Customer Reviews

X-Mini MAX II Capsule Speakers Color BLACK

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I saw the C-Net review, and yup, these live up to it. I use these with my little tiny re-furbed 8gb fuze. The sound is broad, deep and very full. Lots of bass, treble and mid-tones. The sound fills the room. If you have concrete walls it will rock your space from end to end. Panel covered walls, about 3/4 the distance. Outside, these things are just amazing. They look cool, charge up quickly and use a standard mini-usb. You don't have to use both at once, but you will want to because they are 'real' stereo as opposed to two speakers that just repeat the same sound. And they are very, very clear and sweet.

They weigh almost nothing and tuck up into an egg shape. The magnets that hold them together are very strong. I haul these around in my purse all day and they do not come apart. There is no storage compartment for the little charging cord (which also connects the speakers). The cord is about the size of a standard set of ear buds and wraps up nicely around the speakers if you want to do that. Keep it where you keep your ear buds.

There just is nothing else like these. The iHomes are clones of this design, more expensive, and they don't have the bass these do. These are made in Singapore by Xmi Pte Ltd and assembled in China. The x-mini is their original design. I have seen these cloned a lot, but nothing sounds like these.

So for a small amount of money you can get a seriously cool set of speakers to carry around in your bag! I got rid of a logitech blade to get these. These are not quite as loud as the blade but it's OK.

Special bonus - these come with an additional cord you can use to attach other X-minis to! You can make your own x-mini parade of dancing little egg things and put them anywhere. I am not sure if you improve the sound by doing that, but you certainly spread it around more. Plus it looks goofy. You can attach another set of these or up to (I think) 16 of the single x2s. They are the kind of thing you want to collect - they work, are really small, and are rechargeable so I can see this catching on.

The egg shaped ones are getting harder to find. I probably paid less for these than you will here on Amazon. When I shopped for prices I just went with an Amazon prime shipper because it worked out to be less. I did notice other places had sold out or were waiting on replenishment. So if you see them, grab them. If you don't like it you can probably resell these for what you paid for them or possibly a little more if they stay popular. I think they will.

Already had X-Mini II speakers and read reviews on the X-Mini MAX II that spoke of an in-line volume control in the USB cable. Unfortunately these speakers do not have an on-board volume control like the X-Mini II nor does the cable include the USB cable with the volume control. As I have these speakers connected to a source without a volume control there is no control over the volume.

I love the speakers but I am very disappointed that this version does not include the USB cable with the volume control.

Just be forewarned, there are evidently at least 2 versions of the X-Mini Max II; one with a volume control in the cable and one without. This is the version without.

I purchased the X mini speakers a few months ago. Initially the sound was a good crisp and loud for the small package. In the waning months however, the speaker on one side had a short and the other one had a reduced sound before eventually dying altogther. This also may be the reason why the other side which was loud thought it had a short in it, also died. I had intially recommended this product to a couple of friends but I unfortunately will have to retract my praise of the product. I am not looking for another product elsewhere.

Since I cannot post the link here, look up the X-Mini Max II review on CNET, a website that reviews all things involving technology. Compared to the iHome iHM77 review, the X-Mini Max II's have been said to provide a much better sound quality and even some bass, although not very much. These speakers do deliver on sound quality and are amazing, very loud, and do offer some low end sounds. I HIGHLY recommend you get these speakers, all of the reviews point out the X-Mini Max II's are much better than the iHome iHM77 since the iHome iHM77's have NO bass whatsoever and sound somewhat tinny and even distorted at higher volumes. Now as for the iHome iHM79's, the newest version of the iHome ultraportable speakers, I am not sure as to how the sound quality compares with the X-Mini Max II but from the reviews I have seen, the sound quality of the iHM79's are better than the iHM77's but there is still no bass and the size of the iHM79's (which can be bought at the Apple website for $50) is increased dramatically (it also looks uglier). I HIGHLY recommend these speakers they are absolutely amazing. If you don't believe me, look up the reviews for this product.

Bought these since I had the X-Mini, which is still a great little speaker
but these dont' have the same sound quality as their little red headed step-brother
plus they don't have a volumbe control...
Packaged well, but ended up selling them quickly,
G2

This speaker combo is a lot of trouble to use compared to the wonderful little X-Mini II Capsule Speaker. We have both types. In addition, my X-Mini MAX II won't take a charge. This occurred after only one charge. So now we can't use either speaker in this set. Get the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker instead. It's a jewel.

