MINIRIG 3 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Discontinued, please search for the new version MRBT4

Looks good with great sound and build quality. I was specifically looking for a speaker with an aux in port as well as Bluetooth. It’s surprisingly hard to find out whether other brands support aux in when looking on line so I was delighted to find this. (See aux in caveat at end of review) I also wanted really good sound quality as this is my primary music system, I live off grid and wanted something that could be charged off a 12v system. I listen to a wide variety of music and this is really great across the board. Good bass when required but not overbearing. I haven’t listened to spoken word much on it but prob wouldn’t get this if that will be your main concern. I haven’t gone for the subwoofer but in my small space this is more than powerful enough. It was bigger than I expected, I prob wouldn’t want to carry it around as a general thing. If I was looking for an everyday portable speaker that wasn’t my main system I’d look at the smaller one, I haven’t heard it myself but it gets good reviews. It comes in an annoyingly nice box that I can’t bring myself to throw away! It also has a soft case with a net top. I’ve kept it in this when using outside as a bit of protection. I opened the top when playing music but expect it would be fine with the top closed. Battery life is great, I haven’t had to charge it yet. It also connects really easily. I’ve not really used Bluetooth before but it was very straight forward. It didn’t have instructions with it which was a bit annoying, a quick search online solved any questions I had though. It also came with various cables and a lanyard. Included is a cable allowing you plug a usb in to charge your phone at the same time as listening to music, very handy given that Bluetooth rinses my phone battery quickly. One small downside for me is that the volume was limited when using aux in. I tried it with my phone and an iPod with aux in. In both cases the volume couldn’t go as loud as I’d like. I’m guessing this is because the device assumes it’s going to earphones which are always limited so as not to damage your ears. Aux in still played at a very useable volume for general use, just not for those occasions when you want to blast a song out. With Bluetooth I could play it as loud as I’d like.

I've long been a fan of British hi-fi. Since the 70's I have spent more money than I really should have on a who's who of equipment, from the likes of Sugden, Quad, Naim and Rogers. My affection isn't scientific, I simply believe that the same recording can sound quite mundane, or on the other hand, blow your socks off, depending on the equipment used. Some years ago, I sold everything. I was hard up, and listening anyway mostly on headphones. The stereo system was wasted in our small terraced house. But I wanted something for those few occasions when some loud music might be needed. Such as 50th birthday, 60th birthday...I won't go on. I walked over to Minirig, in their former premises in Stokes Croft, in Bristol, and took home a three unit set up. I was very impressed, although I did return them. I bought some Audioengine speakers instead, as they were less fiddly to set up, but it was a very close thing. Recently I've been hosting music quizzes, and wanting portability. So I bought one speaker, that being all I can currently afford. My impressions: Superb build quality, in the true tradition of British hi-fi. The slightly industrial appearance is so well tempered by a curious elegance. Quite different to the plethora of plastic, over designed speakers that I'd considered. The minimalistic approach appeals to me greatly, although there is a bit of a learning curve. I did screenshots of the online manual, dropped them into Photoshop, reduced the size and printed out five A4 sheets of instructions. Hardly eco...I would have preferred a round, folding booklet to have been included, something that I might keep in the carry case. But I guess that most owners will glance over the online instructions and remember them for life. The sound threw me a little. Distinctly mono, obviously, but boomy and boxy. Mercifully, I was able to improve this enormously by tweaking (and locking!) the eq using the Minirig app. Thereafter, the speaker performed well, across all ranges, not suffering anywhere that I could notice, not in the treble, nor the mids nor the the bass. Clarity was very good, I could hear separate voices and instruments. Altogether enjoyable across quite a range of music. The speaker is revealing enough to betray poorer recordings, such as the remastered Dark Side of the Moon, but Alabaster Deplume's 'To Cy and Lee' was very sweet. I would love to try a two speaker setup, and one day perhaps, a subwoofer, but my piggy bank is currently depleted. It did occur to me that Minirig might consider extending their multiple purchase discount to help the less well heeled. Perhaps if a second unit were purchased within say, six months? I have used this speaker in both wired and bluetooth situations. I would never buy a speaker that had no aux, as I don't entirely trust Bluetooth. It can be very frustrating sometimes, I find. But it has performed flawlessly on the Minirig, using my iPhone, Bluetooth version 5, and my older iPod, version 4. I have also plugged the speaker into the headphone socket of our TV, and the improvement in sound over the inbuilt speakers is quite amazing. There are some quite scientific reviews of the Minirig online, I hope my essentially layman's attempt is of some use. One niggle, or maybe not: my receipt carried a request to post a review, which is fine. But it suggested a five star review, which isn't. Unless Minirig have their tongue in their cheek, in which case all is forgiven. Certainly not enough to affect my rating, and I should point out that my four star rating for sound is a little unfair, as I'm reviewing a mono speaker against my stereo mindset.

