Have you bought a new TV but are dissatisfied with the audio provided by the integrated speakers? You should definitely consider purchasing a soundbar, preferably one with a high-performance sub woofer. Whether you have a lot or little space available, but especially if you have a limited budget and high demands, you should consider the new Xiaomi Mi Soundbar 2.1, which has nothing smart, but has a character that will make itself felt through the 100 W of power it enjoys. Curious? Then discover it in this complete review.
The sales package is essential even if the dimensions are very generous, but overall the products are well protected by a layer of cardboard and foam. We find inside everything you need, or almost everything, to start using the audio system: you will have to equip yourself with two adapters for the European socket since what is in the package shows the Chinese plug (power supply and subwoofer plug). Overall, the package contains the following content:
- Xiaomi Mi Soundbar 2.1;
- S / PDIF cable (coaxial);
- RCA cable for connecting the sub woofer;
- 15V / 2A -30W power supply with Asian socket and proprietary output;
- 2 stops with relative screws with sound bar housing (hole distance 430 mm);
- Manuals (exclusively in Chinese).
As you may have guessed, the audio system consists of two main modules made of ABS plastic, such as the soundbar and the sub woofer model, which alone boasts a total power of 66 W by means of a 6,5-inch speaker and impedance from 4 Ohm. Under the hood of the soundbar, on the other hand, we find 2 tweeters and 2 full-frequency spekers, also with an impedance of 4 Ohm, while the power of these reaches 34 W which therefore combined with the subwoofer allow to release 100 W of audio power.
Really impressive values that objectively ensure listening even at long distances, if you have a large living room but above all they will allow you to animate parties and parties in general, perhaps using the 5.0 Bluetooth connectivity enjoyed by this Xiaomi Home Theater system, allowing therefore a fast and stable connection with any source that takes advantage of this technology. I would therefore say a universal audio system, allowing for example to connect PCs and have practically no lag. Unfortunately, however, there are no specific codecs available, such as aptX.
However, a clarification must be made as the dynamic range reproduced goes from 35 Hz to 20 KHz and this means that if we play audio content at very low volume, the rendering will not be brilliant at all, indeed it will seem that the audio "comes and goes" : a decidedly extreme situation, as no one will use a product with 100 W power to listen to content at minimum volume, but in any case it is right to point out every small defect or alleged such.
In fact, I also point out the measurements of the two modules, that is 90 x 6,3 x 10,2 cm and a weight of 2,05 kg relative to the soundbar, which can still be anchored to the wall but if you keep the same on the TV cabinet, you must keep in mind that for some television models, the bar may be higher than the edge of the frame where the IR receiver for the remote control is usually inserted, thus covering it and thus compromising the reception of commands. So the advice is to position the bar slightly asymmetrical with respect to the axis of the TV, in order to leave the IR receiver free.
Regarding the subwoofer, we are in the presence of a black block weighing 4,3 kg and dimensions of 24 x 24 x 30,6, which rests on 3 rubber feet that keep raised from the surface where the block is placed, the speaker, as well as allowing greater stability. On the rear profile we find the power button and the sub woofer volume adjustment wheel, according to your needs and taste.
Also for the soundbar we have a sort of rubber feet, positioned on the bottom, to make it better adhere to the contact surface of the cabinet, managing vibrations even at high volumes, as well as having a front covering in netted fabric, which runs along the entire perimeter front and part of the front. On the back we have the inputs for the audio sources, having available 1 AUX input, 1 optical type input, 1 Coaxial input as well as the connection input of the sub woofer, power inputs and power button.
On the upper part we have an area where the touch buttons are located that will allow us to control the listening volume of the bar, make the switch to the various audio sources (AUX, Coax, Optical), turn on the Bluetooth module, as well as to activate Cinema mode, which is a function that will virtually simulate the surround effect, ideal for Movies and TV Series.
As for Bluetooth, it should be specified that this only allows us to play audio content but not answer incoming or running calls from the smartphone, but above all that for some smartphones the listening volume is managed only by the phone itself while for others device, we will have a double volume, namely that of the soundbar and that of the phone.
Having said that, the audio reproduced by the Xiaomi TV Home Theater is very good, from all the inputs used, ensuring optimal management of the sound spectrum, even at rather high volumes. The use of the sub woofer is essential in certain scenarios, such as in action films and although we do not have a Dolby Atmos certification, the contents reproduced with this technology are really of quality, especially if we use the Cinema mode, which of course to be best appreciated, you should be in front of the audio source.
The system of touch buttons at each command emits a small sound, which cannot be eliminated, but above all these will be the only possibility to interact with the stereo system, since we do not have a remote control supplied, which would have been useful for example for switch from various audio sources. However, it must be said that in 99% of cases, once you have made the right volume adjustments, the settings will remain in memory and therefore, unless you have to change the audio source, you will hardly need to adjust the settings again.
PROJECTED IMPACT
Considering that even the thousand thousand euro TVs generally do not integrate speakers at the height, I would say that the Xiaomi Mi Soundbar 2.0 meets but above all manages to satisfy a large part of the user's sound needs. Of course we have the compromise of the absence of the remote control as well as the absence of specific codecs, but the sources from which to draw for the sound make it practically universal
The Xiaomi multimedia center is available via discount coupon on the Banggood store, at a price of about 173 euros, a decidedly attractive price for the qualitative rendering of the audio: powerful and balanced, able to exalt in an exceptional and very spatial way the audio from TV but also from video games.
Have you had the change to compare sound quality when the soundbar is connected via Digital Optical which VS Bluetooth and other connections on it?
And truly one of the worst products of XIAOMI we didn't have it all down the line .... money down the drain