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Groov-e’s Wave Glow Bluetooth speaker has a lot going for it, but sadly sound quality isn’t on the list

1:00 am | August 20, 2025

Groov-e Wave Glow: two-minute review

The Groov-e Wave Glow is a very affordable portable speaker and one with sound quality to match that price tag. Yes, this is one that will infuriate the ears of audiophiles sounding somewhat tinny at times and slightly lacking any oomph across the course of my listening.

On the other hand, it has some funky looking lights which I found rather endearing, a comfy to grip strap, and some surprising ways to connect it to your music. Besides Bluetooth, you can also plug in a USB flash drive, slot in a TF card (both admittedly with a tight 64GB limit), and there’s an aux port. It’s not often you see these features in a tiny speaker any more. Granted, not everyone will need these but if you do, well, your options are limited making this more tempting.

Of course, don’t count on it rivalling the best Bluetooth speakers. This is a decidedly cheap speaker. It feels a little cheap to the touch and there’s that dodgy sound quality. I say dodgy; it’s reminiscent of buying a cheap radio or speaker years ago, before good speakers were affordable for the masses. It’s not hideous, exactly, but it’s also fairly ‘blah’.

Away from that disappointing audio quality, the Groov-e Wave Glow has some chunky, tactile buttons for play/pause, volume, and adjusting the lights, and the ports are all hidden behind a pull-out protective shell. Then there’s the lights up top and down bottom, and the elastic strap.

The Groov-e Wave Glow is priced at £23.99 and at the moment is only seemingly available in the UK, but that would make it under $35, or around AU$50. For that price, it’d be silly to expect too much, but if you can stretch further, you will find better options – more on those later. If money is that tight, however, or you’re looking for a cheap gift, the Groov-e Wave Glow still has some appeal.

Groov-e Wave Glow outside on tarmac, with a lawn in the background — (Image credit: Future)

Groov-e Wave Glow review: price and release date

Released May 2025
£23.99 at launch
Limited availability

The Groov-e Wave Glow was launched in May 2025 and is currently available to buy in the UK. It’s already seen some modest discounts but is generally available for £23.99.

That makes it one of the cheaper speakers around. The recently released Tribit Stormbox Mini Plus is close but is still usually priced at £39.99. If you’re able to increase your budget to that, there are a few other options like the JBL Go 4, but few as cheap as this one.

Groov-e Wave Glow review: specs

Weight	645g
Dimensions	13.7 x 8 x 7.5 cm
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3, aux-in, USB-C (charging)
Battery life	8 hours (quoted)
Speaker drivers	10W
Waterproofing	n/a

Groov-e Wave Glow review: features

AUX port, microSD slot, and USB flash drive support
LED lights
8-hour battery life

The Groov-e Wave Glow is a fairly typical looking little Bluetooth speaker but with some surprising features. The highlight is its plethora of connections. Sure, you’ll be mostly using its Bluetooth connection, but it has other options. You can use its aux port to connect to other devices (and the speaker actually comes with a 3.5mm jack), while next to it is a TF (read: microSD) card slot, and the USB connection allows you to plug in a USB flash drive. Admittedly, both microSD and USB have a limitation of 64GB so you might have to search around for a compatible option, but it could be that specific situation that fits you perfectly.

There are no mics for speakerphone duties (although few speakers seem to offer that, these days) and battery life is a very unremarkable 8 hours. I’d have liked to have seen more here, especially as it takes 2 hours for a full recharge. Its Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity works fine and I had no issues using it with my iPhone 14 Pro but there were occasional dropouts on my PC – usually when I moved the speaker around.

Elsewhere, the LED lights are my favorite thing about the Groov-e Wave Glow. They visually bounce away while playing music and look suitably vibrant and exciting. They’re potentially more exciting than the audio quality, but I’ll get to that. It’s a neat touch either way and makes up for the lack of app support and thus in-app customization.

Features score: 4/5

Groov-e Wave Glow review: sound quality

10W
Tinny sound
Weak bass

I didn’t expect much of the Groov-e Wave Glow but I have to be honest, it actually sounded a little worse than anticipated. It’s functional, of course, but pretty tinny at times. There’s no bass to speak of, but my word, do the lights try to atone for that. You're encouraged to feel like it’s doing its best, happily bouncing along. However, it’s pretty tame stuff.

