@navinraju there will always be a bum product sometimes. That’s why warranties and returns exist
I don’t follow it closely, but I’ve not heard of Bem products being bad like that at all.
Get the “big one”. I have multiples of both thanks to meh. The bigger one has much better sound and controls are on the side like a rational product. These might be perfect to hide somewhere and play spooky sounds for Halloween.
I own one of these, the one with the buttons on the front. The sound is great for such a small simple speaker. It’s even got an audio out plug which is great for adding Bluetooth to an older stereo system.
@wnovak the mini one (HL2508B) sounds better than an x-mini, but it is not in stereo… so if you are used to using a single x-mini you will find the sound on this one (mini) to be better. I get around 2 hours of battery time when playing one pretty loudly.
The not-mini has an advantage over the mini here… it can be used as a bluetooth bridge… so say you really want to garble up your music and play it on a jbm mini speakerdock (with lighting port, ya know… the only port on the iphone sevens) over bluetooth… you can plug the not-mini aux out into the aux in on the jbl mini and connect to the not-mini with bluetooth and then you have a bluetooth enabled jbl mini speaker dock with lighting connector. I also assume the not-mini sounds even better than the mini because it takes up more space.
@thismyusername Belated thanks for your comment. Never would’ve noticed that the not-mini had an aux out without reading it! (crossing my fingers that the aux-out isn’t mono only…)
@Jonas4321 ahh that is something @shawn should know about… but having ordered one at 11ish central I will confirm that the prices were 8 and 12 from the start, despite the mobile rendering error.
@Jonas4321 we don’t have an official mobile app. We allow fans to build their own using our API. But if you’re able to let me know which Android app you’re using we might be able to get in touch with the developer and ask them to fix.
Why does the power output say 1x2 for the not-mini and 1.5x2 for the mini? Is this stereo (two speakers in each cube)? Looking at the aux jacks it would appear that way too. Does anyone know?
I have had 2 of the bigger ones - paid WAY much more than this - and the microUSB connection WILL break rendering it inoperable. There is a design flaw in the connection that makes it come lose from the board inside. After a while it will no longer charge and you have a cube paperweight.
@richmondhokie Thanks for the warning. Was curious if keeping the USB cable permanently plugged into the speaker could prevent this from happening in your opinion? (is it the stress of disconnecting/reconnecting the microUSB that causes it to come loose? Or is it doomed to fail no matter what?)
@lemonswithsalt From my experience, if you leave it plugged in, make sure there is NO stress on the cord. i.e. Not hanging off the edge of a shelf. This kinda defeats the purpose of a bluetooth speaker
@richmondhokie Decided to take a flyer on it for use as a bluetooth bridge. Will definitely avoid any stress on the cord. Thanks again for the heads up.
These are best little speakers I’ve e er owned. There’s enough bass to shake your desktop. I just order another one from Meh and that brings my total to 6. Do I like these.?..Do you need to ask. I have 6 & I plan to give some to family and friends at Christmas. Oh ya, they would make for great stocking stuffers. Or just for the hell of it give one to someone you like or love. They can’t be beat. I hope that Meh doesn’t have these for another deal of the day. I might be tempted. Oh go ahead and do it Meh. Temp me! Buy one today. Meh you’re AWSOME.
I would like to get a little more information before I make up my mind. I’m really considering these but I don’t know which size is better. I’ve heard several complaints about the charging port having troubles and I’ve also heard mixed opinions about the sound quality. Help! Do these suck or are they great or somewhere in between?
With only 40 CX-10 quadcopters, today’s mini can rise up and become an airborne music delivery system! (according to detailed simulation).
It’s time for Meh!-tizens to stand up and storm the beaches! (perhaps some Mediocre staffers could shoot video showing this coordinated quadcopter action shots of this awesomeness)
I think the red mini (HL2508) sounds better, which doesn’t make much sense… well to be clear I mean the red minis from last time, not the black minis from this time… anyway the mini (HL2508) sounds better than the not-mini (HL2202A) in my opinion.
the bluetooth aux out on the not-mini (HL2202A) is STEREO so these make a decent bluetooth bridge if you are into that sorta thing.
Granny is beaming with her BEM not mini. Makes using her tablet and old laptop easier for her to listen to her tunes and streaming videos. The option for bluetooth or plugin really works for her. Sound is awesome.
@perdi I know. I push the on/off button and nothing happens. The manual says the Bluetooth light is supposed to turn on indicating it’s ready to pair, but I get nothing. Charging light seems to work fine though (blinks red until full, then green).
Got mine Thursday for my sister to listen to audiobooks with her kindle. It’s sounds really good. I can’t keep it because I already promised it to her. When these babies turn up again, I’ll get my own.