These speakers have a serious design flaw in the chip that charges the battery. If left unused for a month then it's impossible to charge them again. If your retailer has had these for over a month in stock then odds are at least one of the speakers wont work right out of the box! And if you do get a faulty unit then good luck getting any support from X-mini... The response is "We'll ship you a new unit! just fill our the RMA form and ship us the defective unit TO SINGAPORE" Shipping of a package to singapore using USPS is $36... for a $40 pair of speakers!!!!! Can't send it back to Amazon because a month had passed since buying them as they were a gift.

Stay FAR AWAY from X-MINI, they produced some good units at first but then quality (and support) went downhill.. they dont even have a webpage anymore! The only way to get "support" is through the facebook page and replys are few and far between.

I purchased these speakers with some pretty high hopes. They arrived and I can say they are ok. I then bought the iHome iHM79 in hopes they would sound better. And iHomes do. I will do a comparison of these two.

Size/Weight:
The X-Minis are smaller and lighter that the iHome. The X-minis win this one.

Build Quality:
Because the X-minis are smaller and lighter, they also feel a bit flimsier. The iHomes have more heft and feel more solid than the X-minis. The drivers of the X-minis are exposed while the iHomes are enclosed. Point goes to the iHomes.

Cables:
The cables on the iHomes are longer, better quality and have a clip to keep them organized. The X-minis have a volume control; see sound quality for additional info. Point to iHomes.

Charge time/duration:
They run about equal. Tie

Sound Quality:
This is where we get into sticky territory. There are mixed feelings and reviews for both. This is my opinion after A/B them from my iphone using the same song, set to the same volume with the volume control set to max on the X-mini cable. First I plugged in the X-minis and hit play. They sounded nice mid volume, clear, ok volume. Next I plugged in the iHomes. The volume was ever so slightly less than the X-minis but keep in mind they have no volume control on the cable like the X-minis. The sound quality was better on the iHomes. They had a fuller, richer, crisper sound than the X-minis even though not quite as loud, the difference in volume is almost unnoticeable. I then turned up the volume and the iHomes did not distort. I replugged in the X-minis and turned the volume to the same level as the iHomes and the X-minis had noticeable distortion.

For the price, the X-minis are ok. I personally prefer the iHomes.

Update to review:

So I've grown to appreciate these little speakers and have upped my rating from 3 stars to 4. If I'm listening to a video or some other type of audio OTHER THAN music on my laptop they are great. Small, easy to use, easy to adjust the sound, etc.

So, if you need a set of speakers to listen to videos, presentations, non-musical audio on your laptop they are very convenient and easy. However, if you are seeking speakers to listen to your music, look elsewhere (see my old review below for more on that...)


My original review:

I bought these little speakers based on the stellar reviews and comments about great mid-tones and bass. I don't know what most folks are used to for Bass, or perhaps there is some secret I'm missing, but for me the Bass is non-existent.

I'm used to VERY rich sound and I love my Bass. My favorite speakers are my Harmon Kardon Sound Sticks Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System The system looks like a martian landing unit, but the sound is phenomenal.

I'm on the never ending search for portable speakers with a rich sound to use with my Zune when traveling. Again, I'm disappointed. Perhaps my expectations are just unrealistic? However, if you're a bass lover you will not be happy with these little things.

I also have the JBL OnTour JBL On Tour Portable Speaker System ( Black ) which also had good reviews, but again, the sound is just "meh" for me. Plus these do not have rechargeable batteries, so that's a second knock against them. However, compared to the X-mini max, I guess I must concede the sound is better.

If you're not a big Bass lover, then these speakers may be just what you seek. If you like to feel your Bass, pass them by...

I always go to CNET for the reviews, it really helps to make a final decision on a product. First of all I am amazed at how fast I received the speakers. I ordered them from home (FL) Wed afternoon, they arrived at my friends home (CA) the following afternoon and that was with regular ground shipping.

I just had to find a set of compact travel speakers to hook up my "nano". What I found frustrating was not being able to hook up my iPod to "current" systems in the hotel rooms I was staying in...wrong hookups or lack of them. I put off purchasing the X-Mini II on my last trip but this time I just could not go without. I did a last minute search and found the X-Mini MAX II speakers. The photo of these speakers appears as one but really there are two speakers. The bottom of each speaker has a magnet that keeps them together for storage, nice and compact. Product description is exactly what you'll expect. The play time is unbelievable, I have gotten more than 20 hrs. now, I stopped trying to keep track. They are playing now as I am writing this review.

They are very loud, good sound quality, nothing I would have expected from these little speakers and I love the design. I was really amazed how well the music carried over the winds we had on the beach that night along with the ocean waves and the roar of the fire.

Great product, hopefully will last awhile. I would certainly recommend them.