Listening to spoken word – a podcast or YouTube video, say – is fine, but when you switch over to your favorite music, the limitations are much more noticeable. The volume can go pretty high, but that weakens the experience even more. I went for my cheesy favorite, Robbie William’s Let Me Entertain You to start, knowing exactly how it’s meant to sound and there was no urgency or strength in the mids.

I went bold then and loaded up some Muse and sighed as it sounded somewhat pitiful. The soundstage is weak but more importantly, the bass and general ambience is underwhelming.

Sound quality score: 2/5

Groov-e Wave Glow review: design

Comfy elasticated strap
Tactile buttons
Well hidden ports

The Groov-e Wave Glow is certainly exactly how you expect a speaker to look, but there are a few highlights. I’m a big fan of its buttons being attractive but tactile too, so anyone with visual impairments can find what they’re wanting to press. There are buttons for play/pause, volume, and for toggling the lights on or off.

There’s a chunky section for the ports too which blends in well and feels suitably snug. On another side is the strap which is elasticated but held in quite tightly. The idea is that you can easily hold it through the strap but also attach it to something like a hook. It feels nice in your hands which is the main thing here.

As with other similar speakers, the Groov-e Wave Glow is pretty lightweight to carry around. Up top and down the bottom is the lighting so you can place the Groov-e Wave Glow sideways as well as upright.

What lets it down in this section – and why not go higher than four stars? Well, any discussion on the design has to include the audio architecture under the hood, and as you'll know if you've read this far, this area is where the Wave Glow struggles. Also, unusually for a speaker in 2025, there's no mention of an IP rating for water or dust ingress – so it won't be joining the ranks of our best waterproof speakers buying guide any time soon.

Design score: 4/5

Groov-e Wave Glow review: value

Very cheap
Sturdy design
Useful for a specific situation

The Groov-e Wave Glow is certainly cheap but its sound quality demonstrates exactly why it’s so cheap. Having said that, the aux port, USB flash drive support, and TF card slot could make it exactly what you’ve been looking for. For those people, there’s not much else to rival the Groov-e Wave Glow at this price.

However, if you’re looking for good audio, it’s a smart move to spend a little more on the JBL Go range or something from Anker Soundcore. The Groov-e Wave Glow definitely isn’t the best choice for music lovers, but it is super cheap and for many, that's the priority.

Value score: 3/5

Should I buy the Groov-e Wave Glow?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	No app, but there are a few notable extras not on other models	4/5
Sound quality	The weakest element by far when considering the Wave Glow: tinny and lacking in low end	2/5
Design	Useful straps, fun lights and tactile buttons	4/5
Value	It's cheap, but given the sound quality, spending less doesn't always mean value	3/5

Buy it if...

You want extra connectivity options
Many speakers still retain an aux port but TF and USB flash drive support? That’s what potentially makes the Groov-e Wave Glow your dream option. Only you know what you need most.

You want something for the summer
Just need a short term solution? The Groov-e Wave Glow is cheap, easy to get hold of, and does the job. Just about.

You’re on a tight budget
If money is very tight and you need a speaker, the Groov-e Wave Glow is an impulse buy kind of price.

Don't buy it if...

You’re an audiophile
It’s been a while since I’ve heard something as underwhelming as the Groov-e Wave Glow which is a tragic shame, but true.

You want something to last all day
The Groov-e Wave Glow only has 8 hours of battery life which means it won’t last a busy day hiking or out and about. There are other cheap options with better battery life.

You want waterproofing
The Groov-e Wave Glow doesn’t confirm its waterproofing and while its ports are neatly hidden away, we wouldn’t trust it immersed in water. Go for something with guaranteed IPX7 waterproofing if you plan on heading to the pool.

