Do you fancy small speakers that can play loud? Singapore-based X-mini has a string of portable speakers and claims to make superior and premium audio accessories. It seems that X-mini is gradually establishing itself in the Indian market as a serious contender in the audio space. Its portfolio isn’t very huge, but some products that we have tested have turned out to be good. X-mini had introduced SUPA to the Indian market a while ago, which can act as your personal mini theatre as well as a party package. The unit is a vintage-inspired jukebox system that has a simple, no-brainer operation.
Design, Build
The X-mini SUPA looks like an old stereo system and is about the size of a brick. To elaborate more, the metal body sports a Space Ash colour (Also available in Champagne Gold) that helps give the SUPA an elegant look. The speaker has a fairly generic design and gives an impression of being rugged and solid. The wireless speaker is portable, but at 960g, this device is definitely not as easy to tug around and is best left back home in the bedroom or even your kid's room. However, it can still be taken around when packing off on a vacation or long holidays.
The metal exterior features a strong outer grille with a mesh coating internally that helps protect the speakers within. The rear or sides do not sport any openings or bass reflex ports. The rear end is where all the action takes place — an auxiliary port for physical connections, a microSD card slot for MP3 playback, and a micro-USB port for charging the internal battery.
As mentioned earlier, the X-mini SUPA is a no-brainer wireless audio device. All you will see on this speaker is a large shiny dial on the top that lets you control music playback, skip tracks, adjust the volume and answer calls. However, the large dial is a bit annoying as it makes it hard to judge the volume adjustment and we ended up skipping or rewinding tracks incidentally. The knob is also slippery — thanks to the concentric circle design surface, you have to grab hold of the knob in total to make use the controller. Lastly, rubber feet on the bottom prevent the speaker slipping or sliding off the table.
Performance
The Supa comes with built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processing) and DPAC (Dual Pressure Air Compression) technologies which mean it gives you the option to choose between two preset EQs. Sadly, there are no physical buttons on the speaker itself and you need to change these modes using an app.
The X-mini SUPA supports a frequency range of 40Hz to 18kHz and pumps a total output of 20W with 10W from each channel.
The SUPA delivers on the promise of big bass and clear vocals. We played a host of songs on the speaker and found the audio very pleasing to the ear. The additional controls over the bass and trebles using the EQ modes on the app allow for a better audio experience.The speaker maintained a good balance at all levels, and when we wanted more bass.
The bass is heavy and deep; however, playback on louder volumes tends to distort the audio marginally. Though this is not the case in every song, it depends on the audio tracks being played.
The mids and highs are well defined too. Vocals are clear and this speaker also makes up for a good audio companion for watching movies on your smartphone or tablet. The audio volume is pretty loud — a mid-sized hall can be filled with music during small casual parties. The SUPA has overall warmer sound with more resonant bass, crisp vocals and clean highs. The speakers can be used outdoors such as a night get together or backyard barbecues.
Playing audio files off a MicroSD card isn't much of an issue - the SUPA can play MP3s files. It plays a tone to notify you that a Bluetooth device has been paired or disconnected, and when switching between modes.
Moving ahead, the SUPA's speakerphone works well on calls too. However, a few persons on the other end of the line did give us feedback that the audio is muffled. You can answer or end a call by tapping dial.
Connectivity
As for the Bluetooth (v4.2) connectivity, we faced no issues with the network. The speaker works seamlessly within a 10 feet range. Pairing the speaker is quick — we never witnessed any lag in connecting nor any moments of disconnection. The speaker features A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP. Once paired with a device, the SUPA reconnects quickly each time it's turned on.
Battery
The SUPA's greatest asset is its battery. X-mini says you can get 8 hours of playback from a full charge, which we found to be accurate. After more than 5 hours of playback at moderate volume levels, the battery indicator on the smartphone's Bluetooth icon showed around 50 per cent of battery remaining. However, it totally depends on the type of audio that you play, the volume levels that you listen to. The speaker draws its power from two internal 2200mAh batteries, which takes around 2.5 hours to top up completely.
Verdict
For Rs 12,990, the X-mini SUPA seems a bit pricey but can be compared to other top brands in the similar price bracket. It is a good portable Bluetooth speaker that pumps out some booming tunes that brim a moderately big space. When playing most music, its bass and high-frequency notes deliver sound that is pleasant to the ear. With the right settings, the SUPA can be a great addition to your mini party as well as act as a compact home theatre for your tablet or smartphone.
Also Read: X-mini Xoundbar review: Compact package, captivating nature
With inputs from Francis D'Sa, Editor
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