Gadget of the week: Mini speakers with maximum appeal

Published on Wednesday 13 May 2009 15:03

It's pretty tri-cky to make portable speakers exciting, and especially difficult to make them sound good.

Xmi, the manufacturer of the X-mini II Capsule Speaker, think they've come up with the solution. Just like an accordion filling up with air, the X-mini speakers feature a Bass Xpansion System – twist the casing and the speakers slowly expand. The speakers increase in height by about a third, making the bass response more impressive. It sounds a bit like Louis Armstrong's voice coming out of Dolly Parton's body. If such an image is a bit shocking, it's nothing compared to the surprise I got when I turned the X-mini speaker on. Sure, my expectations weren't particularly high: my previous recollection of sonic performance from similarly ickle speakers was more akin to a troupe of singing gerbils.

With a new 40mm speaker driver, the X-mini II delivered a punchy, vibrant sound with a healthy serving of bass – an astounding sound considering its size. While a lonely X-mini II will provide a personal sonic blanket of listening pleasure, it struggled to fill an entire room. With such a problem in mind, the manufacturer promotes an ethos of promiscuity among the X-mini speakers. With their "buddy jack" design, a series of X-mini speakers can be daisy-chained together. One X-mini speaker is perfect for personal listening pleasure, two X-minis to fill a room; a threesome for a party, and six to wake up the neighbours. The best bit of all is the price – at a penny short of 20, the X-mini II makes a funky gift with a difference. With a built-in rechargeable battery that is said to last 11 hours and a standard 3.5mm mini-jack, the X-mini II is a little sonic bundle of joy that can't wait to grow up and show you what it can do.

n The X-mini II Capsule Speaker is available for 19.99 from a variety of retailers including www.amazon.co.uk and Advanced MP3 Players, Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh. For more information, visit www.x-mini.com