I’m back with another quick review for you, of a decent little product. Most MP3 players don’t have speakers and most phones has inadequate speakers so what’s a person to do? One thing you can do is get a set of external speakers like the X3i Micro Mobile Speakers that I have for review today. These speakers are small and portable, portability is important I think when it comes to devices like this as surely you’ll take them with you. Sound quality is important as well and these are pretty good and they’re very loud, much louder than you’d expect from such small speakers. Overall they’re perfect for what they need to do, but they do have one small flaw I think…
The X3i speaker comes in clear plastic box.
Once you unpack everything you’ll find a user manual, USB combo cable and three adapters.
You can hook the speakers up directly via the audio jack but you could use one of the adapters if you have the phone to go with it. The connectors are Sony Ericsson ‘Fast-Port’, Nokia pop-port and a regular audio connector.
The USB cable is for both sound and power, it’s retractable with a mini-USB connection on one end with a regular USB connection and an audio connection on the other end.
There is no volume control on the actual speaker, it’s in-line which I think works better.
Finally here’s the actual speaker itself, it reminds me of a speaker bar that might be with an HTPC setup. It’s very well made with metal top and bottom and overall it looks nice.
On the back you’ll find the power switch, power connector for optional AC adapter and a mini-USB connection.
Specifications:
When powered on the LED is a bright blue.
To give you an idea of the size, here’s my Zune HD next to the X3i:
For testing I used the X3i with my Zune HD obviously:
And with my HTC Titan Windows phone:
Then I also tried it with my PS Vita as well. I like the Vita but the speakers are just to low I think.
The cable extends to a nice fairly long length, good enough to move whatever device is attached to it around. I could comfortably hold the Vita and use it while not pulling on the cable at all.
Sound: The sound from this little speaker is amazingly loud, I mean hear it in the other room or maybe even outside loud. The sound is very clear as well even when turned all the way up. There is plenty of bass of course, and a lot of midrange, but even though there are no tweeters the treble is still very noticeable.
Design: I like the overall design, it’s much heavier than it looks and it feels solidly made. There is one design flaw though and that’s no speaker grills or no protection at all for the speakers. I would not want to toss this into my bag to go on a trip for fear of puncturing the speakers and ruining them. The X3i should have come with a case or at the very least something over the speakers for protection. Yes aesthetically it looks great, but functionally it’s not so great.
Conclusion:
Overall the X3i speakers are very nice, they’re well made and they sound good and offer a very loud volume without much distortion. I truly was surprised by just how loud these can get so if you need extra volume then these will work for you surely.
The problem with these is that they’re meant to be portable but I’d be afraid to put them in my bag to take anywhere as the speakers themselves aren’t protected at all. it would have been nice if they included a carrying case or at the very least some sort of grill over the speakers.
Pros:
+Very loud
+Compatible with a wide range of products
+Decent sound
+Volume control in-line
+Small and portable
+Well made
Cons:
-No protection on speakers themselves
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