X-mini Clear 2.1 Bluetooth Speaker - Hands on

There aren’t a lot of Bluetooth speakers that catch our attention any more — there are just too darned many of them to even keep track of. But the latest offering from Singapore-based X-mini, the Clear 2.1, has a little something special. Taking us back to the 80’s with its see-through chassis, the clean and refined speaker is as neat on the inside as it is on the outside, allowing for all users to see the magic happen first hand.
Sound for the Clear is delivered courtesy of dual ceramic drivers encased in separate enclosures to reduce resonance, flanking a custom 70mm “woofer.” The speaker is powered in a tri-amp design, offering separate amplification for each driver. Other features include a touch-capacitive control panel along the topside, an on-board speakerphone, and a rechargeable battery with a claimed 6 hours of playback time — not fantastic in the current Bluetooth landscape in which competitors often offer 10-12 hours of charge-free fun.
X-mini claims a frequency response of 40Hz – 20kHz for the speaker, but it appears to trail off long before that in the low end, making us wish for a little more punch in the bass. And while the sound is brilliantly clean on higher quality tracks, it occasionally brings a bit too much bite in the upper mids on lighter productions, or thinner MP3 tracks.
Still, its distinctive design and ample collection of amenities allow the Clear to stand above the fray. Those looking for something a little different this holiday season may want to put this speaker on their shopping list. The X-mini Clear is slated for release sometime in November, with pricing yet to be disclosed.
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