Libratone Zipp Mini Review - Review 2022

Libratone's most affordable offering thus far aims to shake up the realm of multi-room wireless speakers. The Zipp Mini connects via both Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and has an attractive, portable design. At $249, it projects powerful sound with robust bass and can be expanded with additional speakers to utilise in multi-room scenarios, just like the Sonos Play:1 ($174.97 at Amazon) . You tin operate it using a free Libratone app, or use the gracefully designed onboard command panel. For its splendid design and operation, the affordable Zipp Mini earns our Editors' Option award.

Design
The portable, cylindrical Zipp Mini ( at Amazon) measures viii.8 by 3.9 inches (HW), weighs 2.4 pounds, and features an fair matte plastic base with a zippable, removable cloth speaker grille that tin be purchased in green, red, light gray, or dark greyness. (There are likewise swappable accessory covers available in even more hues, for more money.) A leather strap nearly the elevation panel allows for the speaker, which projects audio in 360 degrees, to hang on a coat hook or whatever else is effectually—preferably at ear level. Even beneath the cloth grille, the Zipp Mini looks cool, with a black plastic surface that has a repeating wavy textured pattern. The design has cut-outs for the dual iii.five-inch passive bass radiators, the upwardly-firing iii-inch neodynium woofer, and the 1-inch soft dome neodynium tweeter to projection audio through.

Since I'm non describing pairs of tweeters, or any active drivers, you tin rightfully assume that the Zipp Mini is, like many new systems, essentially outputting a mono mix. That'south probably the only real design disappointment, seeing as the cylindrical form certainly could have housed dedicated stereo drivers.

Libratone Zipp Mini inline Setting up the speaker to pair via Bluetooth is a quick and simple process, just if you wish to play audio via Apple tree's AirPlay (which requires an iOS device and uses your domicile Wi-Fi network), you'll first need to download the Libratone app. One time you get it set up up, nevertheless, y'all tin can so peruse various Internet radio stations the app streams, and configure the speaker settings to better friction match the acoustics of your listening environment.

When the Zipp Mini is connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, the affect controls on elevation lite up with options to skip frontwards or backward, while the central bird logo acts as Play/Pause, as well as your call management button for the speakerphone function. Running your finger clockwise reveals and raises the book level (in underlit dots), while counterclockwise lowers the levels. (The volume works independently of, non in conjunction with, your mobile device'due south chief levels.) There's also a Favorite button that allows y'all to select your elevation 5 streaming stations available from the app.

Perhaps the coolest feature of the touch interface is a mute office, which Libratone refers to equally the Hush feature. Placing your hand gently over the interface quiets your music until you lift your hand—it's a uncomplicated, quick manner to kill the volume without doing anything more than resting your manus atop the speaker.

The interface also houses controls for linking your speaker with another Libratone speaker for multiple "soundspaces" in your habitation. You can add upward to xvi per network. That should exist fine for most people, just if yous accept a very big home, Sonos lets y'all add together up to 32 speakers per network.

On the rear panel of the speaker, at the base, in that location is a Ability push, the connection point for the included, stylishly shaped power adapter (even its cable is clothbound and snazzy), a 3.5mm aux input (no cable is included for this), and a USB port for charging external devices. The USB port can too human activity as a wired, digital audio input.

Libratone estimates battery life for the Zipp Mini to be roughly 8-10 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels and wired versus streaming usage. LED indicators on the command panel display battery life readouts. The speaker goes into a ability-saving mode afterwards 30 minutes of inactivity when running on bombardment ability, but stays on when plugged into an outlet.

Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, similar The Knife'due south "Silent Shout," the Zipp Mini delivers a thick, rich bass response and doesn't misconstrue fifty-fifty when volume levels are maxed out on the speaker and at the source. At moderate volumes, the Zipp Mini is however capable of producing a full-bodied low frequency response, well-matched past some boosting and sculpting in the high-mids and highs.

Nib Callahan's "Drover," a rail with lilliputian in the way of sub-bass, gives u.s.a. a better idea of the Zipp Mini'southward overall sound signature. The drums on this track, which tin can sound boomy to a fault on heavily bass-additional systems, are stiff and total here, merely non thunderous, which is a expert thing. Callahan'south baritone vocals audio actress rich, yet, which tells us that much of the hefty bass response we hear is coming from the lows and depression-mids, just not the sub-bass frequencies that tin can turn a uncomplicated pulsate tap into a massive force of deep bass. Luckily, the vocals and guitar strums on this track go plenty of high-mid edge to keep things well-baked and well-defined.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West'due south "No Church in the Wild," the kick pulsate loop gets enough of high-mid presence, which brings out the edgy, sharp assail that makes it a focal point of the mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the loop are dialed back—we get more of their raspy top notes than any serious subwoofer-like thunder. However, the sustain of the aforementioned drum loop sounds quite powerful in the lows and low-mids, further driving home that the bass-boosting is happening in the woofer realmm while the subwoofer presence is more implied than delivered. The vocals on this rail get plenty of high-mid and high frequency presence in lodge to float over the dumbo mix. They're never harsh, only tin can occasionally sound a tad sibilant.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel Co-ordinate to the Other Mary, the higher register strings, brass, and vocals enjoy a prominent presence in the mix, with the Zipp Mini boosting and sculpting in the high-mids and highs to push them even further frontward. The low-mid boosting comes into play, as well—nosotros hear some added body on the lower annals instrumentation, which makes itself known at primal moments when truly deep bass notes enter the equation. Overall, this is a sculpted sound that does well across most genres.

One playback badgerer: The Zipp Mini will fade into a newly navigated-to track, which sometimes means missing the first second or so of a rails, or to the lowest degree non hearing the opening at total volume. This is likely so that the digital signal processor (DSP) that the speaker relies on in order to avoid distortion has a moment to adjust to the new audio.

For a speaker this size and price, the Zipp Mini projects a lot more rich depression-end than nosotros're used to hearing, and all the same, it never sounds as well bass-heavy. Regardless of how much sculpting the DSP is doing, it's all in service of projecting a full, rich audio. If yous like the thought of a bass-forrard sound signature, but don't have a demand for multi-room audio, we recommend checking out the Bose SoundLink Mini II ($160.69 at Amazon) , the JBL Pulse 2 ($79.98 at Amazon) , and the Ultimate Ears UE Boom 2 ($45.99 at Amazon) . And if price isn't an effect and it's really the multi-room home experience you're afterwards, we're pretty partial to the excellent, expensive Sonos Play:v ($472.94 at Amazon) . But for half that cost, the Libratone Zipp Mini but does more with passive radiators and single drivers than one might expect, outdoing the Play:1 to earn our Editors' Choice award.