Groov-e Wave Glow review: also consider

	Groov-e Wave Glow	Tribit Stormbox Mini Plus	JBL Clip 5
Price	£23.99; limited availability in other markets	$39.99 / £32 / AU$65 (approx.)	$79.95 / £59.99 / AU$89.95
Weight	645g	545g	285g
Dimensions	13.7 x 8 x 7.5 cm	90.9 x 90.9 x 118.9 mm	86 x 134.5 x 46 mm
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3, aux-in, USB-C (charging)	Bluetooth 5.4 (SBC, AAC codecs), AUX-in, USB-C (charging)	Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C (charging)
Battery life	8 hours (quoted)	12 hours (quoted)	Up to 12 hours
Speaker drivers	10W (dimensions not stated)	48mm	Integrated class D digital amplifiers x 1
Waterproofing	n/a	IPX7	IP67

JBL Clip 5
If you can stretch that budget, buy the JBL Clip 5. It’s perfect for outdoor use while also sounding great for the price. There’s plenty of detail and bass here with an adjustable EQ and an ideal strap for carrying.
Read our full JBL Clip 5 review View Deal

Tribit Stormbox Mini Plus
A little more expensive but guaranteeing good waterproofing, the Tribit Stormbox Mini Plus could still sound better but it’s otherwise a robust option at a very affordable price.
Read our full Tribit Stormbox Mini Plus review

Groov-e Wave Glow review: how I tested

Tested over 14 days
Used with Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Twitch
15 years of audio equipment reviewing experience

I used the Groov-e Wave Glow across 14 days in a wide range of ways. I connected it to my PC initially and listened to Spotify, Apple Music and Twitch using that as a source device, then moved to my iPhone 14 Pro.

That meant a solid mixture of spoken audio and also music. My music taste is fairly varied so it went from Robbie Williams to Muse to Chet Baker to various pieces of classical music. I also checked how good battery life appeared to be and monitored how long it took to recharge.

I have 15 years of experience testing audio equipment, specialising in portable, affordable products just like the Groov-e Wave Glow.

First reviewed: August 2025
Read more about how we test

Creative’s new otherworldly desktop speakers belong on an alien spaceship – and they’re so good, I’d abduct them

7:00 pm | March 26, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Hi-Fi Speakers | Tags: AUX, PC, USB | Comments: Off

Creative Pebble Nova: One-minute review

Like any decent work of art, the new Creative Pebble Nova will mean different things to different people. TechRadar's audio editor Becky Scarrott said they looked like Magic 8-Balls, or lawn bowls with audio credentials – and she meant that as high praise. My partner thought they looked like an overly-elaborate microphone set up. I saw them more as delightful flotsam from an alien spacecraft, which had found its way to my desk.

However you look at it, the Pebble Nova speakers are a novel-looking new audio set-up fitting to strut their way onto our list of the best desktop speakers (and possibly even the best stereo speakers) on fashion chops alone.

The proposition doesn't need to rely on its good looks to get by, though. These speakers sound great, with defined bass, a high max volume and selection of enhancement features that make a marked difference to the norm for the money. They're elevated from your desk to create a much more immersive surround-sound effect and use coaxial drivers to refine the audio they deliver.

You'll find, though, that they cost a fair amount of aforementioned money. As the newest in Creative's line of affordable Pebble computer speakers, you'd think they might adhere to the affordable end of the market, but they're fairly premium in price. Not bank-breaking, but definitely enough to think twice about.

Maybe not twice actually, perhaps thrice. The Pebble Nova take a fair amount of set-up, with Creative channeling its inner Ikea with how much construction is needed. They also require a fair bit of space due to their design, so you'll need to make sure your desk is relatively large and uncluttered for them.

All that said, if you do decide you have the space, money and patience for them, the Creative Pebble Nova are a great set of computer speakers, regardless of what kind of audio you need them to play.

Creative Pebble Nova review: Price and release date

The Creative Pebble Nova on a brown table, connected to a green laptop. — (Image credit: Future)

Announced in December 2024
Mid-range at $279.99 / £239.99 / AU$499.95

The Creative Pebble Nova were released in December 2024, as the latest entry in Creative’s Pebble line-up of desktop speakers. They are, by a significant margin, the most expensive.

