Xiaomi Sound experience： not only Xiao Ai, but also smart speakers

I believe that in the field of smart speakers, Xiaomi and Apple are two of the more interesting players.

Among them, Xiaomi’s previous smart speaker products always couldn’t avoid the keyword "Xiao Ai Audio", so it seemed that no matter how the appearance and function changed, it always seemed like the physical version of Xiao Ai. And Apple’s HomePod, as the "home version" of the iPod, was obviously straight for sound quality, but its performance in terms of intelligence was mediocre.

At the press conference some time ago, in addition to the Xiaomi MIX4 and the new Xiaomi TV, Xiaomi also released the new Xiaomi Sound. As an old user of Xiaomi IoT devices, my first reaction is that Xiaomi is finally going to focus on sound quality this time, so today we will see if it is more of a speaker besides smart.

A new "little fat man"

Holding it in my hands, Xiaomi Sound gave me the first impression that it was a little fat man. With a diameter of 134mm but a height of only 128mm, Xiaomi Sound was naturally different from those tall and thin speakers.

But to be honest, this reassured me in terms of sound quality before I started using it. After all, generally speaking, good sound is inseparable from a larger sound unit. Xiaomi Sound has installed a 2.25-inch NdFeB dual magnetic circuit full-frequency unit, which is about 5.715 cm. So Xiaomi Sound is actually a bit "puffy".

▲ Left: with protective film; Right: without protective film

Tear off the protective film, and you can see that there is a circle of transparent material with a thickness of 7mm around Xiaomi Sound. Therefore, the whole body appears more transparent, but it also reduces the diameter of the body by 14mm. It is more reasonable to use a generating unit close to 5.7mm.

▲ Official schematic

At the top of the machine is a floating top cover similar to a "flying saucer speaker", which contains the control section of Xiaomi Sound, providing play/pause and volume adjustment buttons, but it cannot be used to switch between the previous song and the next song, which is a bit regrettable.

Similar to other Xiaoai speakers, pressing the play button twice will disable the microphone, and long pressing will initialize into network distribution mode.

There is a circle of light bars between the suspended top cover and the main body of the fuselage, which will emit different lights according to the state of the speaker, which can play a reminder role but is not dazzling.

Overall, Xiaomi Sound’s size as a smart speaker is still a little small, which also limits its choice of speakers, which should affect the actual sound effect. However, as a smart audio device, Xiaomi Sound’s appearance is still more versatile, and there is no problem in placing it next to the monitor, TV, and inside the cabinet.

And Xiaomi Sound adopts the design of the bottom hidden power interface, which makes the whole machine look more simple, and can achieve the effect of true wireless speakers by blocking against the wall or with other products.

After talking about the appearance, it should naturally be the use experience.

audio quality audition

Regarding the sound quality of Xiaomi Sound, I recorded three clips in mono and multi-channel respectively, so you can feel it for yourself.

▲ Audio 1 (two channels)

▲ Audio 2 (two-channel)

▲ Audio 3 (two-channel)

▲ Audio 1 (mono)

▲ Audio 2 (mono)

▲ Audio 3 (mono)

Regarding the song that everyone is looking forward to, I also recorded a clip at the end, but I will not compare it.

A direct summary of Xiaomi Sound’s audio performance. Combining Hamanka tuning with computational audio, etc., Xiaomi Sound does achieve a good listening experience at a relatively small size. However, the problem is that its actual performance is higher than expected in combination with the size, but the smaller body and speakers also limit the overall sound quality.

So Xiaomi Sound gave me the feeling that it exceeded expectations, but there were not too many surprises. Combined with the price of 499 yuan, I think it can form a "black and white two-channel stereo" after the white version is sold, or you can get the second one after the price reduction, which will bring a certain improvement to the overall listening experience.

Xiao Ai, go back to the speaker.

As a smart speaker product under Xiaomi, it has built-in Xiao Ai classmate, which can control smart home devices, play music, audiobooks, etc. It is already a routine operation, and I will not repeat it here.

This time Xiaomi Sound has brought Hi-Res Audio high-resolution certification, indicating that it can better play lossless music. However, there is no special area in the Xiaoai speaker APP at present, and I hope to provide more official lossless resources in the future.

Next, there are two new features added by Xiaomi Sound this time. The first is Xiaomi Miaobo, users can send mobile phone audio to the speaker output in the action sheet, and because the speaker itself supports 5G Wi-Fi, it can ensure low latency and high sound quality.

The other is the relay function. With Xiaomi MIX4, users can get close to Xiaomi Sound through their mobile phones to achieve audio switching, which is equivalent to preparing a quick operation for the above functions.

This feature is based on UWB technology, and the two devices do not need to be attached to each other like NFC recognition. However, it will misidentify the phone when it is close to the speaker, and it can only be used with the Xiaomi MIX4 at present.

The Xiaomi Miaobo introduced earlier is based on Wi-Fi networks. Although it currently only supports MIX4 and Xiaomi Pad 5, theoretically other models can be adapted through software updates.

Finally, to sum up, Xiaomi Sound, as the latest smart speaker under Xiaomi, not only retains the functions of Xiao Ai and smart home control, Bluetooth gateway, etc., but also shows Xiaomi’s idea of promoting sound quality in the speaker category.

Due to the limited volume, although the sound quality of Xiaomi Sound is quite good, it is also good to build a two-channel system under 1,000 yuan. But I think if Xiaomi wants to continue to expand the Sound category, it should further break the size limit and make future products have better sound quality.

In terms of connectivity, supporting 5G Wi-Fi can effectively improve audio and latency performance whether it is to set up two-channel, or to connect with mobile phones and tablets. However, its UWB function does not feel any essential difference with NFC in actual use. Instead, it will become a weak function for a period of time because there are still relatively few Xiaomi mobile phones that support this function.

So if you want a smart speaker that combines small size with better sound quality, Xiaomi Sound is still a good choice. If you are not so sensitive to size, I think it may be better to choose Xiaoai speaker HD.