Minirig 3.

[Arpangel]

Just bought a Minirig 3, incredible things, I’m using it for my i Pad music apps, and my Microgranny.
If anyone is contemplating a high quality small speaker, this is it, I could easily do a small gig with this, and two would sound incredible.
I was a bit sceptical at first, until my partners son bought one ages ago, that was the 2, this 3 is majorly impressive, very open and realistic sound, great bass, from such a small speaker.

https://minirigs.co.uk/speakers/bluetooth-minirig-3

[The Elf]

They look a really useful device. Nice find!

[Ben Asaro]

LOL at the ad copy, “The mini rig 3 has more than double the power of the minirig 2, that means twice as loud” ... say what now?

I’ve been looking for small monitors for my eurorack for monitoring purposes. This might fit the bill.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

They're okay for a speaker that's mostly battery, but I was quite disappointed by them. The bass in particular is the usual fairly one-note affair you would expect from such an arrangement, and they lose their settings regularly (and are fiddly to begin with).

There's no magic, physics wins again.

If you're looking for small monitors for your eurorack setup, I'd recommend a set of Genelec 8010s instead. There's enough headroom on those you can EQ substantial (and musical) low-end into proceedings - and they sound like monitors - not some dodgy ghettoblaster.

[Drew Stephenson]

Or, if you're on a budget, have a look at the small Mackies.

[The Elf]

Handy for that time on stage between me being set up and the PA being ready. At the moment I use an old iPhone speaker dock!

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Yep, they have their uses, definitely - and they're impressively loud - but they're not great speakers.

As well as the small Mackies, you could jump up a size on the Gennys and get much better bass-extension than using headroom+EQ on the 8010s.

Of course, if portability and independence from the mains-supply is important . . . they're probably the only game in town, unless we consider powerpacks or generators etc. Unless someone knows of a better alternative?

[forumuser840717]

I have some of the Crookwood SoundBuckets that I use for talkback, mono checks, easily portable basic speakers to replace Fostex 6301 and ASC Powered Monitors, and listening in the garden or around the house where I don't have other speakers.

They're more expensive than the minirigs but, when I compared them, it was very obvious that the extra cost was buying a lot more in terms of sound and build quality.

I do wonder, though, about Crispin's fascination with the paint tin format. What with the Paintpot preamps and now the SoundBuckets, I'm wondering whether, in a past life, he was painter / decorator!

And there's a dedicated SoundBuckets website which might be more up to date.

[Sam Spoons]

I've just bought a Minirig 3, sounds great but I wanted to use it for guitar/looper practice, I've got the app and found the 'live mode' which gives enough volume (the standard aux 'high gain' setting is not enough for guitar)* but seems very unreliable, not connecting most of the time or playing for a short time and then stopping. It doesn't retain settings and the app is absolutely cr@p, taking several attempts to connect to the speaker most times...

Edit :- Got it working but I have no idea what I've done... Now it won't connect to my phone BT and there is no way of adjusting volume without the app

Update, got it to connect now and seems to be working ok. Didn't help that I had a dodgy lead but that was only part of the problem.

[Sam Spoons]

New update, gone away to do something else and now it'll either play from the aux or connect to BT but not both, the app connected second attempt but still no noise

[Sam Spoons]

It's stupidly complicated, these things are as far from "plug and play" as it is possible to get. All I want to do is plug my looper into an aux and hear it play at a decent volume, but I can't connect to BT if I switch the MR3 on by plugging a lead into an aux and if I start it up in BT mode it sometimes connects to the app and sometimes doesn't, and either way it sometimes plays the signal from the aux and sometimes doesn't. My Bose Revolve + just gets on with the job, but TBF it has physical controls on the unit to select source and adjust volume which the MR3 doesn't.

I'm going to have to evaluate the MR3 thoroughly over the next week or so as if it can't do the guitar/looper thing without jumping through hoops it's going back as 'unfit for purpose'...

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Well . . . I did try to warn you - but I obviously didn't go far enough in enumerating the many deficiencies in the complete product-package. So . . . the app is utter junk. The physical controls are fiddly, cryptic, and lack decent feedback. I can't speak to the Bluetooth aspect because f*ck Bluetooth in the face - but by far the most troublesome aspect is getting the system to reliably operate in stereo (or to remember settings both during and between sessions).

Did I mention they don't sound very good?

Personally, my experience with the MR3 leads me to suspect the many people hyping these are doing so for reasons not related to honest evaluation.

In fairness, I bought my set purely for recreational as opposed to any performance or monitoring purpose but honestly, I don't think they're particlarly fit for that task either - unless telling your mates "just hang on a sec, they definitely do work . . . let me just try this . . . or this . . . okay, I'll restart the bloody things and try again" is your idea of fun.

[Arpangel]

I’m not using this via wireless, just the hardware aux input, works fine.
Personally, I haven’t heard anything at the price, or size, that sounds as good and has the convenience, no cables, fits in my portable modular bag perfectly, all I need it for, programming away from home.
It’s not really fair to compare this with the likes of Genelec, simply on price, the Genny's aren’t so much better, plus, you’re into cabling, power etc, and I’ve never liked the Genelec sound, boomy, very coloured, and definitely not worth the overblown prices.
The MR's do the job, and sound better than most if not all of the competition regarding this application, and price bracket.
I’ve listened to my friends MR for months, and my opinion is based solely on sound, nothing else, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it.
Ive been outside my friends room and thought he had his main system on, being very surprised to see the MiniRigs.