You can pick up the Creative Pebble Nova for $279.99 / £239.99 / AU$499.95 (although fair warning: they’re out of stock in several of the regions I checked). That ain’t cheap, especially when you consider that the next most expensive members of the Pebble family, the Pebble X, cost $89.99 / £84.99 / AU$169.95.

At that price, there’s no doubt that these are premium speakers. There are only a few entries on our list of the best computer speakers that cost more, although admittedly those cost a lot more, so if you want premium speakers but don’t want to hand over your life savings for them, these could be a good option.

As audiophiles will know, though, you can spend a lot more on high-spec speakers, up to ten times as much.

Creative Pebble Nova review: Specs

Creative Pebble Nova review: Features

USB, Bluetooth and AUX connections
Creative App brings ways to customize audio
Acoustic Engine brings some useful features

The Creative Pebble Nova offer three ways to connect to your chosen device. First up is with a 3.5mm jack, which will let you play music but won’t let you customize it via the Creative App (more on that later). Second is Bluetooth, with the Nova supporting Bluetooth 5.3 to various devices including phones, computers and games consoles. Thirdly is with USB, which is what I did for the majority of this review. In the box is a USB-C to USB-C cable but if, like me, your PC only has USB-A ports, you can buy cheap adaptors online.

If you connect via Bluetooth or USB, the Creative App (available on mobile and PC) is a no-brainer. It offers the ability to change the Nova’s LED lighting effects, an equalizer along with loads of presets, the ability to switch which of the speakers is the left and right one and the promisingly-titled Acoustic Engine.

Take my advice: when you first set up the Pebble Nova, go to the Acoustic Engine page and turn everything on. It includes features like audio upscaling, dialogue enhancement and virtual surround-sound, all of which have marked improvements on the way the speakers sound. I regret that I was already weeks into the testing process before I bothered to open this page!

Features score: 4.5/5

Creative Pebble Nova review: Design

Bowling balls on stalks
Takes up lots of space
Time-consuming set-up process

How do you describe the design of the Creative Pebble Nova? Are they eyeballs on stalks? Alien command consoles? Magic 8-Balls? If you’re able, check out the review pictures because they’ll do better justice to the odd look of the Nova than my Creative Writing degree ever could. If you can’t see them, then… they’re basically giant spheres, held up from a circular base by a thin dowel.

It’s certainly a unique look taking the spherical-ish looks of other Pebble devices and literally elevating it. But it has a second advantage: the speakers themselves are higher than computer speakers generally are, which means ‘surround sound’ audio actually does surround you, as it’s at ear level (with the 45-degree point of the speakers also helping).

You can pick the Novas up in black, as you see in the images, and in a chic white-and-bronze model too.

I can see this design being a bit divisive but I didn’t mind it (I also spent lots of the review period with them hidden by my second screen). However there are two issues too.

Firstly, these take up a lot of space. Said space is at a premium when it comes to the desk upon which I use my desktop computer, and I found it quite hard to accommodate the Pebble Nova given the dimensions of both the speakers and my London apartment – it’s why the images accompanying this review are of my laptop, because my desk was too cluttered with the Creatives on it!

The second thing to note is that the Pebble Nova take quite a bit of setting up: not only do you need to go through all the usual cable rigamarole of desktop speakers, but you also have to attach the dowels to the stands and those to the speakers. This was admittedly easier than your average Ikea project, but it still took a little while to accomplish (I should note, you don’t have to elevate the speakers if you don’t want, and can attach them straight to a stand).

On the primary– ‘orb’? – you get several ports: the USB-C power delivery port, another USB-C port to connect to your computer, and the 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as the cable which runs to the other speaker. You also get a range of buttons for volume, power, connection and more.

The speakers have LED lights which you can program using the app, although they’re not huge or bright and I didn’t really notice them during everyday PC use.

Design score: 4/5

Creative Pebble Nova review: Sound quality

1-inch driver + 3-inch woofer
Exuberant, clear bass and mids
Unnecessarily-high max volume

Each of the Creative Pebble Nova speakers packs both a 1-inch tweeter with a 3-inch woofer in a coaxial set-up.

