Little speakers are getting better at producing quality sound and volume for their size, giving larger speakers a run for their money! The Tronsmart T2 Plus has a punchy sound, good volume, superb bass and the ability to withstand submersion below water for a fairly long time, making it ideal as a shower or backpacking speaker.
Waterproof capability, along with multiple audio options and good pricing makes the T2 Plus speaker a no-brainer, particularly with the solid construction, including soft rubber enclosure along the perimeter with perforated metal mesh back to front.
There is no volume slider or volume knob mechanism on the T2 Plus speaker like seen on the Mega SoundPulse and T6 Plus speakers but you get a superb sound, thanks to a dual 20W speaker setup (10 watts each) and passive radiator that really drives the low frequency bass response.
If you're looking for bigger sound and deeper bass, the Mega SoundPulse speaker is more suited because of the 40W rms output. The T2 Plus ouputs a maximum 20W rms so, it isn't as powerful but if waterproof resistance is important to you, the T2 Plus speaker provides this reassurance in the form of an ipx7 rating that gives the T2 Plus speaker the ability to be fully submersible under a meter of water for approximately 30 minutes.
The T2 Plus speaker weighs 475 grams and measures 18cm long, 5cm wide and 7cm tall so, it's small enough to fit pretty much anywhere you put it. As far as charging, the T2 Plus 3600mAh internal battery takes 3 hours to fully charge despite, the charging speed limitation at 5V/2A; hence the T2 Plus isn't "quick charge" even though it uses usb-c connection. Saying this, the T2 Plus charging speed is still four times quicker than charging via the usb 2.0 port of a computer (and twice as fast as charging via the usb 3.0 port of a computer).
A fully charged battery can power the T2 Plus speaker for up to 24 hours on 50% volume as long as it is connected to a bluetooth 5.0 device (i.e. smartphone). If connected to a bluetooth 4.2 smartphone (or lower bluetooth version), battery life will be lower (approx. 19 hours via bluetooth 4.2).
The bluetooth signal won't be as stable either with older bluetooth versions since the T2 Plus is a bluetooth 5.0 speaker, which also comes with the added benefit of longer wireless range than the standard 10 meters most bluetooth speakers come with. The transmission distance is up to 30 meters in direct line of sight, and approximately 20-25 meters indoors, depending on the thickness of walls.
There are a total of five physical pressable buttons with good resistance so, the buttons can't be pressed by accident when storing the speaker in a backpack. Even if you forget to turn off the T2 Plus speaker, there is automatic power off to save you, which kicks in after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Like most bluetooth speakers, the T2 Plus keeps it nice and simple by incorporating fewer buttons for a clean user control experience. The buttons are located on top of the unit and they all serve multiple functions, including audio playback control, volume control and speakerphone control as long as the T2 Plus speaker is connected to a smartphone.
The built-in mic has good sensitivity for a clear call quality although noise cancellation is not integrated, which probably wouldn't make much sense on a speaker like the T2 Plus, which is designed for outdoor social gatherings.
The Tronsmart T2 Plus speaker doesn't support sbc or aptX codec, only standard a2dp bluetooth, which is plenty good sound for the intended target environment - outdoors. If you want an audiophile like experience, it's best going for the T6 Plus aptX version, which also features a neat physical volume knob.
Speaking of neat features, the T2 Plus speaker also incorporates a metal square ring to hang the speaker high up, as well as integrate two other ways to listen to audio via an audio cable and memory card.
There is a 3.5mm audio output on the back of the unit to connect a 3.5mm male to male aux cable to an audio source like a phone or tablet.
An aux audio cable is included and, so is a usb-a to usb-c charging/data cable to transfer files when connecting the T2 Plus speaker to a computer. The other two connections you see on the back of the T2 Plus speaker are the usb-c port and microSD/TF card slot, which supports up to 32GB capacity. A thick rubber grommet completely seals the connections on the back, making the T2 Plus waterproof
The Tronsmart Element T2 Plus speaker also features pass through charging even in Bluetooth mode so, you can listen to music while the speaker is charging up, which is something you can't do with many speakers. The T6 Plus Upgraded Edition is now available.