Hello!
When we hear about a device from a company Xiaomi, the thought automatically appears in our head that it should be an unusual design and inexpensive device.
And yet, this Chinese company has taught us not only stylish and inexpensive, but also unusual gadgets. It seems that in China Xiaomi, like Jackie Chan, he can and does everything. From this electronics manufacturer you can find the most unusual gadgets, ranging from smartphones and accessories for them, and ending with household appliances.
This time I got my hands on a second generation wireless speaker called Cannon 2 or Round 2.
Neat, small packaging made in the company's inherent minimalist design.
The appearance dilutes the drawing in the form of small gray dots.
The box is very durable. It won't work just like that. I will not try to get up on it, as I did with the Mi Band 2 bracelet box?
Inside there is a column, a short booklet with a description of the main elements and controls and that's it. Not even a cable. It seems that Xiaomi decided to follow in the footsteps of Japanese electronics manufacturers, who in the domestic market have long ceased to put chargers in a set for smartphones, considering that every home has at least one charger.
To prevent the speaker from dangling on the box, molds are made of foam at the edges.
The device has a small, comfortable size and a very pleasant appearance.
Height 93.3 mm, diameter 60 mm.
Collected column from two main parts.
Bottom plastic base, on which there is an aluminum rotating ring with speaker mesh. The upper rotating part is also the only control element. Long press – enable or disable. Double click – disconnection with the current device and readiness for a new connection. Single press – start / stop playback and answer / end a call. Sideways rotation – volume change.
The body has a barely noticeable designation of the sides of increasing and decreasing the volume.
At the back is a microUSB charging connector.
On the bottom there is a rubber pad that prevents slipping on the surface.
An unusual element is the rubber ring, which serves to carry the speaker and at the same time acts as a pressure limiter.
This is done so that the user does not accidentally turn off the column, since all controls are built into the upper ring. For the first couple of minutes I didn't know how to turn on the speaker. Yes…
In order to turn on the column, you need to remove the ring, and press the top for a couple of seconds. After switching on, the blue LED at the bottom will flash. After that, no additional action is required – the speaker is ready for pairing.
The column loves to communicate with the user, accompanying almost every action with prompts in a pleasant female voice. But she does it, as you probably guessed, also in the great and mighty, but not Russian, but Chinese.
How to russify, or at least to anglicize the column, I never found. Perhaps some of the readers know the answer to this question?
When connected to a smartphone, the device name appears in the status bar (I was surprised and a little upset that the device name displayed in the phone menu is displayed in Chinese), which can be changed in the bluetooth settings.
Then you can play music.
But before turning on the music, a few more words about the appearance, materials and characteristics.
Cannon 2 comes in two colors – black and white. Matt black color. In this case, the upper aluminum part is also dark, but in a slightly different shade.
In my case, the light version is white milky plastic on the bottom and silver brushed aluminum on the top.
In everyday use, the device hardly gets dirty. There are prints that are almost invisible and very easily erased.
The only controversial point is the design of the top, where the speaker is located. By the way, there is one speaker here, produced by the Danish company Tymphany, with a power of 5W.
So, the speaker is covered with a mesh, which in turn is covered with a cloth that gets dirty pretty quickly in white. It doesn't look very neat. If you have a white column and you decide to remove the fabric, there will be a black mesh inside. An unfortunate mistake.
The device only connects via bluetooth. No cable connections are provided. Therefore, you will have to monitor the charge level so as not to be left without music. For devices based on iOS and on android smartphones Xiaomi, it is easier to do this – the battery level is displayed on the screen.
The speaker can be used as a headset – there is a built-in microphone. In this capacity, everything is quite good. If you do not go far, you and you can hear well and without interference. I tried to use it as a speakerphone in the car – I really liked it. Probably, she will eventually move there.
The battery capacity is an impressive 1200mAh. Together with bluetooth version 4.1, this allows the speaker to work for more than 7 hours at full volume. My continuous playback time was 7 hours 25 minutes. Not a record, but a decent result.
The connection range is standard 10 meters, plus or minus one meter. The apartment has a good connection through the wall.
Sound
As strange as it may sound, the sound in wireless acoustics is not the most important thing. Yes, it is important, and it is better that it be good, but you must admit it is strange to expect a concert quality wireless speaker. This follows from the scenario of using such devices. The main purpose of such a speaker is to sound a small room or a trip to nature / summer cottage, creating the necessary atmosphere or mood with the help of background music. And for these purposes, a wireless speaker is very, very useful. Another scenario is watching a movie on a laptop or tablet when the built-in speakers are not powerful enough.
The Cannon 2's sound is good. The volume reserve is enough to sound a room in a standard apartment, or to go outdoors to a not very noisy place. There is not enough low frequencies, there are frankly few of them. But the highs and the middle are perfectly audible. Another plus is that the speaker does not rattle and choke even at maximum volume.
Of the minuses, we can note the occasional desire to add volume and low frequencies.
Conclusion
The column went on sale more than two years ago, and during this time it has fallen in price almost three times. At the moment, the average cost is from 1000 to 1500 rubles if you buy in China, and 1300 – 2500, according to Yandex Market, if you buy in Russia.
In this price segment, the speaker from xiaomi has a lot of worthy competitors. These are mainly budget solutions from JBL, as well as a lot of products from Chinese manufacturers of the second and third echelons. May I recommend buying Cannon 2? It depends on the goals. If the goal is watching movies on a laptop or tablet, or listening to podcasts and audiobooks, then definitely yes. Another speaker will do well with the role of a speakerphone in a car. In these qualities, a stylish accessory from Xiaomi will easily take its place in almost any interior. If the goal is music, and even in an open space, then the answer is no. For this, the speaker lacks both power and volume.