We’re not gonna mince words here. The Capdase Mini Beat Mono is an out-and-out clone of the uber-popular X-mini mono speaker. It will allow you to use it as a louder external speaker for your phone, tablet or other device, and it also doubles as a standalone MP3 player using its micro SD card reader. So the question now is…
…Is it worth your while?
Capdase is known for its quality line of cases for phones, laptops and tablets.
Okay, the big elephant in the room is your wondering if the Capdase Mini Beat Mono is worth getting instead of an X-mini speaker. And my answer is: If you’re a features kind of person, then it probably is. The Capdase is actually set to compete with the higher end X-mini HAPPY speaker, rather than the basic X-mini models, in terms of features.
Here’s what you get on the Capdase Mini Beat:
And of course the drummed up boomy sound that you have come to expect from these tiny speakers.
Okay. If you are gonna ask me which sounds better between the X-mini and the Capdase, I have to admit that I can’t answer that. They all sound the same to me. And by that, I mean that I think these tiny speakers in general are over-hyped. Yes, they will sound better than your cellphone speaker. They will be louder than your iPad and most laptop speakers. But that’s about it. Do not expect them to become the centerpiece of your home audio system.
And if you are gonna ask me which one lasts longer, I have to say that I can’t give you a scientific answer. Suffice to say that they both lasted long enough. You can play music for the entire day and just recharge it at night.
In other words, feature for feature, the Capdase is quite at par with the X-mini. And that’s a good thing. Build quality is pretty good too.
So now, here’s the not so good.
With more features comes more complexity. And with more complexity comes utter confusion. It took me a while to figure out the controls. That’s because the unit relies on what it ambidextrously calls the Multi-Function Track button. Refer to the pictures above. It’s the one with the “Mode” labeling. That one button does everything from change playback mode, to play and pause, go forward, move ahead, and even volume!
And it’s gonna drive you nuts until you master it, because 4 times out of 5 you’re gonna either not get what you wanted to do, or accidentally press the button when you wanted to flip it left or right.
Grrr.
Oh, and I have one other complaint. The design. It just looks a bit too floral for my taste, what with the petal-like structures on the casing:
The girls might love this. But me? I don’t think I want to be caught red-handed with this in a Fitness First or something.
But those are just about my only two gripes. Is it worth it? Well, again, this is a features war. If you are the type who goes for branding, then go X-mini away. But if you are more into what you can get out of your unit for the price (kind’a like an Apple vs. Android war here), then you go Capdase yourself.
Capdase Mini Beat Mono Portable Speaker
SRP: 1,950
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