@bfalter if that is the case contact support, click on my orders then click the “I need help with this” button under the order for the speaker. they will sort out the warranty issue.
Got mine (non-mini) a few days ago and just got some time to compare it to my non-BT JBL Micro 2.
The Bēm feels a little heftier in the hand, is less likely to be turned off accidentally, and simply looks cooler. That said, the default sound is rather muddy, with bass interfering a lot with vocals and other higher frequency sounds. I was able to EQ it out using my source device, and after that, it sounded quite good. Just sucks that when someone else hooks up to it, it’ll effectively revert.
The Micro 2 is more of a truly portable speaker: it has a hook for a carabiner, its form factor makes it much easier to stow in a pack, and the exterior seems more rugged. I like its flatter sound better by default, even if it doesn’t deal with max volume as well as the Bēm. If I see a deal on the JBL Clip 2 (BT), I’ll probably pick it up to have the best of both worlds.
Side note: as others have mentioned, the Bēm has an aux out, but realize going in that it will stay silent while passing the signal through (source -> Bēm -> whatever), so don’t buy two thinking you’re going to get a stereo/2-speaker mono setup. The Micro 2 does play the signal as it passes it through, so I was able to chain it (source -> Micro 2 -> Bēm).
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Speaker
1x USB charging cable
1x 3.5mm AUX cable
Pictures
Options
Not mini
Mini
Included with Mini
Detail of Mini
Not mini back view
Mini controls
Price Comparison
Mini: $26.33 at Amazon
Not-Mini: $28.99 at Amazon
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Warranty
90 Day Bēm
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
Speaker Thursday - Bem meh up Scottie !!
@AttyVette Meh must revise their description with this in it. @mediocrebot
Must resist
Meh.
Had one of these for over a year. For the size, the sound is excellent. For the price, these are beyond excellent.
Jump on it.
Gah, I convinced myself. Bought two more not-minis as Xmas gifts.
/giphy not-mini
Did I really just Rick-roll MYSELF???
@haydesigner I bought one. It straight up would not turn on after 2 weeks. Never again.
@navinraju there will always be a bum product sometimes. That’s why warranties and returns exist
I don’t follow it closely, but I’ve not heard of Bem products being bad like that at all.
Tequila makes me say “Good night”. I really don’t need this. So Meh!
Tequila makes my clothes fall off.
It’s shit from one of my favorite companies, Bem! Nah, it’s just shit, period.
Gotta be a joke in there somewhere about square golf and tennis balls, but I’m too tired to come up with it.
@MehnofLaMehncha Canada?
I’d buy one of these if Meh were actually selling them in meh-face print.
Where are my Meh-brand Bluetooth-enabled six-sided dice? I do a lot of board gaming, I’d actually use those.
@RDW0409 If meh sold dice, they’d be the rigged variety.
/youtube totally not rigged games of chance
Couldn’t resist. Bought two.
Liked the mini I got last time enough to buy two more on ebay. These really are surprisingly good.
Bēm Blūtūθ Spēkur. Mə!
I’m in for two minis
/giphy dated-cocky-dinner
What I wouldn’t do for the one with the meh face…
Get the “big one”. I have multiples of both thanks to meh. The bigger one has much better sound and controls are on the side like a rational product. These might be perfect to hide somewhere and play spooky sounds for Halloween.
@Sauce The “bottom side” of the mini is in the eye of the beholder. How dare you question its rationality?
Too scary. Rerolling giphy.
/giphy imagine spooky sounds
Where do I dock my phone on this?
@stinks If you cut a slot in the top with a hacksaw (redneck) or a Dremel (classy) you’ll be good to go. Or just use duct tape (redneck AND classy).
@bcuda67 True that.
I own one of these, the one with the buttons on the front. The sound is great for such a small simple speaker. It’s even got an audio out plug which is great for adding Bluetooth to an older stereo system.
Maybe if the brand were spelled with an umlaut instead of a macron I’d bite.
Ahhh…bluetooth speakers. Suddenly, life feels back to normal. No large 5.1 atmos speaker systems…no quadcopter drones…no BBQ thermometers…
Bluetooth speakers, just like meh meant the world to be…
Hmm. bēm looks a lot like meh backwards. Coincidence?!
But aux out is kind of not meh. What the heck…
@bcuda67 nah that’s Wal
Other than looking a lot less like a suppository (and, presumably, being less comfortable to use rectally), how do these compare to a Beats Pill?
Can it be charged if you are traveling and have 220 outlet?
@zydeeee88 looks like they charge over standard micro USB.
seriously- do i need to say it?
/giphy "arrogant-responsible-magpie"
are they better than the X-Minis?
