9 / 10

"How did you get into that?" It is probably the question I get asked most when people find out I review gadgets for a living. The truth is, much like movie critics who have to watch everything, gadget reviewing isn't always as fun as it sounds. Major products are typically impressive and no-name brands usually rubbish.

Instead, the real enjoyment comes when your expectations are blown out the water.

Pasce is a one-man British company selling one product: a portable speaker called the Minirig. It recently went on sale after three years of development and I believe it will come to redefine what we think is possible from affordable, portable audio.


Why? Four main reasons.

Build quality.

At first glance the Minirig looks familiar. The cylindrical form factor is popular (it allows a speaker to fit the base) and the metallic finish suggests another Apple-wannabe. The metallic finish is actually a single machined piece of anodised aluminium, while rings at the top and bottom are hardwearing polycarbonate carved with the Minirig moniker.These are top-quality build materials atypical of the cheap plastic components which partly give portable speakers their poor reputation.

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Attention to detail.

Look closely at the Minirig and you will notice something unusual: three vertically aligned inputs. In the middle is the power socket, while the top and bottom are two 3.5mm jacks. The top is high gain, the bottom low gain. The bottom is therefore for general use with a high signal-to-noise ratio, while the top enables maximum volume to be attained from devices with underwhelming output such as small MP3 players. It also allows multiple Minirigs to be chained together, in this configuration automatic detection switches either jack to high gain.


Furthermore there is no power switch. Simply unplug the Minirig and it switches off, plug it in and it switches on. Meanwhile a colourful LED transitions from green to blue, purple then red as battery life drains (more on this later).

Sound quality.

Quite frankly this is the biggie. Pasce has managed to cram a three-inch neodymium motor system inside the Minirig's 72 x 101.6 mm dimensions (height x diameter). Frequency response is consequently an impressive 100-20,000Hz (+/- 3db within this range), but most surprising is a 15-watt digital amplifier in a speaker that weighs just 424g. This is roughly five times the circa three-watt amplifier we have come to expect from portable speakers of a similar size.

Consequently, the Minirig is loud (startlingly so). Though a smart limiter circuit automatically stops the Minirig from damaging itself. That said the real achievement is the audio quality.

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The Minirig's sound signature is best described as "punchy", sound explodes from the speaker and -- thanks to the limiter -- it doesn't distort as the volume gets ear wincingly loud. Despite this there is excellent clarity, instruments are distinct and though mono (stereo really only benefits when two drivers are placed or angled a good distance apart) the sound separation will easily fill a room in excess of five metres square. As a portable speaker the Minirig excels, but it will equally work well around the house or outdoors and it could easily replace your desktop speakers -- particularly if linked with a second unit.


Battery life.

If there is one area portable speakers do tend to get right it is stamina, but again the Minirig sets a new bar. Pasce claims battery life of up to 60 hours at a normal listening volume and nine hours at maximum volume. Our ears could not take nine hours at maximum volume, but we found listening for 3-4 hours per day at a normal volume and an hour at maximum volume, while leaving the Minirig constantly on, saw it last over four days. In short it would be a safe bet that listening to the Minirig at a normal volume for 2-3 hours per day it would allow it to see out a two week holiday on a single charge. As for charge time that takes a little over six hours from a wall socket.

Build quality, smart design, sound quality and battery life are four hugely compelling plus points and make no mistake, the Minirig is hugely compelling products. Is it flawless? No. There are some factors to point out, though we wouldn't necessarily describe them as black and white flaws.

Wired is tired

One potential deal breaker for some is the Minirig has no wireless connectivity -- no Bluetooth, no Apple AirPlay, no Kleer streaming technology. Both AirPlay and Kleer offer lossless audio quality, which wouldn't feel entirely out of place on a speaker of this quality, but the former is Apple only and expensive to integrate; the latter requires a separate dongle for your device (typically in excess of £70) then you mustn't lose it. As for Bluetooth, even with its A2DP bass-enhancing profile, it delivers poor sound quality and drags down battery life on both the speaker and device it is playing from. Would the option have been nice?

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Possibly, but a 3.5mm cable (provided) has the best sound quality of all and requires no setup or battery compromise while keeping cost down.

Another is ignoring microUSB as a charge option. Since it is now almost the default charge standard in the tech sector it would have been arguably more convenient. Again the flip side is valid: the Minirig uses a 5.5/2.1mm DC barrel power socket (the standard for 12V applications) and it is equally widely available online as microUSB while Pasce supplies the cable with a USB end so it can be charged anywhere. A DC barrel power socket is also fully protected against reverse polarity, has a stronger physical connection and a better aesthetic. In terms of ensuring sound quality it is also easier to eliminate sound leakage with a tight seal around a circular socket than microUSB's irregularly shaped port.

A final quibble is the battery LED which is almost too clever for its own good. Shifting from green (100-90 percent) to blue-green (100-25 percent) to blue (30-25 percent), to purple (25-0 percent) to red (dead) looks great, but we can't help thinking a simple green LED transitioning to red would be simpler at a glance. Is it crucial? With the enormous capacity of the Minirig, no.


Conclusion

What really puts these quibbles in place, however, is price. The Minirig retails for just £85, a snip considering its sound quality obliterates products from established brands like the £65 Logitech S315i or £160 Aliph Jawbone Jambox and it can even stand toe-to-toe with the 1.3Kg, £259 Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker.

Meanwhile build quality is exceptional and it thrashes them all when it comes to battery life. The road is rocky for new businesses, particularly in the current financial climate, but we can't think of another new audio company we'd rather see succeed.