The Xmi X-Mini Max ($59.99 direct) speaker
system, newly revamped with ceramic drivers, tries to do the
impossible: Deliver powerful stereo music output from tiny enclosures.
On this, it doesn't quite succeed. But used within its limits, the
X-Mini Max turns your smartphone or tablet into a surprisingly capable
system for background music listening. It performs exceedingly well given the incredibly tight design constraints, and the distinctive orange ceramic drivers—new for 2013—are exceptional.
Design and Setup
The X-Mini Max system looks unique. Each speaker measures 3.22 by 2.13 inches (HWD), weighs 2.8 ounces, and has a plastic, closed resonator enclosure with a soft-touch coating that feels nice and expensive. In between the two halves of each speaker is a plastic, accordion-like material that compresses and releases with a prominent hiss, as if it were an air pump; you can also lock the two halves together in order to shrink the size further. The speakers feel substantial without being heavy, and each has a hard plastic power switch, the kind with the sharp grooves you may remember from electronics in the 1980s.
The X-Mini Max system looks unique. Each speaker measures 3.22 by 2.13 inches (HWD), weighs 2.8 ounces, and has a plastic, closed resonator enclosure with a soft-touch coating that feels nice and expensive. In between the two halves of each speaker is a plastic, accordion-like material that compresses and releases with a prominent hiss, as if it were an air pump; you can also lock the two halves together in order to shrink the size further. The speakers feel substantial without being heavy, and each has a hard plastic power switch, the kind with the sharp grooves you may remember from electronics in the 1980s.
The cabling system is unique, and a little messy. The main cable
branches out in two places; once to split between USB and a 3.5mm jack
(for charging or listening, respectively), and once to split again
between left and right micro USB connectors, one for each speaker.
Underneath each speaker is an additional wrapped-up 3.5mm wire you can
use for mono listening with just that speaker if you so choose.
In line on the main cable is a small wired remote with a fiddly
volume slider; there's no mic, so you can't use the X-Mini Max as a
speakerphone. A new weighted base helps keep each X-Mini Max speaker
planted, although we found some tracks were still able to get the
speakers dancing on our lab bench. You can also face the two bottoms of
the speakers together; they'll join up, thanks to the magnets inside,
and create a sort of giant maxi-mini speaker. Xmi also includes a small,
cloth pouch with a tie for bundling up both speakers and the cable.
Pack the system inside, and you'll barely notice the pouch in your
travel bag. I even fit them in a coat pocket.
Performance and Conclusions
