Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Libratone Zipp Wifi Bluetooth Smart Speaker, 360° Loud Stereo Sound with Dual Mic Build-in, 15W Woofer Deep Bass, 12 Hour Playtime, Airplay2 and Spotify connect, Work with Alexa(Victory Red)

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2016

Color: Cloudy GreyStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

I have owned a number of bluetooth speakers including the Bose Soundlink Mini, Bose Soundlink III, JBL Charge, and Amazon Tap. I got the Zipp a few weeks ago and it is easily my favorite. Heres why:

Convenience: It's a big speaker, but still very portable. I got tired of the rectangular shape of the Soundlink III and the Zipp doesn't need a case. It comes with a handle and the narrower design allows it to fit pretty much anywhere. It's a little on the heavy side but thats what you get for in a speaker with this sound output.

Quality: This thing is loud! But more importantly, for me at least, its crystal clear. 360° sound doesn't seem like a big deal to most but it makes a huge difference, especially if you connect multiple Zipp speakers and are looking for a 'surround sound' experience. You can also change the acoustics of each individual linked Zipp to give a broader spectrum of sound (set one to classical, one to rock, and one to hip hop for example). It also has really good bass for a bluetooth speaker. This was a huge plus for me because generally you can't expect much bass from portable bluetooth speakers.

Connectivity - Everything you can ask for and more: 3.5 mm heaphone jack, standard USB port, AIRPLAY, WIFI.

Battery life - VERY GOOD. Long lasting. Libratone Zipp App shows you remaining battery life. Charges up in about 2 hours or so, for 11 or so hours of playback. Robust braided power cord supplied for charging.

Libratone App: This took some time to get used to but I don't understand where all the complaints are coming from. Really straightforward and convenient app. Also enables software updates for the speaker (not available for most speakers).

Bonuses: This is my favorite part. The Zipp has so much more to offer than a simple bluetooth speaker. Airplay and USB mass storage are awesome. It literally plays off the wifi and can store radio stations and music. Airplay works great and is easy to set up.

Overall thoughts? Better sound quality, better range and longer lasting battery than any other bluetooth speaker I have used and blows comparable models out of the water (Bose Soundlink). It looks great, sounds great, is convenient, and has new features that make it an instant favorite (you can even hold your hand over it and it will "Hush" the music!!). Well worth the price tag.

6 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

This is a very nice sounding wireless speaker

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2016

Color: Graphite GreyStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

This is a very nice sounding wireless speaker, overall, I'm happy with it! However there are a few areas where it could improve.
Pros:
Sound - is on the warm side, with good bass from a small form factor. Highs are pretty good as well. Please keep in mind sound quality will vary depending on the source. Streaming music via Bluetooth is very good, but a bit muffled, and volume isn't as loud. Streaming via a Wi-Fi/DLNA app sounds great.Using the headphone jack on a Samsung Galaxy S5 is good, but the overall volume is low. Streaming Internet Radio will largely depend on the source channel, but easily sounds the worst out of the bunch. I can stream Hi-Rez Flacs, up to 192 K, which is great, no need to re-rip anything.
Overall, very good sound, good sound dispersal. This thing can get loud without distortion!
Design - Light but with some heft, it feels solid and well built. Mostly plastic, with the exception of the cloth speaker cover and the rubberized bottom, which is the unit 'subwoofer' port. The attached carrying strap is a nice touch and swivels in place. Speaker covers are interchangeable. Extra covers are $50, which seems steep. 'Touch Input' on top of speaker is kind of neat, not super responsive, but nice. Slide a finger clockwise/counterclockwise to raise and lower volume. Hold your hand over it and it will 'hush' the unit for as long as your hand covers the button. Unit is also humidity resistant, so you can play it while showering, just don't take it in with you!
Connectivity/Inputs - Unit will accept 3.5 mm heaphone jack, and a standard USB port (not tested). External devices/music sources/apps supporting Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DLNA, AirPlay(not tested).
Battery life - seems good, long lasting. Libratone Zipp App shows you remaining battery life. Charges up in about 2 hours or so, for 10 or so hours of playback. Well-made braided power cord supplied for charging.
Auto-Shut Off - Unit turns off after a 1/2 hour of no activity.
Packaging - Comes in a rigid cardboard tube, Styrofoam on both ends. Speaker is wrapped in plastic. It's well packed and protected.

