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We know the beauty of Libratone products since the debut at IFA 2009 with its most important features: the combination of Northern European design with the refinement and cleanliness of the sound versatility of the Airplay option, ideal for those who want to manage a multiroom system from iTunes on Mac or communicate directly with iPhone and iPad.
Over time the company has changed its corporate structure with a strong investment of capitals from the Far East and some top products such as the great speakers Diva and Lounge have been removed from the list but the underlying philosophy has remained unchanged with the introduction of more “personal” models that bring 360 ° audio to any environment of the house and with new lines of in-ear and on-ear headphones with a refined design and excellent sound quality.
The product of the new Libratone that we review is certainly one of the most interesting for versatility and taken nta with unique features in its class. The first feature is the versatility of connection: Wi-Fi (with Airplay and DLNA among others), Bluetooth APTX, standard Bluetooth input and USB Audio. In practice, you can connect any type of device wirelessly or with a cable and even power it on the go. Yes, because Zipp Mini is also equipped with an 8.5 hour rechargeable battery that allows you to take it anywhere, even in the bathroom: even if it is not waterproof it can withstand humidity without problems.
The packaging
Libratone's design care is also reflected in the study of the packaging which is perfectly in line with the quality of the product and whose opening is a discovery of the quality of the materials and accessories. Opening the large cylinder we arrive at the discovery of the individual components starting with the power supply equipped with interchangeable socket (an excellent viaticum for travelers) and Nylon connection cord to get to the speaker that immediately shows the reason for the name Zipp: the 3/4 of the upper cylinder are covered with a transparent material to the sound secured to the lower part with a large Zipp.
The Zip is not a simple artifice to baptize the product but it is the characteristic that makes it adaptable to any setting: Libratone has sent us 3 replacement covers (you can observe the process of changing clothes in our photo gallery) with which it is possible to customize the appearance of most of the surface of the speaker to the maximum, leaving the lower part intact of a neutral white and the upper part that carries a touch control system.
Inputs and controls
In the lower part of the speaker we find the power switch, the power socket, the Aux input and a USB socket that has a dual function: it can work as an audio interface to obtain the highest quality from the go cable connection and at the same time can power the connected iPhone and iPad. The interface with the user, however, is realized in the upper part of the speaker with a large glossy and touch-sensitive pearl “button” placed on the spherical cap that closes the speaker: the nightingale of the Libratone logo lights up with an intense white all over. switch on and awaits the adjustment of the volume, the level of which is traced by luminous dots around the logo. The functions of the touch surface are explained in the round-shaped manual attached to the package but also in the connected app and we see them illustrated below. The interface also responds with a sort of haptic feedback and this makes the interaction engaging as well as scenegrophic thanks to the LED lights used. If you cover the entire surface with your palm you can mute the speaker momentarily. The system also features a microphone with which to interact with your phone in the event of an incoming call – a luxury speakerphone for your home or office. You can also hang it with the cute leather eyelet which can also be used for transport from one room to another without touching the fabric cover. An extra precaution and usefulness to preserve the aesthetic quality of the product.
Let's connect it and position it!
Thanks at the interface we were able to quickly create the Bluetooth transmission while for the Wi-Fi – Airplay the procedure is a little more complicated but much easier than the previous versions of Libratone products. If we are within the same Wi-Fi network it will be possible to manage multiple speakers at the same time from iTunes on Mac and PC and on iOS with applications such as Whale.
The application of Libratone will instead allow us to manage many parameters according to the positioning of the speaker in the room (on the table, on the floor, in the library) and the type of music we listen to by finding the most suitable equalization that the developers have pre-programmed but nothing there it prevents us, by using familiar traces, from using the combination that we like best or deciding on a neutral behavior. If we use the Wi-Fi connection we can both take advantage of online services such as Spotify and choose 5 Web radio stations that we like and pre-program it on the touch interface to access them at any time without other sources connected: the operation and programming from the Application are absolutely comfortable and effective.
You can also see these in our gallery of screenshots.
How it sounds and where it sounds
If we take a step back and refer to our photos and the diagram below we realize that the speaker has a rather unusual speaker arrangement: here the aim is not to reconstruct a stereophonic front that would be limited for such a shape and size but rather to spread the music on a 360 ° front in the room or to have the speaker next to your bed or on the table in a living room. Nobody forbids placing it on a bookcase or on a shelf to further strengthen the good bass but, as we shall see, some positions give further merit to the constructive choice.
In practice, 3 “woofer and tweeter from 1 “are positioned in the upper part, facing upwards and has a diffusion system which, thanks to the reflection on a deflector placed at the top, spreads 360 degrees, while the lower part has a double passive system available which increases its intensity without ever overdoing it. The result is a sound that loses stereo but has the same intensity in any position you are around the speaker: the best results are obtained with the top of the same at the height of your ears.
We have tried it on a coffee table, on a shelf, inside a bookcase and on the table where we are writing this review and we must say that in this last position the results are of the highest level. The small speaker has a mix of sound quality and balanced bass presence that is transmitted to the surface we work on that make us enjoy music in a new way.
We tested the speaker with an infinite series of songs of all kinds, from orchestral music to 80s disco, from Prodigy to the most recent pop songs, passing from jazz classics to “environmental” music: no effort is made in listening and in the case of old LPs mastered like a vintage Elton John rediscover old-style cymbal recordings that speak volumes about the speaker's analytical skills even if in some cases the highs seem a little sibilant.
sound emission level of a speaker of this size is not exceptional also because Libratone seems to have limited the raw power to obtain an undistorted sound even at the highest levels. The use on a table or small table seems to increase the vibration capacity of the emission making some parts of strings, some acoustic basses really present in the environment.
to say that Libratone has maintained, series after series, its timbral coherence, making it possible to add different types of speakers in different rooms without perceiving, beyond the difference in level, a change in the balance of the emissions on the frequencies thanks to a good intervention of its DSP which, at least in the neutral mode, “defines” in some way a sound that is never exaggerated, with bass present but not bulky, with detailed mids and with a spatial presence that compensates for the monophonic emission as the sum of the two channels.
SoundSpace Link and Spotify Connect
The speaker has the ability to connect with another Libratone in the same Wi-Fi network to play in unison. We could not try this option having only one Zipp but it can be very convenient for those who do not have a computer with iTunes and use a source other than iOS. We haven't even tried the Spotify connect function.
Conclusion
We liked Libratone Zipp, the sound is amazingly balanced and present even if it does not reach party levels. It is a very versatile system to bring music into every room and even outside without having to worry about the listening position or perhaps with the help of vibrant floors that we find in home or garden furniture. The Airplay and DLNA connections, the web radio and the simple bluetooth make it an excellent wireless system that can be configured at will.
Note of March 2021: version 2 of Zipp Mini has been available for some time. while maintaining the same basic characteristics, it has a more enveloping 360 ° sound, a 12-hour battery and is compatible, in addition to Airplay 2, also with Alexa.
Pro
Versatility of connections, suggestive and engaging touch interface, balanced sound em ai pumped, possibility of multiroom. Top-notch design. Cost (at least with the current discount) proportionate to the quality and beauty of the product.
Cons
Monophonic emission
Retail price
Zipp mini 2 (the new version with 12 hours of battery, improved 360 ° sound and Alexa compatibility) costs 249 Euros to the list public but is currently on offer for a limited period by Amazon. The basic colors available are Silver, Black, Red and Green. Below you can see the latest prices available on Amazon for the different colors.
B07H51W2N8 [/asa2]
B07H51KC8F [/asa2]
B07H4RSDLK [/asa2]
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