Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Speaker portable speaker: a fierce quality / price ratio

Ergonomics

From the outset, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker gives an excellent impression thanks to its beautiful aluminum finish, of unexpected quality in this price range. With its 264 grams on the scale and its dimensions which allow it to be narrowly stored without forcing in a - large - jeans pocket, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker slips from nothing below the limit of what we call in our comparative an ultra-portable speaker.

However, it should be noted that, unlike what has almost become a standard on the portable audio market, the Xiaomi speaker does not promise any resistance to immersion, splashes or dust. So don't expect to take him to the beach or even by the pool. At this price, you can't have everything either.

Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is accompanied by an auxiliary input on 3.5 mm mini-jack. A microphone allowing the use in hands-free kit is present. On the other hand, the speaker does not offer a multipoint connection to several sources simultaneously; pity.

Note that contrary to what promises the product sheet of some online retailers, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker does not have, at least in its version distributed in Spain, microSD card reader.

On the right side of the enclosure are the control buttons, giving access to perfectly exhaustive commands. Long press on the volume buttons allows navigation between tracks. Small originality: a short press on the Bluetooth pairing button triggers a voice announcement indicating the charge level of the battery - in English only, certainly, but it's still appreciable.

Since we are talking about it, the battery gives the speaker a range that we measured at 8:30 am, with a volume set at 50% of its maximum value. It is in the average of competing products, no more no less.

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Audio

It is not only at the construction level that the Mi Bluetooth Speaker boxed above its price category. It also manages to achieve frankly amazing sound performances, which have nothing to envy to certain competing speakers proposed at prices of a whole other order of magnitude.

With a frequency response offering a very clean presence in low frequencies from 90 Hz, the Xiaomi speaker is immediately among the best in the ultra-portable category for bass reproduction - there is there is little that the unbeatable SoundLink Micro from Bose which does significantly better than it on this point. Add to that a restitution of stereophony certainly subtle - inevitably, given the dimensions of the enclosure -, but all the same competent, and you get a sound that manages to take a thickness very rare for a product of this category.

Relatively balanced, the sound of the speaker is still marked by the significant accentuation of the treble extremes. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if it weren't for a little too much distortion. The slight take-off of the latter between 3 and 5.5 kHz is certainly not dramatic, but it suffices to give the sound a slightly rough and aggressive side, which is the main defect of the speaker. As soon as the music is loaded with overly energetic cymbal strokes or somewhat strident brass instruments, the loss of precision becomes noticeable and can generate a little hearing discomfort. Even midrange sounds, including human voices, can be tinged with a very slight parasitic flicker - nothing very subtle, however.

Not surprisingly, the speaker uses dynamic compression to achieve its highest volume settings. The latter is activated from around 60% of the maximum volume setting, which corresponds to an honest sound level. The compression itself is moreover fairly well regulated, managing as far as possible to avoid the excessively violent pumping effects. If the very nervous music and rich in big snare hits obviously cannot come out unscathed, the softer songs, with less brutal dynamic accents, however manage to extricate themselves from the speakers with respectable naturalness, even at high volume.

Finally, note that the speakers offer a fairly directive broadcast, which means that the speaker is more advisable for personal use indoors. This is, in any case, only perfectly consistent with the lack of protection against the machine's water.

The latency in Bluetooth is around 210 ms, slightly above what we consider the acceptable limit to be able to watch a video without undergoing a disturbing sound / image shift. It is unfortunately not accompanied by any automatic compensation when used with compatible mobile applications, such as YouTube or Netflix; pity.

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Conclusion

Not content with having established itself as king of the quality / price ratio for smartphones, Xiaomi is recurring in the world of Bluetooth speakers. The Mi Bluetooth Speaker is certainly not perfect, and we can especially criticize it for an aggressive tone. However, for the price of an entry-level, it offers performance and quality of design worthy of praise.

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