Libratone Zipp Mini 2: even more complete and efficient than its predecessor

Ergonomics

To say that the Zipp Mini 2 conforms to the canons decreed by its elders is a mild understatement: with the exception of the tactile disc, the two sisters seem perfectly identical.

We thus find the exact design of its predecessor - neat finishes, robust construction, wrist strap, removable, washable and interchangeable fabric (four colors available: black, gray, green and red): everything is there.

The tactile surface on the other hand, more matte and preferring to the old silver border a luminous banding, displays many more options than before, arranged in clock around the central nightingale. At midday sharp, the activation / deactivation of the microphone to dialogue with the voice assistant, at 2h, the "Connection Mode" (pairing / visibility), at 4h, the acoustic correction, at 6h, direct access to one of the five pre -recorded playlists (in the application), at 8 am, the multiroom association to another speaker, and finally the available updates, at 10 am

The musical navigation is done "in the old way": it is enough to tap once in the center to pause / play the music, the double / triple tapping passing respectively to the next / previous track. The disc perceives the command well (it blinks slowly and emits a recognition sound) but does not always carry it out. In Wi-Fi, the play / pause command is always executed, while navigation between tracks is more capricious. In Bluetooth, the play / pause and skip to next track commands are taken into account, while returning to the beginning of the track requires finding the right tapping bpm: too fast, and the speaker takes control for a skip to the next song, too slow, and the music pauses, then skips to the next track. Also remember to touch the touch interface with the pulp of your finger, not the end of the phalanx.

On the back, the power button always rubs shoulders with the power socket, the mini-jack input and the USB port allowing the charging of external devices or the playback of audio files (compatible with MP3 codecs, WAV, FLAC, WMA / ASF, OGG, AAC / M4A, AIFF and APE). Control point to select the source: the last connected takes control. The autonomy officially goes from 8 to 12 hours: at 75% of the maximum volume, we were able to enjoy 11:30 of uninterrupted music.

Latency in Bluetooth is particularly high (more than 300 ms). Compatible applications (Netflix, YouTube) partially compensate for the latency, however the difference between sound and image remains clearly noticeable. The value via the analog input is not much less important, cost of many treatments applied to the sound: even wired, you will have to accommodate 200 ms of latency.

---

---

Multimedia

The Zipp Mini 2 is multiroom, via Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, DLNA, Spotify Connect) or Bluetooth (4.1, aptX compatible). To integrate an enclosure into the Libratone ecosystem, the user can go through the application, or more simply through the dedicated icon on the touch disk. Indeed, once the first speaker connected via the application, the others no longer have to be manually connected to the network. Even older models (in this case, we tested it with a 2015 Zipp) can join (or leave) the party thanks to the dedicated touch control.

The application, now also available in French, is still as fluid, intuitive and complete. It gives access to many sound modes - depending on tastes (Neutral, Vocal, Book, Rock, Jazz, Film, etc.) and the positioning of the speaker (exterior, shelf, table, floor). It is also always possible to rename the speaker, start a timer, configure your favorite playlists (5, which can be accessed from the touch screen interface), view the remaining battery level or the signal strength. Wi-Fi, and even adjust the brightness of the LEDs. The speaker being AirPlay 2 compatible, note that it is also possible to configure its Wi-Fi access without even installing the application - in which case you will obviously not have access to the other functions mentioned.

The speaker groups can be configured in multi-mono or in stereo pairs. As soon as a group contains more than two speakers, monitoring switches to mono - it is not possible to assign the left channel to two speakers and the right channel to a third, for example, even less to create a multichannel set.

---

---

Speech Recognition

Just as the Zipp Mini was the first portable speaker to benefit from multiroom, the Mini 2 is also one of the pioneers in the field of native integration of a mobile voice assistant - or more precisely, an assistant.

During our tests, the three microphones used to pick up the famous sesame proved to be particularly effective, whether in reaction to "Alexa?" as for the rest of the festivities. The speaker impressed us with its ability to perceive our injunctions, 1 / playing music at 80% of its maximum volume, 2 / at the other end of a (large) living room, 3 / with a stern voice diminished by a tracheitis, 4 / in a perfectly omnidirectional way (and even when one does not speak in his direction).

---

---

Audio

The Zipp Mini 2 retains its omnidirectional character: spatially, the sound emission (obviously monophonic) is extremely homogeneous. As with the Zipp Mini, apart from a slight treble rise when you are right in front of the speaker, the Mini 2 is flawless on this point.

The rendering, although locally uneven, is generally homogeneous, rich and musical. We still note a certain emphasis on the first half of the spectrum and treble, as we noted on the previous version. The bass, very wide and fairly deep for a speaker of this size (already perceptible at 60 Hz, and well installed at 80 Hz), provides a significant base for the mix. Displaying a certain roundness and only very occasionally creating (depending on the mixes and the chosen sound profile) a mask effect, they nevertheless remain well defined and rather dynamic - once again, taking into account the fact that they are there of a portable speaker. As part of our use, the "room correction", which in passing surprisingly does not emit any of the usual test signals (sweep, white noise ...), had the effect of offering a little more balance to the whole and to guarantee to the mediums, in particular to the voices, a presence and a clearly superior intelligibility. The treble is reproduced in a fairly fine and detailed manner, the spaces being fairly precisely translated despite the monophonic rendering (more "depth" than "width", therefore). Sometimes a little too far forward, they are easily calmed down thanks to the many sound profiles available.

The positioning "Sol" remains in our ears the most balanced, accompanied by the EQ "Neutral", "Easy Listening" (which however makes the mediums a little more confused) or "Light and comfortable". Positioning EQs are more subtle, while musical profiles have a much more noticeable impact.

In view of its size still, the available power is excellent, accompanied moreover by an exemplary distortion rate (but varying according to the equalizations - above, the positioning profile Sol + the EQ Easy Listening). The speaker mounts without problem beyond 80 dB and easily sounds a large living room or even a small outdoor event.

---

---

Conclusion

With the Zipp Mini 2, Libratone corrects the few rare faults found in the previous model, and also offers a wider range of touch controls as well as the possibility of adapting sound reproduction to the acoustics of the room. listening and integration of Alexa benefiting from an exemplary capture of the user's voice. From an ergonomic point of view, therefore, this is undoubtedly the most exhaustive and functional portable speaker on the market. The sound performance meanwhile, thanks to the many ways to customize the rendering and the acoustic design of the speaker, is rich, balanced, detailed, omnidirectional and particularly powerful, for a speaker of this size.

---

---