I love music, but I’m an audiophile with wine tastes on a beer budget. I’m always on the look out for audio equipment that provides a good value. When I ordered the Inateck MercuryBox I had high hopes. Read on to see how it stacks up.
Inateck MercuryBox overview
The first thing that I noticed about this speaker was the quality of the packaging. I felt that it was something that I would expect to see from a much more expensive speaker. Inside the box was a case, a lanyard and a USB cable and a 3.5mm auxiliary cable.
The speaker itself is fairly compact and portable. It’s about 6 inches long, 1 inch thick, and two inches tall. It’s encased in metal with five lighted and rubber covered buttons on top. You can find a lanyard on one end and your charging and auxiliary ports on the other.
Specs
- Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker (fully backward compatible) with up to 33ft/ 10m Bluetooth signal
- Dual 5-watt precision-tuned drivers
- IPX5 water resistant speaker
- Built-in 1800mAh rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery offers up to 15 hours of play time.
- Built-in high sensitivity Microphone, hands-free telephone calls.
- 3.5mm audio port
Inateck MercuryBox setup
The speaker is easy to setup. First, make sure to fully charge the speaker. Then place the speaker in pairing mode by pressing the Bluetooth button for a few seconds. Finally, search for the speaker from your device and viola, the speaker is ready to go.
Inateck MercuryBox usage
Of course, the first that that I did after pairing my phone was to crank it up. It was here that I found a fairly major problem. When playing audio at the highest volume, certain tones would make the metal casing vibrate. Piano music, in particular, seemed to have this effect. By applying pressure to the metal case, I was able to stop the case from vibrating. I guess it could have been a defect unique to my speaker, but the buyer should at least be aware.
The tiny vibration noise was nonexistent at lower and mid volume levels. The actual sound quality at these levels was actually pretty good. The mid to high range sounds is really where the speaker excels.
One of my favorite features is that it is IPX5 water resistant. That means splash proof, not dunk proof. This makes it ideal for listening to music in the shower. I personally love to listen to podcasts in the morning while I shower and I found that it works great for that.
Another great feature is just how portable the speaker is. Because of its diminutive size, it will fit just about anywhere. A purse, murse, satchel, backpack, or even non-skinny jeans pockets should have more than enough room to store the Inateck MercuryBox.
One thing that I was impressed by was the fit and finish of the speaker. Not only are the materials high quality, but they all come together with a high-end feel. Even the USB and auxiliary and 3.5mm audio cable have a higher end feel to them. They come encased in a gray braided material, which has a much better feel than the more traditional rubber encased cables.
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What we liked
- Small form factor
- Metal casing
- IPX5 water resistant
What could be better
- Bass response
- Vibrations in the metal
4 out of 5 stars
This really turned out to be a great little speaker. The only knock that I can give it is that certain tones resonate with the metal case at louder sound levels. I found that it sits perfectly and handsomely on my desk at work. If you’re looking for a Bluetooth speaker that will look and sound good, but you don’t need to crank it up to the maximum volume levels, then I recommend that you consider this speaker. It normally runs $99.99, but you can pick it up for $45.99 on Amazon with free shipping for Amazon Prime members.
