XROUND VIBE

The pitch behind XROUND VIBE is reconciling small size with high volume and sound quality. According to the maker, the speaker weighs just 536g, delivers up to 30W of output and carries an IP67 dust and water rating. The campaign states it raised more than 18 million Taiwan dollars through crowdfunding in Taiwan before arriving in Japan as a GREEN FUNDING project, and units were shown for a limited period at Tsutaya Electrics+ in Futako-Tamagawa and Tsutaya Books in Fukuoka Tenjin.

One speaker, a wider sound field

Central to the design is what the maker calls its proprietary XROUND™ surround audio technology, intended to create a three-dimensional sound field from a single speaker rather than a multi-speaker home theater setup. The maker says separate 10W tweeter and 20W mid/low drivers reduce interference between frequency ranges, while a digital crossover algorithm analyzes the signal in real time and routes it to the appropriate driver.

For bass, the campaign describes symmetrically placed dual passive radiators combined with TurboBass Adaptive, which electronically reinforces low frequencies in real time. A dynamic anti-clipping algorithm monitors peaks and adjusts output to limit distortion at high volume. A real-time sound field optimization algorithm uses Bluetooth distance information (BT5.1 or later) to judge speaker positioning and surroundings, though the maker notes this works only when two units are paired.

Connectivity and endurance

• Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS certification, per the maker
• Codecs: LDAC (up to 990kbps), Qualcomm aptX Adaptive (up to 420kbps), AAC (up to 256kbps)
• Bluetooth 5.3, Class 1: up to approx. 80m unobstructed, approx. 15m in typical use
• Multipoint connection for two Bluetooth devices
• 30ms latency with the separately sold ThunderConnect™ Pro transmitter
• Up to 20 hours of playback; approx. 1 hour from a 15-minute quick charge
• Intelligent power control that switches to power-supply mode when fully charged

Two units can be paired for L/R stereo, and a Broadcast Mode can send one source to a theoretical maximum of 500 VIBE speakers. The XROUND MyTune Speaker APP lets users adjust surround parameters and customize controls such as track skipping, volume and an exercise timer function.