[Andy McBain]

I love my Minirig 3's for blasting tunes in the kitchen or outdoors, and they sound suitably big and entertaining for that. As a monitoring or performance tool, I'm not sure I would go there. The app seems utterly hopeless, so I'm fortunate that I enjoy the sound of them in a stereo setup and don't have to muck about

[Arpangel]

I love my Minirig 3's for blasting tunes in the kitchen or outdoors, and they sound suitably big and entertaining for that. As a monitoring or performance tool, I'm not sure I would go there. The app seems utterly hopeless, so I'm fortunate that I enjoy the sound of them in a stereo setup and don't have to muck about

That’s exactly it, they are what they are, good enough for on the fly programming, and they do sound big, I can’t think of any alternatives, at the price, or size.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

I should probably clarify - I wasn't referring to anyone ITT with my comment re: hyping / honest evaluation. I was refering to people associated with the Bristol scene who have relatively high-profile blogs, websites, YouTube channels etc. You know . . . actual hyping, not randomers posting on forums.

Also, I wonder if we're talking about the same thing? Are any of you that rate these highly using the sub? That thing is the very definition of one-note boominess! It wouldn't surprise me in the least to discover that it's the source of mine and Sam's issues with the settings either.

Where we agree is the merit of independence from a mains-supply for a bit of casual listening . . . when they can be made to work as-advertised, which is hit and miss to say the least. Perhaps they have a quality-control problem? They definitely need to hire a decent programmer to address the app and quite possibly the firmware too.

As for Genelecs sounding boomy . . . that's a new one. My impression is they have a slightly forward character to the midrange and excellent imaging, with above-average low-end performance for a ported unit. That holds true for the little 'uns and the bigger set I have, remarkably consistent voicing for speakers of such different sizes.

[Arpangel]

I should probably clarify - I wasn't referring to anyone ITT with my comment re: hyping / honest evaluation. I was refering to people associated with the Bristol scene who have relatively high-profile blogs, websites, YouTube channels etc. You know . . . actual hyping, not randomers posting on forums.

Also, I wonder if we're talking about the same thing? Are any of you that rate these highly using the sub? That thing is the very definition of one-note boominess! It wouldn't surprise me in the least to discover that it's the source of mine and Sam's issues with the settings either.

Where we agree is the merit of independence from a mains-supply for a bit of casual listening . . . when they can be made to work as-advertised, which is hit and miss to say the least. Perhaps they have a quality-control problem? They definitely need to hire a decent programmer to address the app and quite possibly the firmware too.

As for Genelecs sounding boomy . . . that's a new one. My impression is they have a slightly forward character to the midrange and excellent imaging, with above-average low-end performance for a ported unit. That holds true for the little 'uns and the bigger set I have, remarkably consistent voicing for speakers of such different sizes.

I do most of my programming in bed, for various reasons, health being the main one these days. A mini synth, a pedal, and the MiniRig, it’s perfect.
As for Genelecs, as we know, we all have our likes and dislikes, monitors more than ever.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Sorry to hear your health's not the best fella - I have my own issues on that score, so I get where you're coming from.

Obviously we all have our preferences when it comes to monitors, it's just you're the first person I've ever encountered that describes the Gennys as "boomy" - I wonder if we're on the same page as to what that word means?

To me it means muffled or indistinct in the low-mid / higher-bass register, while simultaneously hyping those frequencies - but perhaps there's a more precise meaning I'm unaware of. I don't really speak Muso, in case it leads to an outbreak of Prog-Hippy or worse - Old-Fart Syndrome!

Anyway . . . that aside, are you using the MiniRig Sub in your setup or is your assessment based purely on the MR3 units sans-sub?

Just for sh*ts and giggles I opened the app earlier to see if it was as bad as I remembered and . . . dear lord below. Absolutely disgraceful. You know things are going to be pretty bad when the modal dialogues are:

OK / Cancle

Well . . . I am not OK with Cancles! An early sign of gout, I believe.

[Arpangel]

Sorry to hear your health's not the best fella - I have my own issues on that score, so I get where you're coming from.

Obviously we all have our preferences when it comes to monitors, it's just you're the first person I've ever encountered that describes the Gennys as "boomy" - I wonder if we're on the same page as to what that word means?

To me it means muffled or indistinct in the low-mid / higher-bass register, while simultaneously hyping those frequencies - but perhaps there's a more precise meaning I'm unaware of. I don't really speak Muso, in case it leads to an outbreak of Prog-Hippy or worse - Old-Fart Syndrome!

Anyway . . . that aside, are you using the MiniRig Sub in your setup or is your assessment based purely on the MR3 units sans-sub?

Just for sh*ts and giggles I opened the app earlier to see if it was as bad as I remembered and . . . dear lord below. Absolutely disgraceful. You know things are going to be pretty bad when the modal dialogues are:

OK / Cancle

Well . . . I am not OK with Cancles! An early sign of gout, I believe.

These days anything to do with music gear isn’t a big deal, I’d be more than happy to work with Genelec's I’m sure, or anything else for that matter, I’m passed the finerys of these things. There are some speakers I prefer, but they are so expensive I can’t justify them.
I’m not using the MR sub, just the speaker, I did resist buying it for a long time, owing to its "trendy" associations, but it just fits the bill.

[Sam Spoons]

Well the frustration continues, I'll wait until support reply to me second and third emails (the one's telling them that their instructions in their first reply don't work). It should be plug and play and isn't. It's a real shame as the form factor is perfect for my needs and it's loud enough (just) and sounds good enough to get the job done but plug and play it ain't