for print and online magazines such as AUDIO, VIDEO, stereoplay and LowBeats. In addition to cultivated music playback, he likes fast cars - including classic cars - with rich sound. He also reports regularly on this topic, not least on this platform.

Related Posts

Yamaha WS-B1A review

Bluetooth mini box from Yamaha targets B&O and Marshall

Yamaha WS-B1A review

JBL Pulse 5 review

Fascinated by light: The lamp that also wants to impress with its sound

JBL Pulse 5 review

Tribit Stormbox Blast review

The Blast & the Furious: Plenty of party power for less than 200 dollars

Tribit Stormbox Blast review

JBL Boombox 3 review

The party classic still grooves impressively in 3rd generation

JBL Boombox 3 review

Most Popular

Bose Solo 5 TV Sound System review

Decent, affordable mini soundbar for better dialog intelligibility

Bose Solo 5 TV Sound System review

The Bose Solo 5 TV sound system has been a cheap solution to flat screen sound problems for years. How does it perform in the test?

Sonos Move review

Enter the age of hybrid - a speaker for home and garden!

Sonos Move review

8.3

Marshall Emberton 2 review

Rich sound from a tiny Bluetooth box

Marshall Emberton 2 review

8.0

Sony SRS-XB33 review

With or without light: battery lasts longer than the party

Sony SRS-XB33 review

8.0

JBL Boombox 3 review

The party classic still grooves impressively in 3rd generation

JBL Boombox 3 review

9.0
Latest Articles

Yamaha WS-B1A review

Bluetooth mini box from Yamaha targets B&O and Marshall

Yamaha WS-B1A review

The Yamaha WS-B1A is one of the fanciest mini Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever tested. But how does the B&O rival sound?

Sonos S1 vs S2: Which app for which device?

Everything about the compatibility of the apps with both Sonos generations

Sonos S1 vs S2: Which app for which device?

Sonos S1 vs S2 App. Can you use both at the same time? Which app do I need for what? We provide answers for all users of older Sonos devices.

JBL Pulse 5 review

Fascinated by light: The lamp that also wants to impress with its sound

JBL Pulse 5 review

The JBL Pulse 5 scored with great light effects, good operation and app in the review. Sonically, however, his concept takes a certain toll.

Tribit Stormbox Blast review

The Blast & the Furious: Plenty of party power for less than 200 dollars

Tribit Stormbox Blast review

The Tribit Stormbox Blast is a heavy device for its price range. In review, it heated us up with powerful bass and a light show.

JBL Boombox 3 review

The party classic still grooves impressively in 3rd generation

JBL Boombox 3 review

The JBL Boombox 3 proved stamina and tight power play in the review. At the same time, the party box can be not only loud, but also cultured.

STEREO GUIDE – The Hi-Fi Magazine
STEREO GUIDE – The Hi-Fi Magazine

Here on STEREO GUIDE – the online hi-fi-magazine – you will find profound and independent coverage on bluetooth speakers, headphones, home-hifi gear and in-car entertainment reviewed by experienced journalists. Our authors have one thing in common: expertise and a lot of listening experience both in terms of live concerts and state-of-the-art audio systems.

  • Home
  • Data protection
  • Imprint
© 2023 Stereo Guide

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Manage cookie consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and service.
Functional Always active
Technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the lawful purpose of enabling the use of a particular service expressly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a message over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access used solely for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, the voluntary consent of your Internet service provider, or additional records from third parties, the information stored or accessed for this purpose alone generally cannot be used to identify you.
Marketing
Technical storage or access is necessary to create user profiles, to send advertisements, or to track the user on a website or across multiple websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Settings
{title} {title} {title}