I'm used to PC speakers being good for certain tasks and struggling with other ones (a set-up that's great for music might struggle for the range of sounds needed for gaming, or be poorly-tuned for YouTube videos, for example) but I was pleasantly surprised at how the Creative was a jack of all trades.

I say 'pleasantly surprised' because it wasn't necessarily expected. The presence of a woofer gives away that the Pebble Nova has a distinctly energetic sound profile, with plentiful bass. However these lower tones are well-defined and clear, instead of being overpowering and thumping like some bassy speakers can be.

This meant I could enjoy different kinds of music but then could listen to spoken-word audio without low voices having an unnatural rumble to them, an issue I've faced before.

Treble is a little less bright than it could be, but I quickly fixed this in the Creative App with some quick equalizer tweaking.

The Creative Pebble Nova is great for the kind of sound stage or surround-sound audio that really benefits immersive gaming. This is because the elevated height of the speaker poles, plus their being angled upwards at 45 degrees, means that audio is a lot closer to ear-level than your standard desktop speakers.

The result is a marked improvement in immersion: the tweeting of birds, the sound of wind in trees, the repeated taunting of a dangerous bandit I was unsuccessfully trying to run away from, all felt well-placed around me during gaming sessions. The effect was definitely more pronounced than on other desktop speakers I've tried, which sit lower than your ear level.

According to Creative, the Pebble Nova has a whopping 100W power output for high volumes. Since I have neighbors, I didn't test quite how loud it goes, but it definitely reached (and could easily exceed) my needs. Why you'd need incredibly-loud speakers for your desktop, presumably within half a meter of you, isn't quite clear, but it means that they can double as general party speakers if you prefer.

Sound quality: 4.5/5

Creative Pebble Nova review: Value

Not a viable option for people on a tight budget
Other Pebbles may appeal to money-conscious buyers

While the overall Pebble line of Creative desktop speakers is known for offering great value for money, that's naturally less true of the Nova, as premium equipment always offers incremental returns for the price.

The Nova are good, but you're paying for it, as they're not cheap (at least, by Creative standards, although you can easily find countless pricier alternatives). They're not poor value for money, but they're not as much an obvious bargain as other Pebbles. That said, if I had the expendable income, I'd buy them – so take from that what you will.

Value: 4/5

Should I buy the Creative Pebble Nova?

Buy them if…

You like the look of them
Fan of the way the Novas look? Then you should go for them, as you'll be hard-pressed to find anything quite as distinctive.

You're particular about your audio
The Creative app's equalizer, and Acoustic Engine options, will let picky listeners fine-tune the way the speakers sound more so than some rivals.

Don’t buy them if…

You think they look silly
If you prefer your desktop speakers to speak only through the drivers instead of the fashion statement, you best check out other options.

You've got limited space
I have a medium-sized desk and I had to remove some decorations to fit the Pebble Nova, so if you're short on desk real estate, these might not fit.

Creative Pebble Nova review: Also consider

Creative Pebble Plus
There are plenty of cheaper Creative Pebble desktop speakers on the market including the Plus, which we said will give you "more than your money’s worth".

See our full Creative Pebble Plus review

Vigilant Audio SwitchOne
Of the two options in our best desktop speakers round-up that have a similar price to the Pebbles, the Vigilants are the most recent. They have a pretty 'standard' design but sound great to listen to.

See our full Vigilant Audio SwitchOne review

How I tested the Creative Pebble Nova

Tested for one month
Tested at home connected to phone and windows PC

The testing process of the Creative Pebble Nova was over a month.

For most of that time, I tested the Nova alongside my Windows desktop PC, with the speakers on my desk. I also tested it paired via Bluetooth to my phone and, for a short while, connected to my Windows laptop (as pictured).

I used my PC as normal during the month which includes my day job, various other types of work, watching TV shows and YouTube videos, streaming lots of music and playing video games.

I have over six years' experience testing gadgets for TechRadar which includes other desktop speakers, audio products (including from Creative) and other types of tech.

First reviewed in March 2025

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Review: Sonoro Go London

4:37 pm | September 25, 2012

Author: admin | Category: Gadgets | Tags: AUX, DAB, LCD | Comments: None