4.6ReviewsTech

Tronsmart Mirtune S100 Review: A JBL Challenger in Disguise?

Nick Papanikolopoulos

June 13, 2025

The Breakdown

4.6

9.2

Value for money

9.2

Quality

9.2

Sound

9.2

Battery

9.2

Let’s be honest, it’s easy to write off the Tronsmart Mirtune S100 just by looking at it. I almost did. Another black rectangle with some flashy lights? The market is swimming in them. But after giving it a real-world test drive for a few days—cranking tunes in the kitchen, taking it outside on a blustery afternoon, and yes, even bringing it into the bathroom—I wasn’t irritated. In fact, I was starting to warm up to it.

More than I thought I would. Maybe more than I ought to.

Out of the Box, No Surprises. Or, Actually, One.

Inside the box, you’ll find the standard fare: a USB-C cable for charging, a quick start guide, and the warranty info. One thing was missing, though: an AUX cable. Tronsmart used to include these, but not anymore. I guess it’s a cost-saving measure, or they’re just confident everyone’s gone fully wireless. I didn’t actually need one, but its absence was noted.

I will say this: the packaging is purely functional. There are no frills here. It feels like what you paid for—a piece of affordable equipment that’s punching above its weight.

Looks Like a Smaller Bang Max, But Doesn’t Feel Like One

Tronsmart has a habit of iterating on its own designs, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The S100 clearly takes cues from the larger Bang Max, with its rounded body, fabric mesh, and LED rings on the passive radiators. But imagine that, scaled down and with a clever retractable silicone handle. The final product feels incredibly practical.

And that handle? It’s a smart design choice. It lays flush with the body, so it won’t snag on things in your bag, and it keeps the speaker from looking like a piece of camping gear. In terms of weight, it comes in at around 1.3 kg, which is about the same as a big bottle of soda. It’s got some heft, but it’s still perfectly portable.

The speaker itself feels solid. The plastics are tough, the fabric is pulled taut, and there’s no creaking or flexing you might find in cheaper models. As for the lights—they’re surprisingly subtle. Calling them “classy” might be a stretch, but they aren’t obnoxious. They’re muted in the daytime and add a nice ambient glow at night.

Button Layout, Connectivity, and Why I Still Use MicroSD Cards

All the controls are exactly where you’d expect them to be. You have power, Bluetooth pairing (which also initiates TWS mode), the SoundPulse button, a battery indicator, and the volume/track controls. The buttons have a satisfying click to them instead of feeling mushy, which is a definite plus.

On the back, a thick rubber flap protects the ports: a USB-C for charging, a USB-A for using the speaker as a power bank, an AUX input, and—to my surprise—a microSD card slot. I had to test that last one out of sheer nostalgia. I dug up an old 32GB card from a decade-old camera, loaded it with some MP3s, and it worked flawlessly.

I can’t imagine many people will use this feature, but just knowing it’s there is a nice little bonus. It’s like finding a hidden, perfectly sized pocket inside a new jacket.

Bluetooth 5.3, SoundPulse, and That App You’ll Use Once

The connection is solid. Bluetooth 5.3 does its job, keeping the signal stable even when I walked to the other side of my apartment, leaving my phone behind. I didn’t experience any frustrating dropouts or stutters.

There is a companion app, of course. The Tronsmart software (for Android and iOS) allows for basic EQ adjustments and lets you toggle the SoundPulse DSP. It’s serviceable, but you won’t be spending much time in it. I dialed back the bass a little to make podcasts sound less boomy and then pretty much never opened it again. The app is also how you’d get firmware updates, though none were available when I was testing.

Tronsmart Mirtune S100 Battery Life: Honest Numbers, Mostly

Tronsmart’s marketing claims up to 20 hours of playtime. That might be possible in a perfect lab setting with the volume at a whisper and the LEDs turned off. But that’s not how people listen to music.

In my real-world testing, I got closer to 15 hours of mixed usage—streaming over Bluetooth at about 60% volume with the lights on periodically. That’s a respectable figure. It’s not going to set any records, but it’s more than enough for a full day of listening.

The 4000mAh battery can also act as a power bank. I gave it a shot and managed to charge my phone from about 30% to 70% before the speaker gave out. It’s a useful feature in an emergency, but don’t count on it to power both devices for an entire day.

And the Sound? It’s… A Lot.

Alright, this is the part that genuinely caught me off guard.

When you’re close to it—within a couple of feet—the bass has a physical presence. You can see the passive radiators on the sides visibly pulsing with the music, yet the sound remains clear and doesn’t distort into a muddy mess.

Vocals come through with surprising clarity. The mids are present and do their job; they aren’t richly detailed, but they’re far from hollow. Thanks to the dedicated tweeters, the treble is crisp and clean, which you can really hear in acoustic music and pop songs. It also makes podcasts sound great, though I did find myself using the EQ to tame some of the boominess in deeper male voices.

What about distortion? It’s minimal. If you push the volume past 90%, you’ll start to hear some fuzz creep in, especially on complex, layered tracks. But at that volume, you’re likely in a noisy environment where you won’t notice subtle imperfections anyway.

One minor quirk I noticed is a very faint hiss when connected via Bluetooth and no audio is playing. The silence isn’t perfectly black. It’s a tiny, almost inaudible layer of static. Some people might not even notice it, but if you’re listening in a quiet room, it’s there.

A Weird Picnic, a Test, and Some Curious Looks

I brought the S100 to a small get-together in the park, mostly just for some background music. After a few songs, someone asked me if it was a JBL speaker. I laughed and told them it was a Tronsmart. The skeptical look I got in return was priceless. I can’t blame them; the sound projects much further than its size would suggest, and the design has a certain premium look.

Later, we paired it with a second S100 using the TWS feature. The process was painless and took less than a minute. The result was immediate and impressive. With true stereo separation, the music felt wider and more immersive. It was like having a legitimate mini sound system. For a backyard party, two of these would be more than enough.

Tronsmart Mirtune S100: An Honest, Impressive Surprise

The Tronsmart Mirtune S100 isn’t without its flaws. The LEDs could be brighter, the faint Bluetooth hiss is a minor annoyance, and the battery life is good but not great.

But when you consider the sound quality you’re getting for the price, it’s a phenomenal value. For well under $80, you get a speaker that is loud, clear, and balanced, with features like TWS, a power bank mode, and app support. I went in expecting an average, forgettable speaker, and I came away genuinely impressed.

Will it satisfy a discerning audiophile? Absolutely not. But for everyday use—on a kitchen counter, at the park, or in the living room—it does its job, and it does it surprisingly well. Sometimes, that’s everything you need.

You can buy Mirtune S100 here

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