How Does the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker Really Sound?

The X-Mini II Capsule Speaker promises big sound in a small package and at a small price. But can it really accomplish all of this, because almost every other product on the market can’t do all three at once. Buyer feedback has been largely positive, with a few exceptions, so let’s look a bit closer and see what makes this thing tick.

Overview
Capsule speakers like these are all the rage now, and it’s no wonder why. There’s plenty of room for improvement from the kind of speakers that come in iPods, smart phones, iPads, and iPhones. When you want to hear your music and not have it sound tinny, and you don’t want to be tethered by headphones, portable speakers like the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker are an ideal choice.

What We Like
The price is the first thing you’ll appreciate about the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker. It’s right around $20, which if you go any lower you’re looking at products that were thrown together and sold as something that is bound to fall apart after a few months of use. It’s got a rather unassuming size, and you might not be ready for the amount of sound it can produce. You might think that because the sound is so loud, the battery will putz out in short order. Not true! It’s actually got a pretty good battery life.

The sound quality is great as well, and the bass even sounds good, which is something you don’t typically find on this scale of speakers. It easily outperforms any of the built-in speakers you’ll find on all your portable electronic equipment. For the price it only makes sense to upgrade your sound.

What We Don’t Like
When you’re dealing with electronics this small, it can be hard from a design standpoint to fit all of the necessary buttons and controls. In this respect the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker gets it wrong by making you fumble around with the power switch as well as the volume. These are two pretty important controls, and this can be bothersome if you find yourself constantly having to adjust the volume, for example if you have roommates or are at work.

The Cost

You can get the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker for around $30, which puts it right around the same level as its major competitors.

Evaluation
They include a USB charging cable, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting a charge, even while traveling. It also comes with audio jacks of course so you can plug them into any device with a headphone jack on it. It comes with a carrying bag so you can take them along with you and not worry about dropping them or fumbling with them.

The design of the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker is pretty smart. They put a rubbery texture to it that makes it pretty stable, even on glass counter tops, and allows it to stay put and where you want it. It’s also got some clever ingenuity in regards to being able to charge it up and straightaway plug it right in to your iPod and start jamming.

It is quite similar in design to the Music Bullet and iHome portable speaker by making it like an accodian to get some base effects. You might not think this would make much of a difference, but it does. This seems to be the method used by all of the portable speaker manufacturers to solve the problem of putting bass capabilities in such a small package.

Bass speakers need to move air in order to work properly, and providing this extra space does make a notable difference in sound quality. If you’ve ever put your hand next to a big woofer you’ve seen it bounce as the the sound comes out. Of if you’ve seen the bass module of a home entertainment system, you’ll have seen a hole specifically for air to come out of. This is why portable devices are usually completely devoid of any sort of bass and all you get is treble.

The battery is another major feature that they got right with this one. It lasts a long time, and will most definitely outlast the battery on almost any portable device you’re using, so you don’t have to worry about your speakers giving out before your tunes do.

What People Are Saying
Most of the feedback we’ve found from people that have actually bought

and tried out the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker has been favorable. Of course there are those out there that weren’t impressed, but the overall vast majority were happy and would recommend it to a friend.

Final X-Mini II Capsule Speaker Review

If you’re looking for the next best thing, take a look at the iHome portable speakers, which are more expensive, but come from the iHome line-up and should also be considered.

Our Recommendation
If all you want to spend is about $30, grab an X-Mini II Capsule Speaker set and get on with your life. If you’re more of an audio nut, you might want to think about coughing up some more cash for a better listening experience, although keep in mind that a higher price doesn’t always equal a better listening experience. These will definitely be a serious upgrade to whatever you’re currently using for a portable speaker, and if you’re traveling around a lot, you’ll appreciate having them with you. Tunes make traveling lot more fun and bearable.

What do you think? Does the X-Mini II Capsule Speaker work or not?