I initially sent this back as the seal had been broken and it looked as I had received a returned item. However after buying directly from Minirig, I could not be more pleased. I spent ages in my research after being being disappointed with a Megaboom speaker I had in the past. The design is neat and compact and it feels robust . A single button does it all but the app, which I have found to be excellent, provides greater versatility and adds functionality. The on/off tone is brief and gentle as opposed to some loud fanfares other makes provide. The sound is outstanding for a single speaker of this size. That is, I do not think it is quite Hifi quality but it does provide a non fatiguing enjoyment of music with clarity and detail across the frequency range. That includes a tuneful bass which has a real kick. Volume is also excellent filling a room to party levels. It does not become harsh when loud but still sounds lively and full at lower volume levels. It comes with a case which fits snuggly and offers a level of extra protection. Flip the lid back and it can be operated while still in the case. In the lid of the case it has storage for the charging lead (and it also came with a lanyard and sticker as token accessories). I did purchased a longer charging lead (third party) with a plug only at the USB end (instead of the plug socket arrangement it comes with). This brings me finally to battery life. Quite simply nothing beats it. My phone is charged again and again before I need to even think about charging the speaker. Thoroughly recommended.

I own many speaker systems, including a reference system made up of B&W 705 bookshelf speakers apart from owning Bose soundlink mini 2, still the best portable bose speaker. Have also owned many other bluetooth speakers and I have listened to some top of the range also, for example B&W T7, Dali Katch, Viva etc. Battery of my bose soundlink mini was giving up so I started to search for something better, but still small enough to carry around. Listening to some youtube videos comparing different bluetooth speakers I came across the name of "Minirig", which surprisingly doesn't even come up when you search amazon for "bluetooth speakers" (meaning it is almost never included in the search results, unless you directly look for the word minirig) So I decided to get one directly from Minirig who posted immediately and I had it next day. Gave it a cold start (without any run in time as you normally do for speakers) and the sound quality was so good that I ordered another through amazon on same day! Sound quality from Minirig 3 is no just very good, it is exceptional, coming from a speaker of this size. People like me who are used to reference systems (B&W speakers, Musical Fidelity amps. etc) look for mid range clarity, sound staging, not just bass but a character to that bass and beats etc. This tiny speaker especially when paired with a second minirig has enough mid range clarity and sound staging to make me listen to this more and more, and I haven't switched on my bigger system for days!. Even one minirig is more punchy and clear with beautiful tonality to it's sound than any other bluetooth speaker in it's class. You will have to spend much more than £300 to get a speaker which can compete this minirig. The beauty of this system is that you can buy one minirig initially then add another and then get a minirig subwoofer and you have a cracking hifi system which you can even take with you out of the house ! I was immediately so impressed that I have now ordered a minirig subwoofer also and a minirig mini (which is half the size of minirig 3 and still souns amazing). My honest suggestion is that if you are looking for a class leading sound in a small speaker, then forget about buying Bose or JBL clips etc or UE booms (sorry to say but UE sounds horrible in front of minirig). Just get one of these and then make up a full system. Battery life is exceptional, it is very well made, looks classy. The only downside is that Minirig 3 is a bit bulky, don't take me wrong! Its still much much smaller than UE megaboom or other such speakers, its more or less comparable to bose soundlink revolve in its size/weight ratio. I also wanted a "pocket friendly" speaker, so I contacted minirig customer services who advised to get a minirig mini also, and if I didn't like it, I could return within 14 days to get full refund. So I ordered one through amazon. So impressed that I am keeping that also, in addition to the two minirig 3s that I already got. If you are looking for a bluetooth speaker and thinking of buying a quality speaker, perhaps thinking of buying a bose or more expensive model, just stop and give this speaker a go. You will not believe how good a bluetooth speaker can sound. And this small company is Bristol based with excellent customer support. Can't fault them! The only downside I can think of is that I find bluetooth connectivity with my iphone not very stable at times, especially when staring to play the music. It sometimes needs disconnecting and connecting again. Perhaps the company needs to update the software. But I am so happy with the sound quality that I am not bothered with this issue and happy to use wired connection if necessary. You can download minirigs app and it gives more functionality to the speakers, especially when you have two minirigs. I have uploaded couple of photos for size comparison Brilliant stuff, don't think twice, just buy one (or preferrably two with a subwoofer) !