@wnovak Holy shit yes. It’s like a Motorola RAZR vs iPhone spekaer.
@wnovak the mini one (HL2508B) sounds better than an x-mini, but it is not in stereo… so if you are used to using a single x-mini you will find the sound on this one (mini) to be better. I get around 2 hours of battery time when playing one pretty loudly.
The not-mini has an advantage over the mini here… it can be used as a bluetooth bridge… so say you really want to garble up your music and play it on a jbm mini speakerdock (with lighting port, ya know… the only port on the iphone sevens) over bluetooth… you can plug the not-mini aux out into the aux in on the jbl mini and connect to the not-mini with bluetooth and then you have a bluetooth enabled jbl mini speaker dock with lighting connector. I also assume the not-mini sounds even better than the mini because it takes up more space.
the mini does sound pretty good for its size.
so many mini.
@thismyusername Belated thanks for your comment. Never would’ve noticed that the not-mini had an aux out without reading it! (crossing my fingers that the aux-out isn’t mono only…)
Bought the mini last time it was a twofer. I may have to buy another one since the sound was so good my mother and sister stole them.
Wait, did the price just change from $8 for either to $8-$12?
@Jonas4321 no
@thismyusername The mobile app just shows $8 on the Buy It button until you click the Meh button, then it changes to $8-$12.
@Jonas4321 ahh that is something @shawn should know about… but having ordered one at 11ish central I will confirm that the prices were 8 and 12 from the start, despite the mobile rendering error.
@Jonas4321 which mobile app?
@shawn The Android mobile app.
@shawn Still shows that $8 at initial launch of the app.
@Jonas4321 we don’t have an official mobile app. We allow fans to build their own using our API. But if you’re able to let me know which Android app you’re using we might be able to get in touch with the developer and ask them to fix.
@shawn I did not know that!!! It’s the Meh Daily by Mark Kropivnitski. I like it otherwise, this is the first issue I have had with it.
This Christmas is going to be easy and great for my friends and family.
P.S. I got my VMP less than a week ago and I’ve saved a good bit of money. Also this is my first forum post here!
greedy-patronizing-van
@tylerdusty Welcome to the insanity!
@pitamuffin I’ll never forget you were my first reply! Thank you!
@tylerdusty welcome to the forums, pull up a chair.
Ooooh, temptation … why oh why do I already have a bem speaker?
mushy-glorified-amusement
Why does the power output say 1x2 for the not-mini and 1.5x2 for the mini? Is this stereo (two speakers in each cube)? Looking at the aux jacks it would appear that way too. Does anyone know?
Where’s the option for the one with Meh Smiles on it? I may order one of them!
@sohmageek But you hate Bluetooth.
One speaker or two ?
who uses bluetooth speakers anymore? i thought everyone was on chromecast audio now…
@tjamesturner people with a iPhone.
I have had 2 of the bigger ones - paid WAY much more than this - and the microUSB connection WILL break rendering it inoperable. There is a design flaw in the connection that makes it come lose from the board inside. After a while it will no longer charge and you have a cube paperweight.
@richmondhokie Thanks for the warning. Was curious if keeping the USB cable permanently plugged into the speaker could prevent this from happening in your opinion? (is it the stress of disconnecting/reconnecting the microUSB that causes it to come loose? Or is it doomed to fail no matter what?)
@lemonswithsalt From my experience, if you leave it plugged in, make sure there is NO stress on the cord. i.e. Not hanging off the edge of a shelf. This kinda defeats the purpose of a bluetooth speaker
@richmondhokie Decided to take a flyer on it for use as a bluetooth bridge. Will definitely avoid any stress on the cord. Thanks again for the heads up.
I don’t need another bluetooth speaker… I don’t need another bluetooth speaker…
Wow, does everyone and their grandmother make Bluetooth speakers?
Also “Bee uh Em”? As in “do you need a B uh M?” As in do you need a bowel movement?"
Big pass because the company is named after poop.
@TheMonkeyKing beam… the line over the e makes it a ee sound so beem.
and why bluetooth? because the world needs more security holes.
@thismyusername Bluetooth because some phone manufacturers are anti-3.5mm jack.
On the other hand…this is about as cheap as you can go with needing something for the exChange.
Called it yesterday. Speaker today. Light bulbs tomorrow.
These are best little speakers I’ve e er owned. There’s enough bass to shake your desktop. I just order another one from Meh and that brings my total to 6. Do I like these.?..Do you need to ask. I have 6 & I plan to give some to family and friends at Christmas. Oh ya, they would make for great stocking stuffers. Or just for the hell of it give one to someone you like or love. They can’t be beat. I hope that Meh doesn’t have these for another deal of the day. I might be tempted. Oh go ahead and do it Meh. Temp me! Buy one today. Meh you’re AWSOME.