Cons:
App - The Android app for this product is pretty spotty at best. App often loses connection with the speaker, requiring a quit/reboot. Once the App crashes or loses connection, you can't adjust volume etc. You can only store 5 Internet Radio Stations in the App. Station information is limited, only shows the name of the station, and location, bitrate would have been nice. However vTuner website will show you more station information. App documentation is pretty bad. Documentation in general could be better, some info in the App, some online, some on paper. Android support seems to be an afterthought, sadly.
Color - Ordered Graphite Gray, but received Deep lagoon. it's not a bad color, but it's not what I ordered. I'll probably return it for that reason, after it's a $300 speaker, I expect it to be the color I ordered.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, I think it's a solid purchase. It needs better Android support and documentation. However if you are using Android, music app N7 supports DLNA streaming via the ToasterCast App. ToasterCast App also let's you stream via Toaster playlist from PowerAmp, my preferred music App. ToasterCast also supports AirPlay. Lastly, I'm also going to run a Rain Storm/White Noise App through this and use it a sleep aid. Just find an app with a timer built in, hook it up to the speaker and that's it.

Hope this helps!

5 people found this helpful

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Barbara-Anne

Excellent sound quality and design

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2016

Color: Cloudy GreyStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

This speaker sounds incredible! I love it. I've been looking for a portable wireless speaker system for awhile and I'm really glad I got the Libratone. I was concerned about the sound quality without hearing it first, but now I'm delighted. It's compact, sleek and easy to transport and most importantly sounds fantastic. Very rich and dynamic and gets as loud as I want it to crank it when “Marquee Moon” by Television comes on. I'd compare the sound quality to Bose level (which is excellent, IMO).

I was immediately impressed by the packaging design when it arrived (yes, I notice these kinds of things). It was minimal yet substantial enough to arrive in pristine condition. It reminded me of opening a new Apple product, and why I love their packaging and presentation. It feels like you're getting something very elegant and high-quality, like they care about the entire experience of you enjoying your product, from the moment you open the box. And the manufacturer doesn't overdo it with cardboard or plastic, so there's less impact on our environment (also very important to me). It all looks and feels very high-end.

I downloaded the Libratone app to my iPhone and did have a little trouble setting it up, but eventually figured it out. I thought that Pandora would be listed under radio stations that I could add to my 5 favorites, but it's not. Turns out you just use it normally within Pandora app and select Libratone speaker, once the speaker has been connected. I think I was making it more complicated than it actually is. You need the Libratone app to connect the speaker to your device, but then you can use other music apps (iTunes, Pandora, Spotify) like normal.

When I did try to find radio stations to add to my favorites, they did not show up in Search results (ex: "WXPN"). However, when I browsed through locations, then city, I found the stations that I was seeking listed there. It looks like there are plenty of interesting new internet stations to check out on in the Libratone app too -- most I've never heard of before. So I think it will be fun to explore those and discover new music and stations. For now, however, I'm enjoying listening to my own music and stations too much to try new options yet.

My only criticism, if any, is that turning on music isn't instantaneous. I have to open the Libratone app first to connect the speaker (via wireless or bluetooth -- both work fine), and this takes anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or more while it searches for a signal. I'm not used to that and it's a minor complaint. But for me the sound quality and sleek design more than make up for that slight inconvenience. Overall I'm really pleased with the Libratone and highly recommend it!

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Don't bother.

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017

Color: Graphite GreyStyle: ZIPP MiniVerified Purchase

Bought this nearly a year ago - biggest selling point was that I could play from any app (iTunes on my Mac) rather than downloading another special music app that was slow and ugly -not that iTunes isn't slow and ugly but not the point here.

For a few months, it would need to be factory reset and setup from scratch every week or so if it was in standby mode for any length of time; email support literally told me that it worked for them, so I didn't have a problem. 😒

After that problem stopped, it was generally OK. By this, I mean it did what I wanted with only minor annoyances.

The latest update seems to have killed the internet radio option completely; I still have 5 favorites selected, can still choose any one of them with the app but the speaker doesn't play. The lights on the speaker do change in response to the app, but there's no sound. Selecting favorites directly on the speaker also doesn't work (even though the lights flash like it's doing something).

