BlueAnt X1i 14W BT portable speaker – loud and well, loud (speaker review)

The BlueAnt X1i 14W BT portable speaker punches well above its weight courtesy of 2×7=14W amps, 2x 43mm drivers, and top and bottom passive radiators at just $99 (each).

We love the BlueAnt sound signature, and this ably lives up to that standard. That is, despite being IP56 weather-resistant – it is really hard for this style of sealed speaker.

Add Bluetooth 5.3 and Duo stereo pairing capability, and it’s a winner.

Australian Review: BlueAnt X1i 14W BT portable speaker

Website	Product Page and Manual
Price	$99
Warranty	1-year ACL
From	BlueAnt online
Country of Manufacture	China
Company	BlueAnt is 100% Australian, Est 2004 in Melbourne, by passionate music lovers; it designs a range of musically accurate speakers, soundbars, headphones/buds, and microphones.
More	CyberShack BlueAnt news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Shimmerweave – Pass+

It is a fairly squat cylinder at 90mm round x 100mm high x 395g. It has a rear lanyard, USB-C charging port and 3.5mm AUX in. The front has Volume up/down and a multi-function button to play/pause, call a voice assistant, or answer/reject a call (it is a speaker phone as well).

It comes in Shimmerwave Ocean Blue (teal), Crimson Red and Slate black.

Battery life – Pass

According to BlueAnt, the battery life is around 10 hours (at 50%), and a charge takes about 3 hours from a 5V/1A/5W USB charger (USB-C to USB-A cable supplied).

We tested at 75% and got 7 hours, so the claim is accurate.

Sound quality and Volume – Pass+

It can reach 85dB (loud), but you will notice some distortion, so back off a little.

BlueAnt claims 150Hz-20kHz, but our tests show low mid-bass starting at 50Hz and solidly building to 75Hz before flattening through to 7kHz before a dip to avoid treble harshness and then flat to 210kHz- excellent.

This is a Neutral signature: The audiophile standard is a flat (good) response that neither adds nor subtracts from the original music! The only issue here is garbage-in, garbage-out – the better the music quality, the better it sounds.

This is far better than most weather-resistant speakers.

Stereo – Pass+

You select one as the master and BT long press (as long as it takes) until you hear ‘Duo Mode Pairing’. Then you connect the host to the master via BT. It becomes the left channel, and the slave becomes the right.

The master splits the BT SBC codec into two channels and transmits to the slave (up to 5 metres but don’t try that). The stereo effect is quite good, but you need to increase the volume over using it as mono. It remains in Duo mode until you cancel the mode.

This is perfect for TVs, caravans, music on your desk etc.

Hands-free – Passable

First, it is not a Google/Siri speaker (that requires a Wi-Fi connection) per se, so the mic is not a fancy far-field one. It relies on a BT connection to a smartphone.

It is a reasonable hands-free BT speaker, and callers commented that my voice was clear and loud. The sound at my end was loud. But it has no noise cancelling and is strictly for use indoors.

CyberShack’s view – BlueAnt X1i – a potent 14W BT speaker, does stereo mode too

 At $99, what have you got to lose? Great sound, stereo pairing, decent battery life, good looks, and supports an Aussie company. This is it if you want a very portable speaker with a lanyard.

Rating Explanation

• Features: 90 – It has everything you expect of a BT speaker, plus stereo pair
• Value: 95 – excellently priced, so buy two
• Performance: 90 – surprisingly good sound from such a small unit – it even has enough mid-bass to satisfy
• Ease of Use: 90 – its BT and manual buttons
• Design: 90 – Shimmerweave is nice