Tronsmart Groove 2. Picture: Noel Campion.

Despite the recent heatwave, we live in a country where rain is a guarantee. I’ve been testing a small portable speaker that packs a serious amount of audio power into a rugged and waterproof construction.

The Tronsmart Groove 2 is packed into a very small octagon-shaped speaker (106 x 106 x 60mm) with a rubberised outer shell. Despite its diminutive size, it weighs a hefty 480g.

In front, we have the main speaker unit protected with a mesh speaker grill with hard plastic protection around it. Surround the speaker grill is an octagonal RGB light stripe which adds colour to the otherwise black speaker.

At the back is a passive radiator that moves in and out when audio is played and this dramatically, improves bass response. Also on the back is a rubber flap that protects the USB-C port for charging, a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm AUX-in port.

The play/pause button, which also serves as the mode button to switch between Bluetooth mode and micro SD card mode, is located at the top. Because this speaker contains a microphone, you may also use the play/pause button to accept, reject, and redial calls. By pushing and holding the volume up and down keys for a brief period of time, you may also use them to fast-forward and skip tracks.

On one of the corners, there’s a place to attach the included hook that can be used to hang the speaker on a tree branch or whatever.

Pairing is quick and painless thanks to the latest Bluetooth 5.3. I also didn’t have any connection issues or dropouts.

The Groove 2 supports the Tronsmart True Wireless Stereo mode. This allows you to wirelessly connect two Groove 2 speakers together to create a stereo pair of speakers — one speaker becomes the left and the other automatically, becomes the right.

The power button is multifunctional — a double tap will cause it to enter TWS mode and a single press will toggle through the three lighting effects — on the fourth press, the lights will turn off.

Battery performance is an impressive 18 hours with the lights off but this drops dramatically to only six hours with the lighting effects on.

It’s great to see an IPX7 waterproof rating which not only means it can withstand a few drops of rain but it will still work if you submerge it in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Groove 2 features a passive radiator design, which in essence enables the speaker to boost the low-end frequencies without the use of any additional electronic components in addition to the main speaker unit. It’s impressive that this generates adequate bass even for a device of this size.

The overall sound quality is excellent, with very clear mids and highs in addition to the bass. This compact speaker is loud enough to fill a small to medium-sized room without any problems, and it doesn't significantly distort at higher volumes.

The Tronsmart Groove 2 has a great build quality, design and overall sound quality thanks to its passive radiator feature.

It’s a great speaker for those who are active and need a speaker that is portable, robust and waterproof.

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