The speaker does still connect to iTunes correctly.

Of course, my return window is long past closed, so I'm going to keep fooling around with this to try and get it working again.

Based on the price for this, I would say you're better off with Sonos. Sonos makes you use an ugly, slow app that crashes a lot on Mac but at least it does what it says consistently.

17 people found this helpful

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Colleen S.

Libratone Zipp Mini is a solid choice!

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2016

Color: Graphite GreyStyle: ZIPP MiniVerified Purchase

For electronics, I must admit I’m not the best at keeping up to date with the best brands. I usually gravitate towards well-known brands such as Bose or Jawbox; however, I took the advice of a friend and purchased a Libratone Zipp Mini for my upcoming trip to Hawaii. Right away I loved the look (great packaging too) and design. Love the leather strap so I can easily carry it with me anywhere I go and it fits nicely in a backpack or tote. One drawback is it is not waterproof.
Sound quality is solid. I tested a few favorite songs and the sound was surprisingly very good. Sure, it doesn’t have the bass of my McIntosh amp but for a portable speaker it is very strong and much better than my iPhone speaker. One of the great features of the speaker is depending on where you have the Libratone you can adjust the placement profiles which tweak the sound accordingly. I currently have my Libratone in my living room set to ‘on a bookshelf’ and it sounds fantastic! You can also set the music profiles, like Jazz or Rock. This actually does make a difference. I tested one of my favorite jazz songs, Concierto De Aranjuez by Jim Hall. The song actually had more depth and better clarity around each instrument in the Jazz setting. Another cool feature, is you can mute the sound by covering the top of the speaker/ bird logo with your hand. Also, I should mention setup was super easy. Instructions were clear, Bluetooth hookup a cinch. Overall, the Libratone Zipp Mini is a solid choice.

13 people found this helpful

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Falconer

Not Ready for Prime Time.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017

Color: Graphite GreyStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

I was pretty excited about this speaker after having heard reviews. Love the idea of multiple ways to connect. Love the battery. Love the idea of a good sounding speaker you can drag onto the deck.

I bought 2 and have tried to get them to work for a week. First off, if you are an Android user - these speakers and the interface were not designed for you. Setup with the iPhone is pretty easy through Airplay. With Android, you're relying on DLNA which is old old technology. BIG NOTE: you can only access ONE speaker through Bluetooth. The only way to run multiple speakers is through Airplay or WiFi. This was pretty much a deal killer for me. Somehow it doesn't make sense that this would be the case. They are selling connectivity for multiple units. Why wouldn't it work for Bluetooth as well.

SOUND: Eh. It's good. Just not loud. They say it fills a room? I beg to differ.
APP: This app is just baffling. I realize these folks are marketing to an international audience. International signs for bathrooms are one thing. For setup and modification of your speakers? No. The bird vomiting notes gets old pretty quick.
SPEAKER INTERFACE: Again. Baffling. It's a cute idea that is too cute to be functional. We need more information if it is going to be useful. The blinking bird gets old instantaneously.
CONNECTIVITY: Note the issue with Bluetooth and multiple speakers. Also, it does NOT connect to Amazon Echo or Echo Dot. Customer service says they are getting alot of requests for this. Shocker. Also, switching between Bluetooth and WiFi is painful.

Sadly, I returned 2 of these today. Libratone...call me when you get the bugs out! I'll buy them!

10 people found this helpful

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Robvs

Some flaws prevent recommendation.

