The Inateck MercuryBox is another low-budget wireless speaker released last year. However, it is not as cheap as some other speakers at this size and it even has the same price tag as the bigger Inateck Marsbox.
So, what make the difference and why would someone buy the speaker? Let’s figure it out in the review.
Unboxing & Sound Test
Design & Features
The Inateck MercuryBox speaker comes with a 4ft audio cable, a 4ft USB charging cable, a protective sleeve, a hand strap and instruction manual. All those accessories can be found in the box and they are very well made.
The speaker itself looks great and feel like a high-quality audio product. The whole unit is made of aluminum with rubber materials covering the top and 2 sides. All buttons are placed on top, here you can see the power button / battery indicator, play / pause button, a multifunction button, volume up / next and volume down / previous button. There is also a microphone on top so you can receive phone calls without touching your phone.
Opening the flap on the right side will reveal the micro USB port, AUX port and reset hole. The design is supposed to make the speaker waterproof. The MercuryBox is waterproof rated IPX5, that means it is protected against low-pressure water jets from any direction.
The speaker has a great build quality and feels very sturdy in my hand. It is also lightweight and compact enough to fit inside my pant pocket. However, the MercuryBox with a black aluminum body obviously doesn’t look as gorgeous as the Inateck Marsbox.
The speaker uses a 1800mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion battery and the battery life is rated at 10-15 hours. However, what I hate about it is that the power saving mode doesn’t work like advertised. The speaker didn’t turn off automatically even I left it there for 20 minutes. This absolutely will drain your battery faster if you forget to turn it off.
Audio Quality
My expectation for this speaker was quite low, especially after some disappointments with its bigger brother, the Inateck Marsbox. However, I was totally surprised after turning it on. I couldn’t believe in my ears as such a beautiful sound could come from the tiny speaker. The sound is bright and I’m impressed the most with the mids. Vocals are clear and my family really enjoyed using it to play some pop tracks, kid music and watch Youtube videos.
Unfortunately, the MercuryBox still has the same issue as other Inateck speakers. There is a lot of distortion when I turn the volume up. The dual 5W drivers are not powerful enough to play bass-heavy tracks smoothly. The speaker sounds good only at moderate volume, so don’t ever think about playing out loud or you will ruin your music experience.
Conclusion
Pros
- Great build quality with waterproof casing
- Long battery life
- Good sound at moderate volume level
Cons
- Looks a little dull
- Distortion is still there
The Inateck MercuryBox is not the best wireless speaker in its class. However, it sounds really outstanding for watching news, sports, movies or listening to some music genres, especially when you don’t crank up the volume.