I was a little hesitant about buying this as I've had issues with Bluetooth connectivity before now (I've tried to use headphones but they were very cheap!). Anyway, my Minirig 3 arrived a couple of hours ago. First and foremost, the packaging looked very stylish - a round, cardboard box with a lid (with a quick start guide on the inside of the lid). The Minirig fitted snugly within the box so it was perfectly protected through the delivery process (there was additional packaging around the box to cushion any blows). The zipped case containing the Minirig looks equally stylish and has a detachable strap for portability. As for the Minirig itself (matt black), it looks and feels good - chunky and stable but still only around 2 ins high and 3 ins in diameter. Its simplicity scared me a bit (being unsure about Bluetooth) but I made the effort to read the box lid and also visit the company website for advice on charging etc. It took a bit of searching within their website but eventually I did find a PDF relating to Minirig Mini where I found the information I needed. This information could have been a bit more accessible and that is my only (small) criticism. Once I felt a bit more confident, I connected to my phone within seconds. Now to the sound - I tried songs from my library of music plus choir songs that are held on Dropbox. Yes, it's all been said before, the sound is great. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I can't really compare with other (decent) speakers. I have a couple of ancient (thigh-high) JPW speakers connected to my equally ancient Arcam system but haven't had a decent listen through these for a number of years. So, all in all, a very happy bunny. Now, should I buy a second for an even better sound . . . . . .

This was my second Minirig speaker purchase (actually 3rd, if I include the Minirig Mini I bought my son), and I bought it so that I could have a stereo setup. These are not 'normal' Bluetooth speakers, being both bigger (10cm/4" diameter by 7.5cm/3" high) and heavier (550g) than some people may be happy to carry around with them, but the sound from them is immense and at 40 Watts each, there is no problem with volume! At home, I rarely have these out of low gain mode, but having that high gain option is great for parties/festivals/beaches/pool-side/etc Battery life is superb; I've never tested the 100 hours (low gain) claim but I use my speakers regularly at home and only have to recharge them every few weeks. I took one star off Bluetooth connectivity because it can take up to 2 minutes for the speakers to 'find' each other in wireless stereo mode. Most of the time it's much faster, so I don't know what causes this occasional glitch. Once connected and playing, there's normally one initial short dropout as the speakers sync and then dropouts are few and far between. Overall, I'm very happy with my Minirigs and I'm now eyeing up that subwoofer...

Super impressed by this speaker, a friend has a minirig mini and I liked it a lot - so thought I'd take a punt. I'm often suspicious of little firms, I've been burnt with a rubbish sound bar before. However, these speakers are blood brilliant! Loving that they're made down the road in Bristol. Pros: - Well made and feels solid - Set-up, connected and playing tunes in less than a minute - Sound output is comparable to the competition, if not better - very nice sound quality with a shocking amount of bass for something so small - Nifty little app to control the EQ and gain, etc. - Reasonably Cheap - Super portable - The battery is ridiculously good! - Comes with a case and all the cables you need - can pair with other Minirig3s (I'm so impressed I'm getting another one) Cons: - Not a lot - No AirPlay or Cast support, so I couldn't connect to Sky Q, but in the grand scheme of things this isn't an issue (the cables work and this isn't what they're designed for) Conclusion: Just get one. You won't regret it.

I bought 2 of these Minirig speakers plus a Minirig 3 sub to take on holiday for use with my portable projector. Gives us something to do during the dark nights. I've watched two movies so far and the sound quality from the 3 speaker set up is amazing - and I'm not easily impressed! Good thudding bass but not a boomy or flabby bass. Voices all nice and clear. Action scenes with dramatic music all perfectly produced on the speakers. I'm shocked at how good a sound such small speakers can produce. Even my partner - who tends not to care about sound quality - was impressed by the speakers. I used cables rather than bluetooth so can't comment on the bluetooth side of things. I've not yet had to charge the speakers - 6 hours of use and still on green indicating more than 75% charge. While the speakers are not minuscule - they certainly fit comfortably inside a corner of my suitcase and the weight is not onerous. In terms of volume, well watching Jackie Brown last night I had the sound source on 35% and that was very loud. The speakers were on low gain. So potentially you could have them ear drum bustlingly loud if you so desired. I did have some Bose Soundlink Mini II speakers but they are puny sounding compared to the Minirig set up. To be fair the Bose is a lot smaller than 3 minirig speakers. I spent a long time looking at different portable speaker options - the Minirigs didn't even appear in the Amazon results unless you search by their exact name. Its a shame because I suspect they are far better for audiophile types who want great sound, great bass but not the muddy flabby booming bass of the "Mega super boom" speakers that do appear in Amazon results.