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2016

Color: Cloudy GreyStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

Quality is good, but a few design flaws make it VERY annoying.
1. When the battery is at 20% it begins alerting you with a "bleep bloop bloop" alert through the speaker. I'd say about once an minute. Certainly enough of an annoyance to go plug in or cease use. This effectively makes the usage 80% of what I had expected. The alerts may stop but I can't hang in there to find out.
2. iPhone and Libratone app equalizer (and equalizer type settings) dramatically lower the volume of the speaker. I have to disable them or leave them on "neutral" to achieve a desirable volume outside of house.
3. As an AirPlay speaker outside, loses AirPlay reception (sometimes) at about 60 feet away from router. iPhone does the same, causing a pair of annoyances that can't be counted on for seemless reliability.
4. Volume control is unreliable and inconsistent. Appears as though iPhone volume can be adjusted and Libratone volume can be too. This allows a variety of ways to adjust volume (on speaker, on iPhone buttons, within Libratone app, within whatever music app you're using). I find, however, that sometimes one of these methods adjusts the volume in both places, other times it doesn't. For instance, speaker is on full volume, iPhone is on full volume, press lower volume button on iPhone and sometimes you'll get a lowered speaker volume alone, sometimes a lowered source volume, sometimes both. Very odd.
5. Standard music sources (such as Apple Music) vary in volume BIG TIME through this speaker- making mixed playlists an annoyance to listen to if you're (let's say) in a pool and can't adjust the volume when something loud comes on. Sounds like a user or source error, but I don't get this with other speakers.
6. Favorite button should be integrated with more popular sources other than internet based FM radio or obscure internet radio. Would love to sync it with Sirius, Apple Music, or Pandora so I can leave my phone out of the equation and just play my stations through the speaker.
7. In comparison to through AirPlay, Bluetooth sounds like garbage through this speaker. Competitors provides better quality if used as Bluetooth alone.
8. It's simply expensive. Not sure if it's worth the expense.

It does provide great quality sound and portability. Good battery despite the aforementioned flaw. Design is nice. AirPlay is a great bonus. I like it, but wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it. You may find better value if you were an indoor user where volume and range weren't much of an issue. I'm using almost exclusively poolside.

Also, I'm no audio engineer, but when you feel this speaker while it's playing, why do you feel basically nothing around the sides of the cylinder but tons of vibrations from the opaque, hard plastic top of the speaker? Wouldnt the sound project better if the speakers faced the world and weren't filtered by a hard plastic cap?

If it were a $175 speaker I wouldn't knit pick. But it's not.

29 people found this helpful

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StudioTanaka

You don’t feel like you’re listening to a speaker – you feel like you’re listening to MUSIC

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016

Color: Victory RedStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

Please forgive the essay that follows, but we're *that* delighted with our new Zipp WiFi+Bluetooth.

We needed to drag our old Bose SoundDock I (circa the iPod days) into the 21st century and after buying and trying various patches, we stopped cold realizing that we were just throwing good money after bad, winding up with clunky, unreliable third party solutions. Being self-avowed sound snobs, it was time to scrap the old and look for a new speaker system to work with our Apple lifestyle. Though "you get what you pay for" is the best rule to follow, we weren't too keen on forking over more big Bose bucks and bought the Zipp.

Here are some notes:
• Amazing sound for one speaker – it sounds like a two speaker system
• Natural surround sound – pleasant tone that surrounds the listener
• Non-directional with very pleasant bass / vocals are natural / stringed instruments have a sweet tonality.
• Easy to identify individual instruments in the soundstage
• WiFi capabilities allows for no wire tangles especially convenient for outdoor listening
• Application Interface is very intuitive. The in-app offerings of radio stations is amazing – being able to choose a wide variety of musical genres from around the world is fantastic! This is a portal to a universe of musical diversity.
• Room settings are very effective to maximize the timbre of the music
• Imaging of music remains very stable, even if you are walking around the room. The “sweet spot” moves with you vs. conventional two speaker systems that require sitting in one place in order to enjoy the listening experience.
• Indoor – sound is stunning – focused vocals with a soundstage that matches the genre of music being played.
• Strings are natural and sweet – midrange bass is full – vocals are clear and melodic – percussion instruments are clear and sharp.
• Outdoor – bass is amazing – the soundstage is narrower however there is a fullness to the sound that stand out against the background of outside sounds such as wind, street traffic, people talking. We live in New York City – so that’s very impressive.

Last but not least, I regretted not doing an "unboxing video" almost immediately after getting half-way through in that frenzied Christmas-Day-tear-the-box-open way. It was as good, if not better, than unboxing a new Apple gizmo. No kidding. Libratone's whimsical design sensibility starts the minute you take it out of the shipping box. For folks like us, design and quality count, and the Zipp delivers it all. Highly recommended!

66 people found this helpful

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bucko

Not the best option for subdued office listening.