I would like to get a little more information before I make up my mind. I’m really considering these but I don’t know which size is better. I’ve heard several complaints about the charging port having troubles and I’ve also heard mixed opinions about the sound quality. Help! Do these suck or are they great or somewhere in between?
With only 40 CX-10 quadcopters, today’s mini can rise up and become an airborne music delivery system! (according to detailed simulation).
It’s time for Meh!-tizens to stand up and storm the beaches! (perhaps some Mediocre staffers could shoot video showing this coordinated quadcopter action shots of this awesomeness)
Anyone super excited about these?
@5665150 I find it impossible to get excited about mini Bluetooth speakers every deal site has sold a 100 varieties of them.
/giphy do not want
The exact wrong shape for portability.
buying one to duct tape to my brunton lantern!
/giphy violent-ultra-insect
I’m discussing my rad purchase.
@Rakaim
/giphy rad purchase
LOL it uses mini USB. This would have gone great with my blackberry 8 years ago
obvious-omniscient-calendar
Ahhahaha, ordered a Mini intending to use it as a bluetooth receiver for my stereo. Then noticed that’s the one without aux output. Oops.
Fortunately, I still have my BlueSYNC SPB, which was another meh purchase.
anyone’s order ship yet?
Still waiting on mine to ship. My Martian Notifier watch has shipped though. Step it up, Meh!
@yitzrand @DuskShine
That said mine shipped on Friday
@thismyusername Well shoot, I wish I had noticed that. Thanks for pointing it out!
@thismyusername mine just shipped today
Mini not-mini review
I think the red mini (HL2508) sounds better, which doesn’t make much sense… well to be clear I mean the red minis from last time, not the black minis from this time… anyway the mini (HL2508) sounds better than the not-mini (HL2202A) in my opinion.
the bluetooth aux out on the not-mini (HL2202A) is STEREO so these make a decent bluetooth bridge if you are into that sorta thing.
Granny is beaming with her BEM not mini. Makes using her tablet and old laptop easier for her to listen to her tunes and streaming videos. The option for bluetooth or plugin really works for her. Sound is awesome.
I got mine today, and it charged fine, but I can’t get it to turn on. Anyone else having the same problem?
@benbs buttons are on the bottom. on/off, volume and advance to next track.
@perdi I know. I push the on/off button and nothing happens. The manual says the Bluetooth light is supposed to turn on indicating it’s ready to pair, but I get nothing. Charging light seems to work fine though (blinks red until full, then green).
@benbs hold the power button down until it makes the start up sound.
Got mine Thursday for my sister to listen to audiobooks with her kindle. It’s sounds really good. I can’t keep it because I already promised it to her. When these babies turn up again, I’ll get my own.
I listened to a few podcasts and had listened to some study music ([Swift Concentration on iTunes][1]
[1]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/swift-concentration/idpl.88da7dccd58141ee821d3370b874c917
Got mine today. It doesn’t hold a charge, only works if it’s plugged in. Meh.
@bfalter FYI Bem does not honor warranties on the mini mobile as it is now discontinued
@bfalter if that is the case contact support, click on my orders then click the “I need help with this” button under the order for the speaker. they will sort out the warranty issue.
Got mine (non-mini) a few days ago and just got some time to compare it to my non-BT JBL Micro 2.
The Bēm feels a little heftier in the hand, is less likely to be turned off accidentally, and simply looks cooler. That said, the default sound is rather muddy, with bass interfering a lot with vocals and other higher frequency sounds. I was able to EQ it out using my source device, and after that, it sounded quite good. Just sucks that when someone else hooks up to it, it’ll effectively revert.
The Micro 2 is more of a truly portable speaker: it has a hook for a carabiner, its form factor makes it much easier to stow in a pack, and the exterior seems more rugged. I like its flatter sound better by default, even if it doesn’t deal with max volume as well as the Bēm. If I see a deal on the JBL Clip 2 (BT), I’ll probably pick it up to have the best of both worlds.
Side note: as others have mentioned, the Bēm has an aux out, but realize going in that it will stay silent while passing the signal through (source -> Bēm -> whatever), so don’t buy two thinking you’re going to get a stereo/2-speaker mono setup. The Micro 2 does play the signal as it passes it through, so I was able to chain it (source -> Micro 2 -> Bēm).
This is without qualification the best Bluetooth speaker I have. Really decent volume, good sounding, easy controls. Winner.
It works, but not very well. Every time I try to listen via Bluetooth it crackles, skips or doesn’t work. I’d return it if I could.