Libratone Zipp Mini 2 360° WiFi/Bluetooth Speaker with Airplay 2 & Alexa
- Alexa just got a hot new ride
- This thing has Airplay-2, which is rad
- You can stream to multiple rooms from one device, or you can stream multiple things to multiple rooms (also with one device)
- Can be paired with another for stereo sound
- Very cute looking, super portable, easy to use
- Model: L18R4T0N3Y-L1TTL3
Room With a (Re)View
Can we level with you all? When we sell these Libratone products and we just quote a few reviews and then end it by saying, “And all this positivity is based on a much higher price than ours!” it’s not just a sales pitch. The truth is, it’s a relief for us.
A lot of the stuff requires us to do some pretty wild mental gymnastics. Like, when we sell a crummy bluetooth speaker for 10 bucks, we might talk broadly about bluetooth speakers, and how it’s fun to have one without necessarily saying you should buy the one we’re selling. Or we call it a backup bluetooth speaker, as if that’s a thing that exists. Or we make puns and hope you’ll just sort of read between the lines: that the price and our lack of outright endorsement means maybe it’s not great.
But these Libratone speakers? They are great. So it’s nice just to say they’re great. And it’s nice to see someone else also say they’re great too.
Like Christian de Looper, over at Business Insider. Here’s how he breaks it down:
There are a number of things that make the Zipp Mini 2 a great speaker. As mentioned, it supports AirPlay 2, which is great for Apple fans, and has Alexa built right in. That means that you can use the speaker to control your smart home devices, find out information from the web, and more.
(If you don’t know what Airplay-2 is, it’s basically a feature that allows for multi-room streaming from one device. Or for you to stream different things in different rooms, also from the same device. Or you can pair two speakers for stereo sound. In other words, pretty dope.)
As for the sound, Christian has this to say:
Of course, the most important thing to consider when buying a speaker is how the speaker sounds, and the Zipp Mini 2 sounds pretty good — though there are a few quirks to it. The bass, for starters, is nowhere near as powerful as the standard Zipp 2, though that’s to be expected. It can still deliver a punch though, which is nice to hear. The midrange is decently tuned and the high-end is present, though a little more high-end extension would have been appreciated.
TL;DR: it’s a super portable speaker that doesn’t sound quite as good as less portable speakers. Not surprising.
Tim Gideon, at PC Mag agrees about the bass. Ultimately, though, he finds it very functional and pretty impressive:
The portable Libratone Zipp Mini 2 holds its own against other smart speakers thanks to its easy-to-use, stylish design.
Okay, here we are! We’ve reached that point of the write-up where we say:
And all that positivity is based on a much higher price than ours!
But seriously, both reviews mention price as one of the main downsides. And we get it. This thing’s got an MSRP of $249 and is still selling on Amazon for $229. That’s kinda nuts-o. Or at least, it seems this way, because we’re selling it for $99. THAT’S [technically] LESS THAN $100!
So get one if you’re looking for a solid, Airplay-2 enabled smart speaker that’s super portable and sounds nice to boot.