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2017

Color: Deep LagoonStyle: ZIPP MiniVerified Purchase

This may be what you are looking for but it wasn't right for me. Let me give a bit of background. I travel around to multiple locations doing IT work for several different companies. I need a portable speaker to sit on whatever desk I'm using that day and play some good sounding music at a level that will not disturb people in neighboring offices (not cubicles). I have been using a Bose SoundLink Mini II for a couple of years and that has been great. That was until I got a Sonos One at home (and then several more) and realized what could be accomplished in such a small package. Don't get me wrong, I realize the Sonos is in a completely different category than the Bose but I wanted a upgrade to something closer to the Sonos sound. I did a bunch of research and found several people comparing the Zipp and Zipp Mini to Sonos. Since I live out of my back pack I went for the Zipp Mini realizing I would give up some overall sound quality for a smaller, more portable form factor.

When I received the speaker I went through the wireless setup which failed at 1st but then somehow started working. It was then that I realized this config was not much use to me. I use Pandora but this is not supported in the app. I'm not switching to Spotify at this point so I switched to the Bluetooth connection. I was up and playing within seconds. This got loud but did not have presence I was looking for. I tried all modes provided by the app in the voicing and environment settings and was able to improve the sound but was still unimpressed overall. I turned on my Sonos One and immediately confirmed there is no comparison. I was hoping to get closer to the Sonos Sound but this was simply not in the same ball park. This was not in the desired listening environment however so this may have not been the comparison I was looking for.

Finally after the holiday I was back to work. This is why I bought the speaker in the 1st place so I set up Zipp Mini up on my desk and queued the music. It sounded just OK so I tried several different locations, near a wall, away from the wall, in front, behind etc. etc. I thought I would go into the app and try the various adjustments again to see if I could make it sound better. Well I'm not on my home WIFI now so the app will not connect to the speaker. I am connected via Bluetooth but apparently that is not enough for the app to see the speaker. Disappointing but maybe I don't need to fiddle with the settings I thought. Next I turn on the Bose and the Bluetooth from my Galaxy S8 immediately switches over to it mid-song. What a huge improvement in sound quality! I mean the bass is much more pronounced, the music richer, warmer, more inviting. By comparison the Zipp Mini sounded hollow without much bass. That was the end of this experiment. Back to back the Bose sounds much better to me than the Zipp Mini.

So in the end this was not the speaker I was looking for. My usage scenario does not appear to be what it was intended for. I think this would be better used in an area where it will be played louder like a dorm room or perhaps the beach. Somewhere where loud is more important than finesse. For subdued office listening the Bose SoundLink Mini II is a much better choice in my opinion.

One person found this helpful

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Welshdog

Smooth 360º sound

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2018

Color: Deep LagoonStyle: ZIPPVerified Purchase

Got the Zipp for Christmas and so far we are loving it. Typical use for us is in the bathroom. I did have a concern about the unavoidable moisture there, but I found on the Libratone website that the Zipp is moisture resistant and specifically approved for use in a damp bathroom. They should put this info in the product description here. I would warn however that you should never operate the speaker-top controls with wet hands. Water on the top switch/control pad would be very unwise. We don't use the controls on top much, but they work well. One review I saw criticized the volume control which is a circular swipe around the pad to get up and down volume. It's works fine for me I would also say that I don't think it is splash proof either. Some have mentioned in reviews that the speaker is surprisingly large. I would agree that it is a bit bigger than expected, but the size is the reason it sounds so good in my opinion. The engineers and designers can do a lot more acoustically with a bigger "box" so to speak. Zipp is about the size of a two litter soda bottle - not quite as tall.

The speaker sounds great. It's very balanced and open sounding. It does not have a lot of energy in the high frequencies so when the shower is running the white noise tends to damp down the speaker output in this range. This is not to say the Zipp is lacking in high frequencies, it sounds very smooth and the omni directional design really does work, they just are not artificially pushed up to sound overly bright. Mid and bass performance is also great - more of a linear sound than the overly pumped up sound some speakers have. The overall sound does seem to spread out around the room and surround you. For us the battery life is amazing, probably because we only use it for 20 minutes or so at a time. We've gone about three weeks since giving it a full charge. I just charged it up last night (Jan 13, 2018) after giving it a full charge Christmas eve.

This is a really good speaker that has a lovely, full sound. It's not super bright nor overly bassy, just smooth 360º sound. If you can handle it's somewhat beefy dimensions, I think you will like it.

2 people found this helpful

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