X-Mini Max II review

Gallery

Verdict:

Review Date: 22 Dec 2009

Price when reviewed: £35

Supplier: http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk

Reviewed By: Barry de la Rosa

Our Rating 2 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

X-Mini's Max II portable speakers are held together by magnets, so they look like an over-sized egg. To use them, you pull them apart, and then twist the top of each which expands each speaker like an accordion. Each has a mini-USB port for charging the internal battery, and X-Mini claims a battery life of 12 hours on one charge. Cleverly, you can daisy chain as many Max II speakers as you like, thanks to their twin audio jacks.

Audio quality is better than you'd expect from such a small speaker, but it's still muddy and the dynamic range is poor – with the bass and treble both cut off. There's enough volume to improve on most laptop speakers, but if you turn them up too high they start rattling across the table. We prefer Altec Lansing's battery-powered IM207 Orbit, available from www.microdirect.co.uk for just £16.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1