MINIRIG 3 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

Product Information

Even if a speaker looks and feels amazing at first glance, it’s difficult to fall in love with the device if it’s tough to operate. Managing the MiniRig 3 portable speaker is very straightforward. Time has passed since this original review and you can now read our latest review of the Minirig 3 here .

That said, an individual Minirig, used on its own, is a mono speaker. This is as opposed to a stereo unit that other small portable units aspire to be. This is important because, by making a single unit mono only, Minirigs can fit a larger 3-inch speaker into this device. Other companies try to cram multiple speakers of inferior quality into their units. Here, the 3-inch diaphragm can move more air and produce a way better sound and a much fuller and deeper bass response. The sound on a single Minirig speaker was matched only by the Beoplay A1 in my side-by-side testing. It managed to get louder and maintain a high level of detail before any JBL, Gear4, or Taotronics units started to distort. Even when pushed way past the comfortable listening point, the sound doesn't degrade as sharply as any of those units. The clarity and detail retrieved at normal levels are remarkable for something so small.However, you can use a wiring option instead if you prefer more stability. The wiring connections mean that you can chain as many speakers as you like, without having to rely on Bluetooth.

On a normal volume, you can expect a good sound base response down to around 80hz, thanks to the powerful main drivers. There’s dynamic equalization included within these devices to ensure that the sound remains as crisp as possible.Last month I was down in London meeting up with about 20 or so other audio fans. Everyone had come together to show off their latest and greatest portable gear. Loads of high-end stuff were set out for us to play about with; the usual headphones, amps, DACs, and DAPs littered the tables; it was a nerds paradise. So it was kind of strange that, on this occasion, the product I came away most impressed with was a tiny portable Bluetooth speaker. It wasn't just me though, a lot of people had been blown away by the Minirig Bluetooth speaker, a modular speaker unit that was pumping out the beats when we arrived in the reception area. What are Minirigs? To put it simply, the Minirigs Mini is the best-sounding Bluetooth speaker for traveling/portable use. The original Minirig still sounds the best, but honestly, the Mini is not far off it at all.

But, all that said, if you care about sound and portability first and foremost, the Minirig Mini is an excellent travel speaker. Keep in mind that there are also a host of additional peripherals that you can link to the MiniRig 3 from the same brand.The Aesthetic is straightforward and industrial-looking. I like it, and it is available in several different colors for you to choose from. It's a case of them trying to build the most compact and best-sounding speaker and then trying to make a housing around that that is exceptionally robust while adding minimal bulk to the design. Usually, when you see something as small as this compact device, it’s easy to assume that you’re going to miss out on functionality, sound stage, or volume. Compared to similarly-priced products, such as the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom, it isn’t quite as insightful across the board. We’d like more texture to each instrument, so this speaker can really show off the shimmer of cymbals or the throbs of bass guitars.