For a few years now, most of my music has been in my pocket. No more physical media such as cassettes, CDs and other vinyls. It must be over 10 years since I bought a CD and my music is now 100% digital. Purists will be pissed off, but personally I think it's a huge space saver! The CD towers have been put away in the cellar!
So, I won't hide from you that my hifi system is no longer quite the right instrument for my musical needs. Bulky and uninteresting, it was time to switch to a Bluetooth speaker. Of course, its use is more restrictive, but today it's all I need.
So I received the speaker to test it X-Mini SUPA.
Unpacking and getting started
What I like about high-tech products today is that the quality is noticeable (or not) as soon as you unpack them.
In the case of the X-Mini SUPA, the packaging smells of quality. A first illustrated case protects an elegant black box in which the beast and its accessories are stored.
As soon as you open the box, you discover what makes this speaker special: its big button (which we will talk about later).
Also included in the box is a micro-USB to USB charging cable, a 3,5mm audio jack (for connecting devices without Bluetooth) and a small user manual. No frills, but It has everything you need except a wall charger allowing the device to be connected to the mains… a real faux pas, especially since the usb charging cable is really really really short. That said, if you're like me you probably have some USB chargers from older devices lying around your house that will totally do the trick.
Design and use: the big button
Once the device is out of its case, you can finally admire its very vintage look. As this look is quite marked there will be two schools, those who love it and those who hate it... personally I find it quite attractive, because it is a good compromise between modern and old.
In terms of connectors and buttons, once again, no frills. The device is refined. A button on the back turns the device on and a single multifunction button sits elegantly on top of the speaker.
In fact, this button which pivots to the left or to the right has several functions:
- skip to next track / go back to previous track
- increase or decrease the volume
- Play/pause (by pressing the wheel)
In use, I am really bothered by this button… to increase or decrease the volume, you have to rotate the wheel and hold it for a long time in one direction or the other… the volume will then gradually decrease or increase… but I am still having trouble getting used to the gradual variation of the sound. I am afraid that the sound will suddenly increase like on more classic devices with a wheel. So I do this in small jolts… but unfortunately, a jolt causes the track to change.
So regularly I find myself changing tracks instead of adjusting the volume… and it annoys me. I think it will take me a long time to really get used to it.
In terms of connectivity, there is an AUX input on the back of the device that allows you to connect a device with a 3.5 mm jack cable and that is very useful! This allows me, for example, to use the speaker for the sound of the children's Wii when using it with the video projector. Next to it, more anecdotal in my opinion, is a microSD port that allows you to read music stored on this type of media (but are there still people who do that?).
Battery and portability
Announced with an autonomy of 8 hours, the X-Mini SUPA integrates 2 batteries of 2200 mAh… adding a certain weight to the device which manages to barely stay under a kilo.
But I'm not sure that the X-Mini SUPA should be considered a portable speaker. In my opinion, it's more of a portable speaker that you can move from one room to another without necessarily having to lug around its charger. Its weight and shape are clearly not designed for nomadic use... and ultimately that's not what we're asking of it.
And what about the sound?
In terms of power, the X-Mini SUPA sends 2×10 watts. This is enough to listen to music at home, but it will probably be a little too low to liven up a noisy party.
As for the sound itself, the speaker has two distinct equalizer modes: a treble relatively neutral and a mode bass which as its name suggests brings out the bass.
In treble, the sound is well balanced. The highs are good without being sibilant, the mids are balanced, but lack finesse and the bass is a little weak.
The mode bass works quite well and gives a little more warmth to your tracks for background music. However, it lacks precision if you want to actually listen to the music.
We would have liked to have a few more options for manipulating the sound, but the X-Mini SUPA is clearly intended to be plug and play and from that point of view, it does the job well.
Finally, even though the sound is okay, it would have been really nice if technologies like sound surround be integrated into the enclosure, but the cost of the device would probably have been much higher.
To conclude
The X-Mini SUPA speaker is a Bluetooth speaker that stands out from the competition by its positioning closer to the HiFi system than to the portable speaker. Nevertheless, its correct sound and the possibility of moving it around the house make it a very pleasant accessory for music lovers.
The X-Mini SUPA speaker is available for €99 at MacWay.
