Xiaomi - Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2

Xiaomi

Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2 portable speaker: an unconvincing first price

Aprox. 19€

See specifications

The excellent portable Mi Bluetooth Speaker has established itself in our columns as an unbeatable value for money, but it is not the most affordable speaker from Xiaomi - this title goes back to the Mi Pocket Speaker 2.

Positive points

Correct hands-free kit microphone.

Good autonomy.

Bad points

Very imprecise sound.

Totally uncontrolled distortion under 500 Hz.

Big "box effect".

Treble too directive.

Very poor manufacturing quality.

No navigation control between tracks.

No wired input.

Our review

Ergonomics

If the photos and visuals of the Mi Pocket Speaker 2 can make you believe in a product with a surprisingly worked design for its level of range, do not let all this fool you: the physical contact with the speaker is much less flattering and reveals shamelessly its status as a first price offer. We are certainly happy to note that the strapping of the upper part of the enclosure is made of aluminum and not of painted plastic, but this is the only positive point that we can note. In addition to the use of a rather low-end plastic for the covering of the lower part of the enclosure, it is above all the low quality of the assembly which thwarts.

The upper part of the speaker is actually a wheel that can be turned to adjust the volume, or press down to access a few other controls (long press for switching on / off, short press for pause / play, double press to launch Bluetooth pairing ., However, these two movements are particularly unstable. The rotation is accompanied by an irregular and very unpleasant friction, while the pressure undergoes a very significant play and offers in return multiple parasitic "clicks" extremely unsightly. The Mi Pocket Speaker 2 is thus one of those rare products so badly assembled that their simple handling is unpleasant. Needless to say: no resistance to water is in the program.

The speaker connectivity could not be more minimalist, since it comes down to a micro-USB charging connector - and note in passing that Xiaomi does not even bother to include a charging cable in the box. Bluetooth connectivity is not much more advanced, since it does not allow any multipoint connection to several sources simultaneously.

We only recognize that it is the object of one of the few reasons for satisfaction that can be found about this Mi Pocket Speaker 2: a latency of less than 150 ms, which therefore allows you to watch a video without much d discomfort due to the sound / image lag.

Another of these reasons for satisfaction is the microphone integrated into the speaker, which achieves a very appropriately clear and intelligible voice capture, while being relatively insensitive to noise from the surroundings. Only the automatic normalization mechanism can cause problems, sometimes with small volume derailments, as in the following example.

Finally, the autonomy rises to fifteen hours with a volume set to around 50% of its maximum level - a good result.


Ergonomics

Audio

The ergonomics of the Mi Pocket Speaker 2 causes us some significant frustrations, which we could however have forgiven if the speaker had been able to offer us a sound quality / price ratio worthy of its cousin, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker. Alas, it turns out to be far from the mark.

The Pocket Speaker 2 indeed delivers a sound that jumps with both feet in all that one can fear from a first price speaker. As imprecise as possible, the restored signal suffers from a violent harmonic distortion occurring below 500 Hz. In the ear, the problem manifests itself in the form of a very strong box effect, giving the impression of hearing the plastic structure of the speaker vibrate and resonate with the speaker. It would certainly have been unwise to wait for extraordinarily deep bass from a speaker of this size, but here, the simple minimum union is not guaranteed, and the sound quality achieved more evokes that of a bad clock radio a few decades ago than that of a recent portable speaker. Such a lack of control cannot allow a pleasant musical listening.

To make matters worse, the balance of the reproduction suffers from the much too strong directivity of the emission of the loudspeaker - in particular in the high frequencies - which agrees very badly with the positioning of the latter - on top of the enclosure, radiating upward . Thus, heard from the horizontal, the sound becomes very muffled. Conversely, for a listener located high above the speaker, he is very acidic and piercing.

It is therefore only in the middle of the spectrum that the Mi Pocket Speaker 2 provides at least acceptable performance. This combined with the decent voice capture offered by the built-in microphone means that the Xiaomi speaker can barely give satisfaction as a hands-free kit. It is very little, but we will have to be satisfied ...


Audio

Conclusion

Big disappointment that this Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2, whose low price does not excuse neither the extremely poor manufacturing nor the largely insufficient audio performance. Especially since it undergoes insurmountable competition from its own camp: the Mi Bluetooth Speaker from the same manufacturer, only € 10 more expensive, and with incomparable qualities.


Specifications