With many others fleeing your home, this is a time when you can enjoy some of the benefits of running away from home for non-public explicitation and, in addition to casual clothing, some other way to express your non-public freedom in the workplace of your own home is to pay attention to music. While others have been forced to wear headphones in the workplace, they can now pay free attention to music in the workplace. I had the opportunity to check a compact and amplified high-end speaker that had the perfect sound, but still in a portable size. I broadcast it through a variety of music and tried it in other rooms in my house.
The Bluesound Mini 2i feels heavy for its compact length (it weighs almost 8 pounds), and yet it delivers room-filling sound. In comparison, this speaker in other rooms in my space and the speaker filled every room with a blank space and delicious sound. It’s a compact high-end speaker priced at $ 499 (USD), which is significantly more than popular speakers like the Amazon Echo Studio ($ 199) and Apple Homepod ($ 299). Sonos is perhaps the most direct comparison to me. Corporations offer similar features, but I didn’t have a Sonos speaker, like the Five, to compare with. The appearance of the speaker is functional and elegant. It fits perfectly in the office.
As the call might suggest, Bluesound supports Bluetooth, but the main connection to streaming facilities is over Wi-Fi. The unit is controlled via a smartphone app, just like many fashionable smart appliances. Controls are required and there are fundamental manual controls on the most sensitive speaker. I tried the Amazon Prime Music HD service. I also tried connecting this Bluetooth speaker to my Sony Walkman virtual player.
With the Speaker’s BluOS app, I can use the Mini 2i, setting up from my music service (Amazon Music HD) or Bluetooth (Sony) devices. I can do it with an Alexa skill, but the Mini 2i is not a smart speaker. The Mini 2i’s Bluetooth connection uses the Qualcomm AptX codec for the Sony NW-A55 style music player. AptX is one of the most productive Bluetooth formats you can use to get high quality sound.
All my music on the Sony music player are high quality FLAC clips from our CD collection, but the most convenient way to pay attention to high quality music is to use the Amazon Music HD streaming service.
Comparison with speakers
I still don’t have a full diversity of speakers compared to the Mini 2i with other types of speakers in the house. Fortunately, the Mini 2i is very transportable, with a comfortable gap in the most sensitive that makes it easy to hold. Compared to the Amazon Echo Studio in our room, the Echo Studio lacked the blank bass of the Mini 2i. In addition, the stereo separation was not as intelligent as that of the Mini 2i, and the voices were transparent but not complete. For example, I discovered that with Phil Collins In the Air Tonight remastered in 2016, his voice in Echo Studio sounded weak, while the Mini 2i had much more depth.
In my office, I have an Amazon Echo Link connected to a Harman/Kardon AV analog receiver with a pair of KEF shelf speakers fixed to the wall and a 12-inch Velodyne subwoofer. This configuration is more complicated and not optimal, yet the Velodyne offers more bass. The Mini 2i stood out with songs featuring singers, but may not compete with Velodyne on bass. Bluesound offers a subwoofer, but is designed for use in home theaters.
As mentioned earlier, for music streaming, I used my Amazon Music HD music and logged in to WiFi to maximize binary performance. The unit also supports audio streaming from Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer, Qobuz, HighResAudio (VAULT required), Napster, KKBox, Bugs, Taihe Music ZONE, SoundMachine, IDAGIO and OraStream.
I have many remastered versions of vintage rock songs on my Amazon Music. For example, King Crimson In The Court of the Crimson King sounded brand new with wonderful sound density and crisp battery. The vintage Kraftwerk road sounded flawlessly. Another old remastered rock track was Hocus Pocus through Focus, which still had such good and crisp guitar paintings and a wonderful transparent yodel. The Mini 2i made those old songs completely new.
Jazz music on Amazon Music is a charming intimate feeling. For more fashionable music, Billie Eilish’s song Bad Guy has a charming voice presence and enough dull noise on the bass lines (although here a subwoofer would have helped). Softer music like Jack Johnson’s. Album In Between Dream, pop with a wonderful vocal presence as in Better Together. The sound of the vintage Steely Dan well balanced.
A more competitive sound is Stritches Brew from Super Soul Bros and the speaker treated it well. I like the Mini 2i for vocal music like Johnny Cash’s Hurt and Suzanne Vega’s The Man Comes Around and Suzanne Vega’s Tom Diner (acapella version), everything sounds clean, complete and clear.
In my large living room/room, the volume can fill the room without distortion. The lack of subwoofer was obvious compared to my LG bar with subwoofer. Music like Suzanne Vega’s Tom Diner has shone. For hard rock, like Metallica. Sandman comes in, there was a lot of diversity and power, but I didn’t build it out of respect for my neighbors.
I felt less excited about orchestral music in the Mini 2i, as if it lacked some intensity and reach. Any kind of space music went well with the Mini 2i, unless it looked for very deep basses.
Conclusion
Occasionally, I get an audio product to review and in the afterlife I had the opportunity to check the headphones (and more coming soon), a Moog synthesizer, and I’m checking a portable amplifier headset, but this speaker was rewarding to check. I didn’t need to stop paying attention to this speaker, as you can see in all the music I heard. The transparent and transparent sound was an emotion to pay attention to. There was a giant presence and a stereo symbol of a small speaker.
If it had to be picky, it would cause the Mini 2i to shut down in a low-power standby state when there is no game music, even with the charge of a little more time to activate. Fires a rated force of 14 W when inactive. For some music, you may miss the deeper bass, but for its size, the sound is exceptional.
The portability of the Mini 2i meant it was easy to take home, however, it works with alternating existing batteries, and is large enough not to buy it in my suitcase for a vacation. There is the $499 value factor when so many smart speakers charge less. It’s a load resolution: how much is the most productive sound for you?
Note: Bluesound lent me the Mini 2i to see it, I didn’t pay for this review.
I am a San Jose-based generation analyst at TIRIAS Research with over 30 years of experience in engineering, market research and analysts. TIRIAS Research is a high-tech company