Monoprice High Performance Portable Speaker Review

Hi Geektimes!

We continue to acquaint you with the gadgets of the American company Monoprice, the distributors of which are our company SOUND4YOU . Today I want to introduce you to another portable wired speaker from the High Performance series, which, unlike the Bike speakers discussed in the last review, has wider application, as it can be your companions like in any trip. The Monoprice High Performance Mini is so small that it fits easily in the palm of your hand while still having a loud sound and even bass. The high quality of the speaker at a low price is confirmed by the highest rating of American market consumers.

So, let's look in more detail what the manufacturer has prepared for us this time.

Packaging:
The Monoprice High Performance Mini portable speaker is delivered in a small ordinary cardboard box measuring 18x13x7 cm and weighing 184 g. The column itself is clearly visible on the front side of the box through transparent soft plastic, so a potential buyer can appreciate the size and have an idea of ​​the appearance.



Scope of delivery:
The kit includes the speaker itself and the USB cable with a branch to mini-USB and to the plug for AUX. Well, and, of course, an instruction with explanatory pictures of how and where to click to make this “acoustic setup” make our party more cheerful.



Case, material and shape:
Now directly about the Monoprice High Performance Mini speaker itself. Designers clearly tried and made the form noticeably distinguishable from competitors. Something reminiscent of something cosmic, I personally associated with a jellyfish, especially when the resonant chamber is open.

The case is made of impact-resistant plastic with a very nice velvety surface. The speaker itself is closed by a metal grill. There are four rubber legs on the sole, which perform not only anti-slip functions, but also absorb vibration when playing music.

When you turn the upper part of the speaker reveals a resonant chamber. The shell of the camera is made of rubberized soft plastic in the form of a spring with moisture-proof properties. Be careful, as the camera does not stretch as much as it might seem, literally 1.5 cm. The

weight of this baby is only 96 g, and the dimensions are 7x7x4.5 cm when closed, so it fits easily in the palm of your hand.



Sound:
The speaker has one 40 mm speaker, i.e. same as the Bike model , but significantly smaller. By the way, when you take it in your hand for the first time, you involuntarily think that this is not a speaker, but more like an RF tweeter. But when you turn on, you change your skeptical expectations.

Here, its main sound parameters:

• Frequency range: 180 Hz-16 kHz, i.e. it's even wider than the Bike model .
• Sensitivity (sound pressure): not less than 80 dB
• Power: 3 W

The speaker is loud given its size. But not so loud as to arrange a home disco, so the requirements and expectations should be adequate. I really liked the performance of low frequencies in this baby. In general, the frequency response range shows that it is wider than that of the Bike model. Wider due to the increased lower middle on the chart.

Bass and sound power are of course complemented by the patented Vacuum-bass system technology, which is implemented as a resonant chamber.

Column connections and power:
Each Monoprice product, as you could already get used to, has its own chip, in this column, in addition to a resonance camera, the manufacturer made it possible to connect speakers in series, i.e. You can collect a whole "garland". Each speaker at the bottom has a built-in minijack plug with a short wire and an AUX input.

Approximately it looks like this:



With this connection, the sound becomes surround and stronger. I compared the sound pressure in the options: one and two speakers. If with one column the measurement corresponds to the declared level of 80 dB, then with two columns this value rises above 100 dB. I took measurements using the VUMeter program, which can be found on the Apple Store or Google Market.



The Monoprice High Performance Mini speaker has a built-in battery, so you can listen to music not only at home or in the office, but also on the go. The charge lasts up to 8 hours when operating at an average volume level.
Charging takes place via a USB-microUSB cable within just 2 hours. When the battery is fully charged, the indicator will light blue.

The speaker is connected to the phone, smartphone and any other device only with an AUX cable, there is no wireless Bluetooth connection.

I really liked such a trifle: the manufacturer placed mini-jack and USB on one wire, which allows you to simultaneously listen to music and charge the speaker, while there are no clubs on the table.



Price and warranty period:
You can always find out and buy a portable Monoprice High Performance Mini speaker on our website at the SOUND4YOU Mobile Sound Store.
For all Monoprice models, we provide a 12-month manufacturer's warranty.

Comparison table:


Conclusions:
If I were given the task to characterize the Monoprice High Performance Mini column in two words, then it will be like this: “Big sound and mini dimensions”. The sound is really good! The quality of execution, as always at Monoprice, is very high. Holds the battery for a long time and does not consume the charge of the smartphone, which is especially important for iPhone owners.

Of the shortcomings, perhaps I found only one - this is a too short built-in cord, because when I connected to another speaker I wanted to separate them, for example, on opposite sides of the monitor.