Veho Mimi portable wireless speakers review

Veho's Mimi portable wireless speaker is no bigger than a glass tumbler, so we were surprised to discover it contains stereo speakers, rather than just a mono one. It has a built-in battery which is charged over USB and lasts up to eight hours; this combined with its small size and sturdy build, makes it attractive for mobile use with a laptop.

What sets the Mimi apart from most other sets of portable speakers is its wireless connection. A USB dongle is included and it connected to the speakers instantly when plugged into our Vista laptop. There's nowhere to stow the dongle's cap while in use, so it could be easily lost.

The dongle uses a 2.4GHz wireless connection which we found interfered with the WiFi reception on our laptop until we switched the dongle to a different wireless channel using its built-in buttons. The speaker also has a wired 3.5mm stereo input for listening to music from a secondary source, such as a MP3 player.

We were surprised by how loud the Mimi sounds. Unsurprisingly, the bass is weak but at least it doesn't sound boomy and unfocussed like many other 2.0 stereo speakers. Audio quality varies a lot depending on the type of music you listen to.

We found that classical and pop music sounded reasonably clear and detailed, although there was distortion at the highest volumes. This distortion was much more noticeable in electronic, R&B and rock music, again especially noticeable at high volumes. Music can also sound muddy, so subtle vocal details can be lost, this was more noticeable in electronic and rock music.

The Mimi's audio output is far from perfect, but we don't expect spot-on quality from a portable set of speakers. Compared to other portable sets, the Mimi, overall, sounds reasonably good and is a definite improvement over most laptop speakers. The wireless connection is especially convenient for mobile use and is an unexpected bonus at this price. At 382g it isn't the lightest portable speaker, but in every other respect it’s a highly convenient design.