X-Mini WE Portable NFC Bluetooth Capsule Speaker review
The X-Mini WE is a speaker I saw at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Showcase, and due to the absurd amount of Bluetooth interference and noise there, I was not particularly impressed by what I heard at the time. The company reached out to me afterwards, and I’m glad I gave it a re-listen as this is possibly the most impressive portable mini music system I’ve run across.
So to emphasize that, if you’re attempting to play music via Bluetooth in an enclosed area with 1000 people within throwing distance all with Bluetooth devices blaring away, this probably is not for you.
The X-Mini WE weighs in at almost 1.7 ounces / 48 grams, and is next to unnoticable when you’re considering carrying weight, has a 230mA battery that lasts about six hours on a charge for Bluetooth, and has the standard ranges of about 33 feet depending on your device. I tested to 22 feet, which is the farthest I can test without breaking out the snow plow, there was no Bluetooth distortion at that distance.
The speaker can push 1.5 watts of audio your way, which is not going to bring the party, but will bring your music in pretty much any conditions you’re going to encounter short of sitting next to a freeway waiting for a tire change.
The audio reproduction at lower volumes is decent headset quality sounding – as you crank up the volume, you will pretty quickly realize you’re dealing with a 48 gram speaker. However, considering the absurd portability of this this should not be much of a factor.
X-Mini WE Specs
- 48mm x 40mm
- 48 grams
- 31mm speaker
- 1.5 watt output
- Bluetooth 3w tap to pair NFC, A2DP stereo
- 200hz – 20 kHz freq response
- ≥80db SNR
- ≤0.3% distortion
- Up to six hour playback time, five hours on Bluetooth
- Charges via MicroUSB (no charger included)
- Audio connect via Bluetooth 3.0 or 1/8th” standard headphone audio jack
You can throw this speaker in your pocket if you want, clip it to a lanyard, throw it in a bag, attach it to a baby and make them your pack mule. If you get angry enough, you can also use it as a projectile weapon, although your opponent will probably hear it coming.
This is not my favorite mini portable speaker in the world, that still resides with the original HMDX Jam, however considering this is probably 1/8 the weight and can be reasonably attached to a hat for carrying if you want, this wins hands down in its weight class.
It’s great for camping, picnics, working on a site project, baby music station, chilling somewhere not particularly noisy. It’s not particularly great if the area is noisy as the volume just can’t get up that high with such a small speaker, it’s also not waterproof, and doesn’t have enough power for an all-day speaker, so factor these issues in and you’ll probably be happy with it.
It should also be noted that if you have a bass-heavy DSP such as Beats, you need to disable that or the speaker will start sounding a bit strained.
Paul brings the hate
The one thing I hate about this speaker, and I’ll continue hating this with a passion on all future speakers, is the consistent idiotic blinking blue Bluetooth light. You want to use this in the dark camping, in your tent, or wherever, and you’re going to be a blinking blue disco all night.
Wrap-up
All in all, for the size I love it. As a party speaker, it’s simply not loud enough, but as a camping, just bring my music, play some video games without headphones speaker, it works great.
The X-Mini WE, not to be confused with Mini ME, is currently available from Amazon for $39.99. That’s about $10 higher than I would have expected for it, but that’s not terrible.
